The apostle Paul’s commitment to preaching the gospel was captivating and inspiring:
Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death” (Phil. 1:18-20).
An interesting cartoon showed a fourth-grade boy standing toe-to-toe and nose-to-nose with his teacher. Behind them was a blackboard covered with math problems the boy had failed to finished. With rare perception the boy said, “I’m not an underachiever; you’re an overexpecter!” [1] Although we can certainly understand the boy’s dilemma, if we are all honest, our approach and experience in spiritual matters reveals us to be both underachievers and underexpecters.
Expectations are so important to growth and success. The late eighteenth, early nineteenth century Canadian preacher, theologian, author, and founder of the Christian and Missionary Alliance, A. B. Simpson, said, “Our God has boundless resources. The only limit is in us. Our asking, our thinking, our praying are too small. Our expectations are too limited” (https://www.dailychristian quote.com/a-b-simpson-35/). Where are your expectations placed, and what are your expectations? Do you have a bundle of expectations toward earthly things but little or none toward heavenly things, the things of God?
The apostle Paul’s achievements seem monumental. He was chosen by Christ as the apostle to the Gentiles and traveled thousands of miles in Asia and the Middle East winning converts and planting churches. Moreover, Paul wrote thirteen books in the New Testament. None of this could have been accomplished without high expectations of what is possible through courage, dedication, faith, perseverance, and obedience to the will of God.
From prison in Rome, Paul penned the letter of Philippians to the Christians in Philippi. Even from behind bars, he was not discouraged or defeated. Through his faith in God’s providence and the prayers of God’s people, Paul believed that he would be set free and that, in his protracted life and enduring service to Jesus Christ, he would not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ would be exalted, in and through his life, whether he lived or died. Paul expected this both from himself and from God’s work through his life.
We owe our very lives to God who created us. Every single one of us. No exceptions. We breathe, walk, work, live, and, indeed, exist only by the grace and mercy of God. To remind us of this debt we owe to God that we have no way to repay, Paul said, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body” (1 Cor. 6:19-20).
God expects us to proclaim Christ, trust in His providence, and boldly exalt Christ in every ounce of our existence. How so? By prioritizing the gospel of Jesus in our lives and service to Him and for His cause. We are to set the saving gospel before as many people as possible by all means possible. We are to compel them to, by faith, repent of sin, believe in Jesus, trust Him as Lord, and enter God’s family through the new birth. Then we are to help those who enter God’s family to grow to spiritual maturity and become disciple makers themselves.
To goad us forward into the realm of determined resolve, Charles Spurgeon said, “You never hear Jesus say in Pilate's judgment hall one word that would let you imagine that He was sorry that He had undertaken so costly a sacrifice for us. When His hands are pierced, when He is parched with fever, His tongue dried up like a shard of pottery, when His whole body is dissolved into the dust of death, you never hear a groan or a shriek that looks like Jesus is going back on His commitment.” [2]
The writer of Hebrews prayed with incite for us: “Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen” (Heb. 13:20-21). This work of God in us, our salvation and new life, and through us, our committed service to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins and rose from the dead to make a way for us to escape Hell, should be our highest goal and expectation. Is it yours?
[1] family times
[2] christian quotes