HE WATCHES HIS WORD TO PERFORM IT SO THAT YOU CAN EXCEED EXPECTATIONS
Pastor Michael J. Gowon
INTRODUCTION
A. I like the old
story about a man who fell off a cliff, but managed to grab a tree limb on the
way down.
The man
began to call out: “Help, help, is anyone up there?”
Then
the man heard a voice saying, “I am here. I am the Lord. Do you believe me?”
The man
replied, “Yes, Lord, I believe. I really believe, but I can’t hang on much
longer.”
The
Lord then said, “That’s all right, if you really believe you have nothing to
worry about. I will save you. Just let go of the branch, I will catch you.”
There
was a long pause, and then the man cried out, “Help, is anyone else up there?”
B. Another story
tells of a city being bombed during wartime, and a father who picked up his son
and ran for a shelter.
On the
way, the bombing intensified and the father wasn’t sure they would make it to
the shelter.
Seeing
a deep hole, the father put his son down and jumped into the hole.
When he
told his son that he would catch him in his arms if the boy would jump into the
hole, the boy said, “But I can’t see you, father!”
The
father looked up at the silhouette of his son against the background of
explosions and burning buildings and said, “But you don’t have to see me,
because I can see you.”
With
faith and trust, the son jumped into his father’s waiting arms.
YOU ARE AN UNPROFITABLE SERVANT: IF YOU ONLY DO WHAT IS
YOUR DUTY TO DO
Lk. 17:7-10
9 Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded
him? I trow not.
Many of us are used to lip-service and lip-promise without taking any action and thus we see no increase
in our lives and we turn around to blame God for not coming through to us.
Why must God expect so much from you and me? It is because He has invested so much in you.
Lk. 12:48
48. "For unto
whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required and to whom men have
committed much, of him they will ask the more” (Lk.12).
BECAUSE HW WILL WATCH OVER HIS WORD TO PERFORM IT
Jer. 1:12
“Then said the Lord unto me, Thou hast well seen: for
I will hasten my word to perform it”
Every spoken word of God will move your life forward.
There shall be a performance.
Rom. 4:20-21
He staggered not at the promise of God through
unbelief, but was strong in faith , giving glory to God. And being fully persuaded that, what he had
promised, he was able also to perform.
Josh 21:45
There
failed not ought of any good thing which the Lord has spoken unto the house of
Israel, all came to pass.
When can we say there is a performance?
·
When expected events are fulfilled
·
Covenants are fulfilled
·
Promises are realized
·
‘Dry bones regain life
·
The barren become fruitful
·
A situation of not enough turns to be a more than
enough
·
When the desert flourishes like an oasis
·
When we posses the gates of our enemies
·
When God makes
a way in the desert and bring
forth rivers in dry places Isa 43:19
Several places in the Bible show us
that God has been `complaining’ about
the unfruitlessness of man. The lack of increase that has become so common
place in the body of Christ is an epidemic of our age.
In Genesis, the Word of God said, "And it repented the Lord that he had
made man on earth, and it grieved him at his heart” (Gen. 3:6). God saw that the wickedness of man was great
in the earth and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only
evil continually.
Like the children of Israel, many Christians today are quick to promise
obedience without fulfilling it (Ecc. 5:5).
To such a one, God is saying, "O that there was such a heart in them, that
they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well
with them and with their children forever” (Deut. 5:29).
Isa. 1:2-3
2. "Hear,
O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the Lord hath spoken, I have nourished
and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.
3. The Ox
knoweth his owner, and the Ass his master's crib, but Israel doth not know, my
people doth not consider” (Isa. 1).
Jer.
8:7
7. "Yea,
the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times, and the turtle and the
crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming, but my people know not
the judgment of the Lord” (Jer. 8).
Isa 5:1-4
1. "Now
will I sing to my well-beloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard, My well-beloved hath a vineyard in a very
fruitful hill.
2. And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and
built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he
looked that it should bring forth grapes and it brought forth wild grapes.
3. And now, O
inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, Judge, I pray you, betwixt me and
my vineyard.
4. What
could have been done more to the vineyard that I have not done in it?
Wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth
wild grapes?
1 Pet. 4:10 TLB
The Bible says, "God
has given each of you some special abilities, be sure to use them to help each
other, passing on to other God's many kinds of blessings.
God is asking you and me the same question He asked
the Israelites years ago; “What could
have been done more to the vineyard that I have not done in it?”
Remember God wants you to be a superstar. He wants superior performance and that in itself
require extra-ordinary inputs.
It calls for you to go the extra-mile to exceed expectations.
The status quo is not enough, it is
unacceptable. You and I must daily over-deliver
This has to be a mindset that you go after
daily. Exceeding expectation is a voluntary activity.
GOING THE EXTRA-MILE:
It is usually
meant to go beyond one’s ability or to make a special effort to accomplish.
As they say, stretch oneself. Walk
the extra mile is not just to walk more than required.
