Christmas Expectation - Substance

Tis the season of broken expectations. Yes, you heard that right: Broken Expectations. Gifts hoped for or even requested and not received. Family members not getting along. Too much snow, not enough snow…the list could go on. Here’s the problem with those expectations - the Who or what the expectation is placed in and where the expectation comes from.

As much as we’d like to think otherwise, expectations placed on other people should be held lightly. People are not perfect. Even if they try their hardest and do their best, people will likely not meet all of our expectations.

Said another way…you can’t carry all the expectations others place on you. Why should we ask others to carry all of our expectations?

Now, before I continue on, this is not permission to just ignore everyone else and just do what you want. Husbands...wives…that kind of attitude would not be loving. Brothers and sisters in Christ…that would not be loving. What I am saying is that husbands…wives…your spouse will never be able to meet 100% of your expectations. Brothers and sisters in Christ…we cannot expect all our expectations to be met by others. At some point we will be disappointed in someone and someone will be disappointed in us when expectations are not met.

Hopefully when this happens, we chose to react with grace. Grace for those who disappoint and grace for ourselves when we disappoint.

Turn with me to Luke 1 this morning as we look at some of the expectations surrounding Mary, the mother of Jesus and her relative Elizabeth who was the mother of John the Baptist. Before we reading, I want to give you a little back story on Elizabeth and her husband Zechariah.

They were faithful servants of the Lord with Zechariah serving in the temple as a priest. It is said of them in verse 6:

Luke 1:6–7 NIV

6 Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. 7 But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.

Based on what was said of them, I imagine their expectation was that they would likely never conceive and have children. This expectation comes from a human understanding, but there is this little insight in verse 13:

Luke 1:13 NIV

13 But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John.

Even though there was likely an expectation, Zechariah still prayed.

So, we have this couple who desired to have children, but were not able to until now and we’ll pick up the story in verse 26:

Luke 1:26–27 NIV

26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.

Mary was preparing to get married, there is a whole set of expectations that come with that based on what others have experienced. I am sure Mary was no different, but God intervenes in the story:

Luke 1:28–38 NIV

28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” 29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” 34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.” 38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

Mary had an expectation for her life and the Lord change that in a moment. It wasn’t that her expectation wasn’t good…it was. God just had something better in mind.

I think sometimes we can get so attached to our idea of something. We have in our mind what we think it should look like, how long it should take and all of the steps along the way. We construct our own expectations and in some cases we hold too on to them too tightly that we may even miss God’s prompting for something else.

Oh how I would love for God to always send his angel Gabriel to announce the plans he has for us, but that is not typically the case.

Have you planned things out so much in your own understanding that you haven’t allowed space for God to speak? Are you making plans by what you see and know or is faith part of your plans?

Mary didn’t know how she’d be able to have a child if she hadn’t done the thing that is usually required to have a baby. She asks and the angel tells her that that Holy Spirit would come on her.

Now if that were most of us, we’d pull out our phones and ask Siri - Hey Siri, how does the Holy Spirit make a baby with a woman? When we don’t see a concrete answer or one that we can understand, we may not respond like Mary: “May your word to me be fulfilled.”

Are you open to the Lord interrupting your expectations and allowing Him to change your plans?

Not only did Mary hear about the change in her plans, she also found our that her relative Elizabeth was “expecting” as well…let’s keep reading...

Luke 1:39–45 NIV

39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40 where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

The first person to react to the news of Jesus coming was an unborn baby. This baby is John the Baptist who would go before and announce the coming of Jesus. He got started with that job very early.

I want to jump ahead in the book of Luke to chapter 7. The is near the end of John’s ministry. At this point, he’s in jail. In a very short time, John would be killed, but before this happens, John wants to make sure that Jesus is the Messiah.

There are a few times John has already recognized that Jesus is the one:

John 1:35–36 NIV

35 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”

Here is another:

Matthew 3:13–15 NIV

13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.

We can see that John knows who Jesus is, but then in Luke 7 we see this:

Luke 7:17–23 NIV

17 This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country. 18 John’s disciples told him about all these things. Calling two of them, 19 he sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” 20 When the men came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?’ ” 21 At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. 22 So he replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. 23 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”

John asks the question…Are you who we have been expecting? Jesus’ response: what does the evidence say? I think this was Jesus’ way of just reassuring John that he was right all along. Don’t doubt, instill this confidence in your disciples John. You have your confirmation.

Let me encourage you that it is OK to ask for reassurance. Mary did it. John the baptist did it. God will assure you of His promises to you.

Are there things that God has deposited into you as an expectation? Did you wonder how that expectation would ever come to be? Have you asked Him recently: Lord, is that the expectation you still have for me, or should I expect something else?

Maybe you are wondering if God has even deposited any expectation into you or not. You can’t think of any that he has…have you asked Him? Ask Him now…Lord, give me a holy expectation for my life. What do you have in store? What would you have me do? Where would you have me go? Lord deposit your expectation in me.

Maybe you are full of expectations, but they are all your own selfish ambition expectations or worse they are your God limiting expectations - God would never bless me with... You’ve mapped things out based on your understanding and your plans or fears. There is nothing in those expectations that would require faith. Offer those expectations to Him. Allow Him to speak to those and give you a fresh idea on what He might have planned for you.

Last week I shared a couple of expectations I have for this church and the big C church in central Vermont. This is just a partial list of what I believe God has deposited in me as I have asked Him. These will only happen by faith...

I expect to see many come to know Jesus as Lord and Savior.

I expect to see many who have been hurt by the church find a place to come and heal.

I expect to see families reconciled together and worshipping Jesus.

I expect to see believers of all ages grow in their faith and trust in Jesus.

I expect revival.

I expect awakening.

Just like Mary…may we say:

We are the Lord’s servant, May your word to us be fulfilled.