GREAT EXPECTATIONS IN THE NEW YEAR – PART TWO
We are continuing from where we stopped last time, as we discuss: Great Expectations in the New Year. And our text is taken from Psalm 121:1-6, the psalm or a song of Ascents.
And we said last time that this is one of those psalms which Jewish males that went up to Jerusalem for one of the three festivals – or the three festivals in the year: the song they sang, and the songs or the psalm of ascent are from Psalms 120 to Psalm 134
1 I will lift up my eyes to the hills —
From whence comes my help?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.
3 He will not allow your foot to be moved;
He who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, He who keeps Israel
Shall neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord is your keeper;
The Lord is your shade at your right hand.
6 The sun shall not strike you by day,
Nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord shall preserve you from all evil;
He shall preserve your soul.
8 The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in
From this time forth, and forevermore.
Great Expectations!
We asked three questions last time. We were able to answer just one. What is the source of your expectation? In other words, on what are your expectations based? What is the strength of your expectations? How strong are your expectations; and what is the substance of your expectations? In other words, what do your expectations accomplish?
We said that last time that, the source of your expectations that will determine how strong or how great your expectations are. For the psalmist his expectations are not from the hills, but from Jehovah the self-existent God – the self-sufficient God.
Let us go straight to the second question:
What is the strength of your expectations? The source of your expectations, the strength of your expectations: how great your expectations are is determined by the source of your expectations. And the source of your expectations determines the strength of your expectations. If men, women or things are the source of your expectations, God have mercy on you and them; your expectations have no strength at all. Note the strength, the expectations of the psalmist which should be true of us. His expectations are rightfully placed in God. God? Yes! And let us see this God in whom his expectations are placed.
- According to our text, it is the God with creative ability. Another way to describe the God who has creative ability is the God of miracles – the God who makes something out of nothing. The lame man at the Beautiful Gate placed his expectations on Peter and John; and Peter and John redirected him to place his expectation on the exalted risen Christ. When Peter said, silver and gold I do not have but what I have hat I give you…In the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. When this miracle attracted a great crowd who marveled at Peter and John, Peter again redirected them to Christ who performed the miracle. Do you need creative and recreative power, friend? Do you need miracles? Sure! We all do. Our expectations should be directed then to the God who has creative ability, the God who creates ex nihilo – which means, the God who creates out of nothing, by simply speaking. The strength of your expectations, the success we need is found in Him. Let our expectations derive from God.
- Secondly, the strength of our expectation is in this God who had constant vigilance over his people. He is watching over His people all the time – verses 3 and 4 of our text. The right source of our expectation does not only have creative ability, He has constant sleepless vigilance over His people. He does not slumber – He does not sleep. We are living at a time when such vigilance is of prime necessity, not only for the physical safety, but also spiritual safety.
So many charlatans (false teachers) and religious 419niners abound in the land today. They deceive even the saved. And some people would expect us to adopt their method. God forbid bad thing. Our expectations are on God who has constant sleepless vigilance over the souls of His people.
- The psalmist’s expectations come from the God who has comprehensive protection for His people, verse 5 to the end of our text.
God, the source of our expectations, comprehensively protects His own all the time in all circumstances and till the end of life. He is vigilant in spotting threats to our well-being; but more than that He puts in place a comprehensive protection plan for His people. No man can produce the miracles we need daily. No man can boast of constant sleepless vigilance over our lives. No man can protect us for all time, in all circumstances till the end of life – only God.
Let me quickly conclude as I go to the third question:
What is the substance of your expectations? The substance of your expectations is what your expectations produce or accomplish in you. Jesus told His disciples to expect the fullness of the Holy Spirit from heaven. And He added that the expectations when realized will turn them into powerful witnesses for the risen Saviour: powerful world changers. And that is what He told them in Acts 1:8. No wonder it was said of them, after the realization of their expectations these men who turned the world upside down and have come here also, Acts 17:6. But you see here they did not turn the world upside down, but right side up, because the world of their day, as well as our day, was standing on His head with His legs up. They needed to turn it right side up.
As we fix our gaze on God who has creative ability sleepless vigilance and comprehensive protection – protective power we will be turned into a people who will effectively carry out God’s mandate in our sick society. Herein lies the substance of our expectations. We shall be turned into a people who:
- Have spiritual life. That is an essential qualification for anyone who will carry out God’s mandate.
- Will be turned into people who are selfless and sincere in their service. That is lacking in our day. We will be turned into a people who are spirit-filled; for without the fullness of the Holy Spirit there is not much we will do in terms of serving Christ – in terms of helping the human race.
In conclusion, let us have great expectations: expectations that are as great as God the only legitimate source of true expectations. As we do, He will turn us into a people whom He can depend on to make Christ known to our dying world.
My friend, what are your great…what are your expectations? How great are they? What is the strength of your expectations? And what is the substance of your expectations?
Shall we pray
PRAYER
Father, we have come to the end of our discussion, today. And we want to say thank You for the privilege. And friends, I want you now to give your life to Him if you have not done so before. And if you have, ask Him to give you the right and great expectations. And Lord, as many as do this, I commit them into Your hands. And I trust that You would work in them to produce great expectations that will accomplish something great in them and in the world and help them…in Jesus Name we pray. Amen!