Expectations of the Righteous

We're going to read about David who said everything's going to be all right. I mean, that would be the translation. Psalms 62, I want to speak to you tonight on the expectations of the righteous.

The expectations of the righteous. Psalms 62, we'll read the first five verses, six verses. Truly my soul waiteth upon God, from him cometh my salvation.

He only is my rock and my salvation, he is my defense. I shall not be greatly moved. How long will ye imagine mischief against a man? Ye shall be slain, all of you, as a bowing wall shall ye be and as a tottering fence.

They only consult to cast him down from his excellency. They delight in lies, they bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly. That's them.

But my soul, he said, wait thou only upon God, for my expectation is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, he is my defense. I shall not be moved.

The expectation or expectations of the righteous. Shall we bow in prayer? Lord, we thank you for ministering to us already. We thank you for those that we have interceded for and we commit them and their needs into your hands.

And now we commit this message and this moment into your hands that you would bless your people and give us a word of encouragement, give us a word in season. Lord, we look to you and we ask for your anointing to be upon us. We thank you for the way that you are ministering in every one of our services.

Thank you that you're building a body here. You're putting a people together. You're bringing a people together.

And Lord, we just pray again tonight that the word would be sealed in our hearts. Hallelujah. In Jesus' name we thank you.

Amen. Now Psalm 62 is best understood if we know the circumstances and the setting in which David wrote it. In fact, he was King David.

King David at this particular time is going through a great time of testing. It was a time of severe persecution. His kingdom was in the process of being wrestled out from underneath him, led by a revolt, led by what we would call today a political coup.

And in fact, it was his own son who was leading it. His son Absalom was bringing it about, was the cause of it. Several weeks ago I also preached about this on another psalm, other psalms that David wrote at that particular time.

But in addition to this, there were trusted friends, advisors, leaders in his government who had turned against him. If you'll see in verse 2, it says that they plot mischief against, he was talking about himself, they are plotting mischief against me. In verse 5 he says they only consult to cast him down from his excellency.

David's talking about himself. They plot to cast down David from his place as king on the throne. They delight in lies, they bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly.

In other words, David found out that some of his closest men in government, on one hand they were coming to him and smiling, they were coming to him and saying one thing to him and saying that they were loyal to him, but behind his back they were in cahoots with the enemy. And eventually they openly showed their true colors and defected to the other side, leaving David with only a few loyal supporters and he has to move out of his kingdom and he goes outside of Jerusalem, across the Jordan, and he hides out not knowing what's going to be the outcome of this revolt or this split in his kingdom. Now in those circumstances, David wrote this psalm.

And we learn something. David reveals at this time something of his character and something of the character of God. And in this psalm we see that God is more interested in the process going on in us during our testings than even the outward circumstances surrounding that test.

You see David was in a time even of physical danger. It was a time of emotional stress. He was in a perilous predicament.

And always when such trials and tests come, there is both the human side of that test and there's the spiritual side. And God is more concerned as to how we pass the spiritual and the moral testing of it. In other words, the process is more important than the outcome.

And the process has to do with our actions, our reactions, our attitudes, our faith in God, our trust in God, our expectations of God when we're going through a heavy trial. And always the outward test reveals and exposes the inner man. And David has much to teach us about dependency upon God in a time of trouble.

David's life was under attack, but his soul was not affected. His soul is strong. And as you read Psalms and you understand the setting, you find out what kind of a man of God that he was.

In one of the glimpses of David's heart and his mind and his soul is revealed in the verse 5 of Psalms 62. He says, My soul wait thou only upon God, for my expectation is from Him and I know that everything's going to be all right. A parallel, a sister Psalm.

He says in Psalms 39 7, And now, Lord, what wait I for? My hope is in thee. Now, using David as an example, let me consider with you tonight the expectations of the righteous. Now, if like David, you've had experiences that didn't turn out like you expected, how many of you had experiences, things that happened in your life, it just didn't turn out like you thought it was going to? After David was anointed king, he did not expect that he should have to go through such a trial and such a test.

No one welcomes or expects to be persecuted. No one likes to be deceived. Nobody likes to be let down.

Nobody likes to be forsaken by loyal friends. Maybe you're in the same position. Maybe you've looked to certain trusted people, even leaders to fulfill certain expectations in your life, but they did not.

Most of us know what it's like to be let down at times. And in this experience, David has a word from the Lord for us. Or what about other unfulfilled and unrealized expectations? Have you had in your life dreams or visions or desires or plans and prayers that you have prayed and you expected certain things to happen, but they did not? Unrealized expectations is often a bitter pill to swallow.

Proverbs 13 and 12 says, hope deferred makes the heart sick. But a longing fulfilled is a tree of life. Hope deferred.

I read in the paper today of a young 28-year-old woman in New Jersey. Her husband is a professional basketball player for the New Jersey Nets. She committed suicide and she left a note filled with regrets and the fact that there were unfulfilled expectations in her life.