Any Roman
soldier could order a Jewish civilian on the way to carry his baggage, mainly
containing armory, for one Roman mile. A roman mile is roughly 1.45 kilometers.
This was a painful task, as the poor unlucky fellow would carry 40-50 kilograms
of weight. Once the mile is over, the servant could drop it and get relieved.
Jesus
tells his listeners to go beyond obligation. The second mile is not an obligation; it is an
opportunity.
TO EXCEED
EXPECTATIONS YOU MUST DO YOUR ASSIGNMENTS ON PURPOSE
·
Understand expected performance and
deliberately exceed it
·
Reject mediocrity and chose to do the
extraordinary
·
Remember you are an explosion waiting
to happen
·
You are a bundle of miracles waiting
for manifestation
·
Each assignment you are handling has
the potential to change your life and future.
·
To exceed expectation be willing to
put in extra- raw efforts to surpass the simpleton
·
God is expecting much from you and me
ensure you do not disappoint Him.
TO EXCEED EXPECTATIONS:
1.
Think outside the Box – be creative,
add value
2.
Get out of your comfort zone. Ignore
nay-sayers, intimidators, discouragers and pull yourself forward into the will
of God
3.
Trust God to help you
4.
Value time and use it diligently.
Always be ahead of others, wake up early use your moments prayerfully.
5.
Volunteer extra service. Don’t hide
from work, work more and more They say the reward of hard work is more work
6.
Always be prepared to go the
extra-mile
7.
Do not pursue the minimum, go for the
maximum
Remember the God you serve is a supernatural God. Even our fathers have
told us what he did in their days (Psa. 44:1)
“Now unto him, that can do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think,
according to the power that worketh in us. Unto him be glory in the church by
Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen” (Eph. 3:20-21 KJV).
The Message rendering of the same verse above tells us more:
It says, “God
can do anything; you know far more than you could ever imagine or guess or
request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by
working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.” MSB
Immeasurable here means is too large,
extensive or extreme to measure.
It can’t be estimated; it blows our
expectations. That means we can ask God anything. Ask him
for BIG things, IMPOSSIBLE things. Something you find even difficult to
comprehend or even understand.
In all these God will even go beyond anything you have imagined
If humans can exceed your expectations how much more our God.
Talking about the Corinthian brethren, the Apostle Paul said:
“And they exceeded our expectations: They
gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to
us. . .” (2 Cor. 8:5 NIV).
THE
LAME MAN BY THE TEMPLE HAD EXPECTATIONS: Acts 3:1-11
His
expectation was to be give gifts. He wanted silver and gold.
Peter said to him “Look on us” He was telling him, “take your eyes off the limited expectation you
have for so long held unto and look away to that for a change.”
The Bible says, “And he
gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.” The man
wanted to receive the things he had been used to all this while, a gift. Peter
said, “I don’t have any silver or gold to give you right now, but I have
something better. Some things that far exceed the coins you are used to
gathering. In the name of Jesus, rise and walk.”
The lame man was also lame in his thinking. He was expecting the
ordinary, but God was thinking of an extra-ordinary intervention in his life
and situation.
He was expecting the same thing
that had been happening to him for the last 40 years as a season beggar. But God showed up
and exceeded his expectations. This one moment of favour turned his
life around completely. That’s what we need in this end time.
God will visit us with his “exceedingly,
abundantly-beyond-our understanding- blessings” and change our story
permanently.
In Matthew 7:11 ESV, he
said, “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your
children, how much more will your
Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”
In a
similar, though more specific statement in Luke 11:13, he says, “If you then, who
are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how
much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit
to those who ask him!” Some manuscripts render it as “the good
spirit.”
The
verse in Luke 11 implies that the Holy Spirit is the best gift of a loving
Father.
“Consider
the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn,
and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value
are you than the birds!” (v. 24).
“But
if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is
thrown into the oven, how
much more will he
clothe you, O you of little faith!” (v. 28). To which we add Matthew 12:12, “Of how
much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to
do good on the Sabbath.”
EXCEEDING
EXPECTATIONS:
John 11:12
“From John di Baptist time kon rish naw,
pipol dey struggol enter God Kingdom, but na only doz wey do gra gra go dey fit
enter.”
What Should I do to Experience a Performance; SO THAT
I can exceed expectations?
- Fear
God and do not be wise in your own eyes. If you fear the Lord, it creates
an avenue for God to shake your enemies (Proverbs 3:7);
- Stay
away from sin and hates the taste of it (Romans 6:1-2; Isaiah 59:1-3);
- Maintain
a consistent lifestyle of holiness;
- Be a
vessel not a container (Deuteronomy 15:11);
- Let
your ways please the Lord. Don’t be a man pleaser but rely on God.
Results of Experiencing a Performance:
- Your
mourning will be turned into dancing;
- People
will gather together to celebrate you;
- People
will glorify God for your life (Luke 1:46);
- You
will overcome the devil (Revelation 12:11).
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