Please read Luke chapter 17, verses 20 - 37. THIS is an interesting one. . .

Good Morning.

I am not a fan of EXPECTATIONS. . . they set us up to bring us down. . . often. 'So, Jesus-- tell us, when will the kingdom of God come?' The Jews had an expectation of how the 'kingdom of God' would be established on earth-- Jewish expectation held that the kingdom would come as a part of the Day of the Lord, with cosmic signs above, and then--the nation would be delivered. But Jesus said, "the kingdom of God is among you." He might as well have said, "I am." 'You are interested in the kingdom of God? Look no further, it walks among you. . . I AM.' (the answer that God told Moses to say to Pharaoh in Egypt about who had sent him, would apply here--tell them, "I AM".) Jesus ushered in the kingdom of God. . . He was the kingdom, come to earth. And so, we have the WHAT IS.

And then Jesus turns to His disciples and tells them again that a time is coming when He (Jesus) will suffer and be rejected--the WHAT WILL BE. He is telling them what to 'expect' and yet, they had their own 'expectations' still, about how kingdom matters would proceed. Jesus refers to the time when He will have ascended back into Heaven, before He will return to take His own to be with Him--what we call 'the second coming of Jesus Christ'.

Now, here's the funny thing about expectations--what we base ours on might not be solid--yet we hold to them nonetheless. (We have an expectation that our mate will act in 'such a way', and then she doesn't; we have an expectation that he SHOULD know what would be appropriate/what we would want, and yet he doesn't--disappointment then, is eminent. Think about it. . . so many of the Jews of the day missed the Messiah because they had an expectation of how he would enter the world, in what station, and how he would act. . . well, His life didn't fit their paradigm. Bummer. . . not just disappointment, but eternal destination on the line. Not as a king in royal robes with political power, but a baby wrapped in cloths, lying in the feeding trough of the stable animals.

And then Jesus tells them that when He returns, it will not be a clandestine operation; everyone will know that Jesus has returned! "For the Lord Himself will come down from Heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God." 1 Thessalonians 4.16 Yet, though Scripture has warned of the signs of His coming--the time of His return will be unexpected. . . it will catch people off guard. Like in Noah's day, when it started raining, and then it rained, and rained, and rained. . . and then they heard Bill Cosby's voice saying, "Noah, can you tread water?" 'Remember that great LP from the 60s? Noah had warned them; they failed to heed the words of the man of God. Like the people of Lot's day, (Abraham's nephew), they were partying hard, and thought there was time left to repent, time to get their worlds in order . . . but there wasn't even time to turn around. 'Don't believe me? Ask Mrs. Lot--she turned around. It was final.

Jesus taught them about the WHAT WILL BE, "two people will be in bed; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left." See, here's the deal--in our relationships, we have so little right to be holding our cards in our hands, spelling out e-x-p-e-c-t-a-t-i-o-n. . . because we hold others captive to those expectations, and we often just hasten disappointment. Whereas, when God tells us something that will come to pass; it is not just an expectation but a surety that such-and-such will come to pass. Therefore keep watch--Jesus is coming back again. . . an expectation based on the words of Jesus Himself--based on the promises of God. Matthew 24, Mark 13, if you want to read more. . . powerful.

So while Jesus was the embodiment of the Kingdom of God come to earth. . . and it is ours to purpose to live out the kingdom here, while this is terra firma; there will come a day when Jesus will return--an expectation based on the prophetic words of Jesus Himself! BE READY because no man really knows the hour. and as we learned from Dr. Luke the other day, there will be no flights out of Hell. When we have made no decision for Jesus Christ, we are left with the expectation of an eternity separated from Him forever.

Expectations. . . good or bad? When we put them on people or in their behavior, we set ourselves up for disappointment; we set others up to fail. . . us. When we expect God to do what He said He will do, we call it faith.

Take Him at His word today. . .

Christine