Things didn't work out. The marriage didn't work out. She committed suicide.

The streets, the hospitals, the prisons are filled with disappointed souls. Many are bitter at society or they're bitter at something or someone because of an unmet expectation. But so it is in the church.

It's often filled with disappointed souls, believers who somehow they feel cheated and shortchanged by other believers or maybe by God. They feel even God has shortchanged them and some are angry or bitter, even backslidden as a result. During many a counseling session, I hear the story of Christians suffering from unrealized or false misplaced expectations.

And so tonight I want to consider a few of them with you. First of all, there is the expectation of Christian or in Christian service. The expectations of Christian service.

Turn with me to Exodus, the second chapter. And I want you to look at the life of Moses for a few moments. If you've ever asked God to use you, if you've ever been involved in any kind of a Christian service, you may have had or are having unrealized expectations.

Moses was a good example because his first attempt at Christian service and ministry was a total failure. It did not turn out like he hoped or expected. Read with me in Exodus, the second chapter, verse 11.

And it came to pass in those days when Moses was grown that he went out unto his brethren and looked on their burdens and he spied an Egyptian smiting and a Hebrew one of his brethren. And when he looked this way and that way and when he saw that there was no one, he slew the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. And his Christian ministry assignment, he had completed it.

And when he went out the next day to do street evangelism, behold, two men of the Hebrews strove together and he said to them, and he said to him that did the wrong, wherefore smitest thou thy fellow? I'm here to solve it. And he said, who made thee a prince and a judge over us? Intendest thou to kill me as thou killest the Egyptian? And Moses feared and said, surely this thing is known. Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses, but Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh and dwelt in the land of Midian and he sat down by a well.

Now, I want you to know that Moses had a very good beginning. He had some very fine characteristics of a willing servant. Look in verse 11.

Moses was a man of vision. He looked on their burdens. Moses saw the oppression.

He saw the injustices against the Jews and he did not turn his face aside. He looked and by the way, when he looked on them, he looked on them from a palace. He looked on them from living in Pharaoh's household and he looked out on there and he saw their burdens and he couldn't escape it, but he did more than look.

He tried to do something. It says he went out unto his brethren. Now, what more could you seemingly ask of a man than these three things that Moses did? He looked, he was burdened for his people and he went out and he tried to be of service to the Lord and to his own people, but things did not turn out like Moses expected.

It says Moses, verse 15, fled from the face of Pharaoh. Now, imagine how he must have felt. Now, not only does he not have a home to live in because he's given that up, but now his own people have rejected him and so he's without a home and he's without a people.

And now we find him in verse 15, he's sitting in Midian and he's sitting at a well and he must have wondered if getting involved in Christian service or Christian ministry is worthwhile. And he's left to lick the wounds of an unfulfilled expectation. Now, what about you? I believe that there are some of you that sit here tonight that you are dwelling spiritually in Midian, which by the way, means strife and contention.

And you're sitting at a well. You're not involved in what God would have you to do because of an unfulfilled expectation relative to Christian ministry or Christian service or your involvement in the body of Christ. You see, God is pleased with our motive to want to serve Him.

Thank God for those like Moses who look on the burdens of the lost. They look upon the burdens of believers and they want to be of service. And yet like Moses, maybe you have failed.

Maybe other people have failed you. Maybe something else happened. Things did not or are not turning out like you expected.

Now, Moses' expectations of service were not realized until he got a vision of the Lord. Moses expected that God was going to give him a place and a position of service. But first of all, he needed the preparations of his heart for service.

You see, most often our expectations as to being used of the Lord in Christian ministry or service is not realized because we keep looking for a place. We keep looking for a position. We keep looking for a task.

We keep looking for a work to do for God before getting our hearts in the right position. Do you remember when the sons of Zebedee asked their mother to line up the two top jobs in the kingdom? You talk about wanting a place, a prominent place of service. They sent their mother to appeal to Jesus and said, when you come into the kingdom, remember these two sons and put them up in the top, vice president, one secretary of state.

And Jesus said, you, and I'm going to refer to this again later. Jesus said, you know not what you ask. You see, they wanted to drink the cup of service without having drunk the cup of suffering.

And if you crave a position, if you're looking to be accepted by God or even by other people based upon service, God will never give it to you until you are fit for that service. Oh, listen, man will give it to you. Some church will come along and lay hands on you suddenly.

And the Bible says lay hands on no man suddenly. Some church will find a position, they'll find service for you, but it won't be God's doing. Because the preparations of the heart are more important than service.

They're even more important than soul winning. They're more important than any task that you do for the Lord. Look at Moses.

He served, but he served with a sword. He tries to solve problems by killing the troublemakers. And many a Christian has gone out too suddenly and too soon and they smitten their brethren and the spirit of Christ has not been in them.

And so God took Moses to the desert and he sat him down by a well and he lowered his expectations. Look at verse 16 and verse 17. He's sitting at the well and it says, now the priest of Midian had seven daughters and they came and drew water and filled the troughs to water their father's flock.

