RAISING THE EXPECTANCY

John 5:5 - 18

5. And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.

6. When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?

7. The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.

8. Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.

9. And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.

10. The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed.

11. He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk.

12. Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk?

13. And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place.

14. Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.

15. The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole.

16. And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day.

17. But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.

18. Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.

Now let us be mindful of the era that Jesus lived in. Before Jesus came on the scene, God would send an angel down once a year to trouble the water in the pool and whoever stepped into the pool first would be healed of whatever ailment they had. The Jews were used to God working that way, so they did not accept Jesus daring to say that He was sent from God. Here is Jesus not only healing, but healing on the Sabbath, the holy day of rest commanded by God. So why would someone who was sent by God, work His work on a day that He commanded for rest? How could Jesus disrespect God on HIS holy day? And then after Jesus defiled the Sabbath, why would He dare to say God is His Father, and it was God who did the work through Him? How dare He make Himself equal with God!

John 5:19

Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.

This one simple statement sums up Jesus’ entire ministry on earth, and it is very important that we grasp it in our hearts. Jesus knew that He could not do anything that the Father did not instruct Him to do. But that was not just a thought in Jesus’ mind, it was His heart. He did not have to go from situation to situation and judge each one whether or not He wanted to please God, it was already His mindset that He would only do those things that He was instructed to do. He was in TOTAL agreement with the will of God. This is where we have to go as sons of God. We have to get to the place where we can become consistent in our walk with God. We cannot just go day to day and decide how we will deal once the situation comes up. We have to already know and have decided in our hearts to please God, no matter what comes our way. Jesus had that mind that it was His purpose on this earth to glorify the Father, and He walked in that mind every day. Knowing that His purpose was to please the Father, He was mindful of everything He said and did, being God on the scene at all times.

With that in mind, let us examine ourselves. Do people really see Christ in us at all times? Are we even living a life that would make them expect to see Him? Are we conscious of all that we say and do, ensuring that He is on display? Now just imagine Jesus walking through the door right now, and we knew it was Jesus. We would not expect Him to do or say anything other than what God commands Him to say or do, just because He is Jesus. But do we have that reputation with men? When we come into a room or wherever we are, are those around expecting to hear from God? Do they expect you to be holy, or do they just expect to see you? This is very serious because there should be no difference between us and Christ. God never intended for Christ to be unique. We cannot actually think that we can walk in the Spirit of Christ and not have His attributes.

Go even farther . . . do we expect to be just as Christ? We can talk about expecting Christ of others, but do we expect to manifest Christ ourselves? Have we become satisfied with the improvements that we have made to our personalities or the sins that we no longer commit, or do we actually want to manifest Christ through our lives? Do we want to be Christ in our schools or on our jobs? We have to want to be Christ on the scene at all times. All of us who are born of the Spirit have been equipped with the power to walk just like Christ. We no longer have to just know the Word in our heads, but we can now walk in the Word, and God expects that from us. Not only does God expect that from us, so does the world. It may seem like the world is not looking for God but Romans 8 tells us different.

Romans 8:19-22

19. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

20. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,

21. Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

22. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.

The world is waiting, expecting to see Christ once again walk the earth, through us. The world is waiting for us and the Spirit has given us the power to be perfect, but if we chose not to use it then we rob the world of seeing God and we rob God of the chance to be glorified through us. If we would just walk in the power that God has given us, then we would be able to say in confidence just as Jesus did in St. John 5:17 that the Father is the one who is working through us and everything we do is led by Him. But we will not be able to say that if we do not have fellowship with God. And the only thing that would keep us from having fellowship with God is darkness in our hearts.

1 John 1:5-7

5. This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

6. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

7. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

Once we purge our hearts from darkness then we can have fellowship with God. Once we have fellowship with God, then we can be perfect. When we consistently walk in perfection, then it becomes expected of us. It sounds simple because it is. God never planned for our life in Him to be complex. QUICKEST WAY TO PERFECTION; DO NOTHING OF YOURSELF! If we follow a perfect God and only do what we are instructed, what else can we be but perfect.

John 15:1-5

1. I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.

2. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

3. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.

4. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

5. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

If Jesus decided not to submit to God’s will for His life, and walk outside of what was instructed, the simple fact that He was Jesus would not move God to work through Him. If Jesus knew that He could do nothing without God, then how is it that we can expect to make it without Him? If we do not take on the mindset that Jesus had, God will not be moved to work through us. Jesus submitted His whole mind over to serving the Father. He knew that if His mind was not given over to God then He would not be acceptable to Him. It was Paul who said with the mind we serve God (Romans 7:25). Even though some have the Spirit of God, we still have to commit our minds to pleasing Him. Jesus was totally committed to pleasing the Father; mind, body, soul and spirit and that is the standard that has been set in order to please God. If we do not live up to that standard, then we will not be acceptable to God. We must bring our minds into total agreement with what God has set for our lives. The Word has to become a part of us, not just what we hear and know of God; it is the blueprint for our lives.

HOLINESS IS NATURAL

Holiness must become natural to the Sons of God. When situations come in our lives, we should not have to work up an emotion, or suppress what we really feel in order to live holy. We should walk in our day-to-day, feeling the emotions of Christ automatically. But that will not happen if we do not allow it to. We have to allow our minds to continuously be exposed to righteousness in order for it to begin to prefer it. If we constantly feed ourselves the things of the world, then what else do you expect to come out of us but the world? I have noticed that when I constantly feed my Spirit the things of God, I become more and more mindful of spiritual things. But when I feed myself carnal things, I no longer focus on godliness and it is hard to work up the emotions of Christ. Simply put . . . WHAT YOU PUT IN IS WHAT COMES OUT! Sons of God should always feed their spirits with godliness and we will find that we will prefer it and no longer desire those things of the world. Jesus was always in constant communication with the Father. He did not make a habit of entertaining evil thoughts. He knew that He had to be holy so that the Father would work through Him. That mindset allowed God to work miracles through Him, and kept Jesus holy. You may ask why Jesus had to be kept holy. Well, Jesus had a will just as we do. He could have decided to disobey God at any moment, but He lived for one purpose, and that purpose kept Him focused. In order to fulfill His purpose and to keep in contact with His Father He had to remain holy, therefore His mindset kept Him holy. Notice I said that Jesus remained holy, which means He was already holy and decided not to change. We, too, are holy if the Spirit of God lives in us, but have to make a decision to stay that way. We have to decide to submit our minds to God. We have said it so many times before but that is only because it is vital. As long as we live by our own minds, we will not manifest Christ. But when we get tired of being “us”, then whom else would we try to be? Some are not set on achieving status in this world, so we must be set on achieving Christ. But it is not a hard thing to do. All we have to do is obey what He says in His Word for us to do. We cannot choose to go back to our lives of sin. Sin can no longer be an option for the Sons of God. If we make up in our hearts to please God, then He obligates Himself to work with and through us.

Matthew 5:6

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

If we truly desire to be holy, God will allow us to walk in the freedom of our salvation. Salvation holds a freedom from condemnation and sin, but we will not experience that if it is not in our hearts to be holy.

Romans 8:1-6

1. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

2. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

3. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:

4. That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

5. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.

6. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

God wants us to experience the peace that He has for us in the Spirit, but that freedom is only available to those who walk after the Spirit, which means total agreement with God. But those who are not in total agreement with God are carnal. We have heard about the carnal mind in previous lessons but never really explored why a carnal mind means death. Once again, it is with our minds we serve God. If we choose not to submit our minds to God, then we will not be able to walk holy. If we cannot walk holy then we are not acceptable to God. If we are not acceptable to God, then we will not be able to make it in. If we do not make it to Heaven we all know we go to Hell, so therefore if you have a carnal mind, the end result is death; eternal separation from God.

Romans 8:7-8

7. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

8. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

We have no more time to “try” to be holy. It is time to just be holy. For those of us who have the Holy Ghost, we can either choose to walk in the Spirit or not to. If we choose not to walk in the Spirit, we will produce sin and death. But if we choose to walk in the Spirit we will be able to produce holiness. If we would just obey and agree with who we are in Christ, the world would once again be able to see Christ. We are now spiritual beings that have the power of God in us, let us walk according to who we are. Let us be very Christ!