Great Expectations

When it comes to the miraculous stories in the bible, do you believe them? Or do you think they are anecdotes designed solely to teach us something, or myth, or even made up accounts to make a point or to exaggerate matters?

I ask for a reason.

The tale of healing at the Beautiful Gate in Acts 3 is an interesting account of real faith in action, when you think about it.

It is a tale of two men who are out walking one day. They have nothing in terms of means. They have nothing in terms of hard currency and yet, they are heading off to do the one thing that comes natural for them. They are heading to the Temple to pray.

These two men called Peter and John are walking when they get to the place called the Beautiful Gate. It is a gate that leads into the inner courts of the Temple and it is full of different people, all of them clamouring to be the next one in line, to give their offering.

As they are walking though, they encounter a man who will change the face of the Christian church for centuries to come because people like us will read about him, preachers like me will preach sermons and we will discuss him in Fellowship Groups, so we can all grow and mature as believer.

The story is an interesting one and brings up an immediate question.

What does the lame man expect?

The man is lame and he is a beggar. He expects only one thing in life and that is for people to follow the dictates from the Law of Moses and give him some alms. That is all he wants.

He would know many of the people near him, but they keep their distance, don’t they? They have their place in life and he has his and his is a lot lower than theirs. Yes, they would give alms, but after that, expectations are not high for this man.

He might want someone to come along and make life easier for him, but I doubt it really. His role in life is set. If he was of a certain Asian extraction and living in a caste system, he would no doubt think that he has done something wrong to someone in an earlier life and therefore, is destined to lead this kind of lifestyle now, as a punishment.

But this is a man who expects help. He expects to be noticed by some and to go unnoticed by others. It is normal, isn’t it? We go to York, or places like that and as soon as we get off the train or out of the car, we see them begging. We try to keep our distances.

But here is a man with quite low expectations and he certainly is not expecting what is going to happen next. His friends have no doubt taken him there and may expect income from alms. Maybe he is part of a group that pools their monies together at the end of a day. Who knows?

But what we do know is that there is a sense of expectation in the air that day when Peter and John come walking past. He has his expectations and they have theirs.

The same is true in the Old Testament story of Elijah and Jezebel. We know the tale, don’t we? Elijah does something to annoy the Queen, Jezebel and then she is on the war path to get him. There is a lovely place in the bible where she tells him in no uncertain terms, that she aims to get him.

But what does she expect?

Is she fully anticipating capturing him and putting him to death? How foolish to stand up to the Lord of Hosts like that. I think her expectations are high. She is Queen, for heaven’s sake. What she says, goes. If she says jump, you ask how high. She is that kind of Queen, when you think about it, a woman with a temper to match anything before or since, including mine.

She is vindictive and manipulative. Does she expect anything else but success against this man of God? I do not think so. So what does Elijah expect? Are his expectations just as great as the Queen’s?

Elijah is fearful to the point of running away, showing how even the great and the good in biblical terms can screw it up. He reminds me so much of the young St. Peter, who then goes on to doubt three times that he even knows Jesus.

Such low expectations at the time.

Elijah runs and hides and Jezebel comes a hunting. But someone else has other ideas. God turns up in the most unexpected way, when you think about it, in a still, small voice and he tells his man of God what to do next.

That there, is a lesson for us all. Sometimes, the Lord speaks through the most unexpected things, like a still, small voice. Sometimes, we are not ready to hear those messages of love and hope, mercy and grace. But we need to be “Ever Ready,” as the batteries used to be called.

Consider the story of Ananias and Sapphira for a moment as well and you will see what I mean.

What do they expect will happen as members of The Way? They join the cause after converting to Christ. They know the lifestyle is not easy. They know it is communal in lifestyle, where all are sharing. Yet, they want more.

I went to a place called Scargill House once, with a view to living there, living the life of a Monk. I wanted as an early believer, to leave this world behind and live this lifestyle completely.

Part of me still wants to.

But what did the expect when I went there? Could I have lived that life? I reckon so, because I had zero expectations of the people and the life. I went with the right attitude, I think.

But what of Ananias and Sapphira? What do they expect when they go against the rulings of this new movement? Do they expect a slap on the wrist and a “don’t do it again?” Or are they aware of the dangers of crossing the Lord?

The story tells us what happens next, doesn’t it and it is not very pretty, as stories go. We see in the pages of our bible just how jealous God can get. Then and now. Nothing is different. Nothing has changed through time. He is the same yesterday, today and forever.

Ecclesiastes 3 says that there is a time under the sun for anything and everything. It lists some of the times; for living, dying and so on. But, you might think, that was then and now is different.

But is it?

Some of the decisions made over the centuries in the church have been most interesting, to say the least. One wonders why the church ever let them happen, at times.

We saw the revivals of Wesley and Whitefield. What did they expect then? Did they expect to make such an impact on the world and the Anglican Church? Did they intend to start the Methodist Church? I think not, especially when we know that was not John Wesley’s intention and he remained Anglican all his life.

Okay, what about the Charismatic Revival of the 20^th Century? Did we expect to see thousands coming to Christ through the likes of Billy Graham? At first, even he did not think he was going to make it, but he had one thing and that was hope, a better, fitter hope for a better, fitter future, in Christ.

Or what about the Toronto Blessing? A church in Doncaster I know of, once believed and stated that it had not had a good service unless a number of people had fallen down in the spirit. They firmly went into a church service expecting to be blown away in the Spirit of Christ and end up on the floor.

There is nothing wrong with that at all, but to expect it? I think that means we are approaching our worship with the wrong intentions and expectations.

You see, as we come to God in church worship, what are we doing? Are we coming expecting God to move mightily in our hearts and minds and lives? If we are, then I think we have got it wrong, for I see no humility in such an arrogant attitude.

What I see in the modern church is an arrogance that gets in the way of truly loving our neighbours as ourselves. We can argue even that we cannot love our neighbours because we cannot even love ourselves first.

So, a simple question for you, but the answer might prove tricky. What do you expect from the church today?

For me, the answer to that is found in one word….Faithfulness! When it comes to us coming week in, week out, to church, we do so because we want to remain faithful to our God. We want to be at one with God, to feel that sense of atonement.

God, on the other hand, simply wants us to be and feel loved. How does the song go? “Great is thy faithfulness O God my father. There is no shadow of turning with thee.” God’s faithfulness to us is perfect and enduring. It is something that will last forever and it is something that is so special in the heart of every believer.

But what about ours to him?

Our fidelity depends on how well we follow the words contained in the Bible. So we ask another question. Are we faithful enough? When we come here to join in corporate, public worship, are we doing so properly? Are we a Sunday believer or a seven day believer? Does the meaning of the great hymn stand out for us.

Seven who days, not one in seven, I will praise thee.

In my heart, though not in heaven, I will raise thee.

If we died today, would the Lord say to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant?” If your answer is yes, then fine, but if your answer is no, then why not? If your answer is, “Well, I hope so,” then you have to ask why you’re so unsure.

Amen