EXPECTATIONS AND LIMITATIONS

Genesis 15:4-6; 18:9-15; Ephesians 3:20

Genesis 15:4 - 6 (KJV)

⁴And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. 

⁵And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. 

⁶And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

Genesis 18:9 - 15 (KJV)

⁹And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent. 

¹⁰And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him. 

¹¹Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. 

¹²Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also? 

¹³And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old? 

¹⁴Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son. 

¹⁵Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.

Ephesians 3:20 (KJV)

²⁰Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

Opening statement: Don't let your expectations be controlled by your limitations.

Expecting: what does it mean to be expecting?

The anticipation of expectation is awesome, Example: Sarah awaiting a bundle of joy.

Age was her excuse for lowering her expectation to meet her limitations.

Donald Trump has coined a statement: "As long as we are going to be thinking anyway, we might as well think big."

In other words we are going to have expectations, so why not high expectations.

The problem with our churches and even society is we are more concerned with our weaknesses than we are with our strengths.

We have grown comfortable living our lives with adjusting levels of expectation according to our skills.

NOTE: We have raised a generation that is qualification oriented. But, we must remember that God does not need capability, he needs availability.

NOTE: God will help us reach our expectations if we operate in him and not on our limitations.

God is not limited by us.

“With God all things are possible.”

ALL THINGS!

ALL THINGS!

ALL THINGS!

You can be delivered!

You can be liberated!

You can be set free!

You can be healed!

You can be made whole!

Whatever your expectations are, God can meet them. He is not weakened by our circumstances.

“In our weakness he is made strong," We have to learn to quit selling ourselves short and come to the understanding that the limitations of my situation are no match for my expectations.

In our world we are satisfied to just exist, get by, or be average. That isn't having expectations.

We need to have expectations beyond our limitations.

WATCH THIS!

The call of God will always exceed your limitations! Your expectation should be to exceed your limitations.

In the restaurant business, we set goals or expectations for the facility. There were always short comings and things that would seem to hinder. We learned to reach our goals or expectations regardless of the limitations.

Some of you have set goals in life, and you have not yet reached them.

Some have made plans, and stopped short of fulfillment.

Some have had desires that you think will never be met.

Some have calls of God on your lives, but failures seem to hinder.

Your expectations are being controlled by your limitations.

There is a phrase that says “within normal operating limits.” God is neither normal nor limited!

It is time to:

Wake from the slumber.

Shake yourself.

Reconsider the call.

Reassess the situation.

Stop operating within the limitations.

And raise our expectations.

The Apostle Paul said, "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding, abundantly above all that we ask, or think. . ."

I expect:

To see revival.

To experience miracles.

To participate in the demonstration of signs and wonders.

Sinners to be saved.

Lives to be changed.

Souls to be delivered.

Hearts to be mended.

Broken homes to be fixed.

Destroyed lives to be restored.

Destitute situations to find joy.

What is your expectation?

What is your excuse?

What is your limitation? Our God expects, more why not us?

Don't allow your expectations to be controlled by your limitations.

Psalms 62:5 - 7 (KJV)

⁵My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.

⁶He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved.

⁷In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.

This is exciting to me!

David said, “I'm not able to do this, but I will wait upon God for my expectation.”

At that time he was just a runny nosed kid with a ruddy complexion keeping sheep for his father. Samuel had gone through all of Jessie's sons, and God had rejected them all. He had Jessie send for the youngest. David had developed a relationship with God while out in the pasture. After he was anointed king, he went back to his sheep for he knew how to wait on God.

You see, God calls us for what we can become, not what we are.

And what we will become takes expectations.

If you are living in man's limits, your expectations are low. But if you are living in the limitlessness of God, then your expectations are limitless.

What would happen if you and I took down our barriers and walked in His infinite expectations?

I offer to you: We could become what He desires us to be.

Regardless of:

Our history.

Our past.

Our family.

Our upbringing.

Our mistakes.

Our health.

Our education.

Our ability.

Our financial status.

Our social status.

What the enemy says.

What the accuser accuses.

Who doesn't like it.

Who would try to stop it.

Listen to me!

Our God is:

Ready.

Willing.

Able.

Waiting on you and I to get hold of His expectations.

His ways are above our ways; His thoughts are above our thoughts.

I want to walk as He walks.

I want to talk as He talks.

I want to think as He thinks.

I want His ways to be my ways.

I want to be what He wants me to be.

I must be the manifestation of the expectation of God.

I must expect to be the manifestation of the sons of God.

On our church website, there is a goal statement: “It's our desire to become the true manifestations of the sons of God.”

That is God's expectation.

John 1:12 says, But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God. . .”

DON'T LET YOUR EXPECTATIONS BE CONTROLLED BY YOUR LIMITATIONS!