EXCITEMENT and EXPECTATION - part 2

Back in the mid 1990’s, my wife and I hosted and led a Thursday night prayer group at our house, just north of our hometown of Santa Rosa, California.  The group was made up of church leaders from our previous fellowship who were interested in starting a Word of Faith Church in our city.  Each week we gathered and prayed for specific direction on how to accomplish this plan, which was our hearts desire for our community.

To say the least, we were all unified in purpose and overflowed with EXCITEMENT and EXPECTATION.  When we heard through a relative of Piper’s, of a couple from the Bay Area who had just graduated and returned home from the Bible School that I would eventually graduate from in Oklahoma, we immediately invited them to come and speak to our group.

I can still remember most of Paul’s teaching to us as if it was just yesterday!  It is easy for me to picture him walking through the middle of the 12-15 of us who were spread throughout our living room, seated on our sectional couch, piano bench and kitchen chairs, as he taught on the subject of faith.  What stands out the most is when he suddenly stopped and asked us “How many of you are activity standing in Faith for something right now?”  Both Piper and I were surprised as our hands immediately shot up, when only a few others in the group joined us.*

Paul went on for the remainder of that night, teaching us of the importance of being and staying in active faith in God and the truth of His Word.  One of the many verses he taught from included Roman’s 1:16-17 where the Apostle Paul was basically teaching the same message and declared,

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.  For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” (KJV) 

As Piper and I continued to grow over the ensuing years in our understanding and practical application of faith in our daily lives, we also came to realize that it is actually IMPOSSIBLE to please God without it!  Hebrews 11:6 informs us,

“But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6 – KJV) 

So, while the writer of the book of Hebrews** tells us that it is IMPOSSIBLE to please God without faith, The Apostle Paul declares that our ever-increasing understanding of the righteousness of God (ie; who we are in Christ in our place of right standing with God) is continually revealed to us… through our regular actions and stands of faith throughout each day of our lives.

We also learned that being in active faith, believing on the truth of God’s Word for something in our lives, projected us through the mundane exercise of life and channeled us into the realm of God’s EXCITING, EXPECTANT, and LIMITLESS possibilities!

When Piper got was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, many people were initially taken back by my encouraging and joyful demeanor.  A few even got upset with me!  But how could I allow myself to be drawn into hopelessness and/or depression like some of them - when Piper and I continued to stand in the EXCITED EXPECTANCY of God and His Word working in and through our situation.  And if those same individuals were honest today… they would have to admit that God’s hand of mercy, peace, provision, strength of joy was working mightily amongst us!  It would be difficult to put a number to all the miracles He did along the way for us.

So, if you’re anything like me… then I am sure that you want to BE and to DO all that God has planned for you as a member of His family… and we can’t ever reach our full potential unless we continue to grow in our understanding and application of who we are as the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.  And according to the Apostle Paul…  God’s righteousness is revealed to us from each of our stands of faith on His Word to the next stand of faith!

I’m EXCITED and highly EXPECTANT about my faith… HOW ABOUT YOU?

Have a great weekend.  We’ve got a short reprieve this weekend from the intense heat we have been experiencing with temperatures now only in the high 80’s… instead of a heat index of up to 115!

Have a cold beverage just for me, take a stand of faith and then EXPECT to see God reveal more and more of His righteousness to you!

 

*Paul and his wife ended up starting a church closer to their home in the East Bay area of California, but did help us with the logistics of getting the church started and connect us with another California graduate of Rhema Bible Training College who became our pastor for the next twelve plus years.

**The writer of the Book of Hebrews is not named in the Bible and while most people tend to think that Paul wrote it, there are many (including myself) who feel that the writing style and composition of this letter are very different than Paul’s.  It seems obvious that the writer was a leader in the church, skilled in the Old Testament scriptures and very familiar and well-studied in the Pauline revelation.  My personal favorite (even though I have absolutely nothing to prove it) is that it was written by Paul’s original close associate Barnabas!