And the shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up and helped them and watered their flock. You see, Moses now is simply willing to serve. He looks for no position.

He has no position. There aren't any out at Midian. There aren't any at the well.

He's got no position, no place of prominence. He's willing to water the flocks and look at verse 21, and Moses was content to dwell in the land. And Moses spent long years in the backside of the desert, being drained of self ambition, being drained of fleshly expectations, being drained of his own ideas of how to resolve the problem of the captivity of its people.

Now it's true that Moses saw the need. He saw the burden of the people. He was willing to go, but Moses' expectation was in meeting the need, not in meeting God.

Friends, we're here in this city to meet a need, but before we can meet a need, that's why we need a place of prayer. We've got to go and get a vision of God because before we go out to meet needs, we've got to meet God. Moses expected God to bless him based upon need alone.

Listen, need does not constitute the call. Moses had to have a vision of the Lord. And so before the look of service, there must be the look of revelation.

Turn with me to the third chapter. Let's read the first four verses. Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian.

And he led the flock to the back side of the desert and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. The angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of the bush. And he looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire and the bush was not consumed.

And Moses said, I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called him out of the midst of the bush and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. You see, now Moses has the character.

He has the heart of obedience. Moses turned aside to see God. And before his eyes, you see, were on the need.

Now it's focused where it should be on the Lord. Listen, my friend, I know what I'm talking about. I spent almost 30 years in the ministry of T.N. Shalman being driven by need and it almost killed me.

Moses now has the character. This was the position that God wanted to bring Moses to. A willing heart to hear the voice of God.

And when the voice said, Moses, Moses, he responds and says, Here I am. Now, by the way, we look at this burning bush experience and we know that there was something glorious in it. But for Moses, when he turned aside to see a burning bush, it was no big deal at first.

He'd seen enough bushes. There were bushes all around and the heat would come down and cause bushes maybe to burn. There was nothing unusual at first about it.

But when the bush was not consumed, Moses realized something unusual was about to take place. And because Moses was not looking off somewhere for something glorious, he was not expecting or desiring service for the sake of service. Because of that, he was able to recognize God was manifesting Himself in the bush.

And what I mean by that is readiness for service means you got to have a right relationship with God. It does not mean we tell God where we would like to be. Too often we wait for some great opportunity, something sensational.

And when it comes, we're quick to say, Here am I, Lord. But are we ready like Moses? Are we ready in an obscure place? Are we ready for contentment and discipline and readiness of service in obscurity like Moses was? You see, the bush did not burn in Times Square. It burned first in the desert.

And readiness for service means that we're ready to do the simplest task or the great big thing. It makes no difference. If we have such a heart, the bush burns in the least unexpected places.

And you'll see God revealing himself to you and saying, All right, now you're ready. Now go out into service. Beware of the expectations of service.

Let me move on to another point, which is tied into this. And there is the expectation that we have of the servants of God. In Ephesians 4, you don't need to turn to it.

But God said that he gave gifts unto men. He gave gifts to the body of Christ. You know what those gifts were? He goes on and he explains.

What those gifts were. He gave some apostles. He gave some prophets.

He came with some evangelists. He gave some teachers. He gave some pastors.

And he said, here's the purpose that I give them. For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. Now, please follow me.

Because ministers are so much a part of assisting us in performing Christian service. It stands to reason that certain expectations are placed upon God's servants. This is scriptural.

We have been preaching about the high standard of righteousness that must come from the minister and from the pulpit and from the pastor and from the evangelist. And it has to come there first if we expect to see the fruit of the minister manifested in the people. Paul tells Timothy.

First Timothy writes and he'd hoped to come to him. He said, but I may not get there. But in the meantime, he said, I'm writing to you that you may know how you ought to behave yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God and the pillar and ground of the truth.

And throughout Paul's epistle to Timothy and to Titus and other epistles, he addresses himself to the standard of behavior required of men of God. And we can expect rightly so. We can expect that servants of God are to live a holy and righteous life because we are to be living epistles known and read of all men.

I used to teach something to the fellows that when I was teaching and first went into this ministry of teen challenge, I used to teach the fellows this in the center. I used to say it all. Occasionally I would say this.

Now I'd say, don't look at man because man will fail you. Look to God. Well, that's all right for a new believer, but it's not all right for, in general teaching, because there is a responsibility.

There is a responsibility of the minister. And we've been laying that out. We've been sharing that from this pulpit.

The church today, as well as the world is littered with wounded hearts because the minister did not live up to biblical expectations. The church did not live up to godly expectations and failed to live out its message. And our office receives many letters.

We don't bring some of those letters to share with you. They're too personal. But letters we receive of those who have been let down by a shepherd, been wounded by a shepherd.

They put reasonable expectations in their pastor or in their leader. And those expectations were not fulfilled. Now, this is not an indictment against all ministers.

We're ministers as well. But just as the Bible does not hide the failures of men, especially ministers, neither can we. And so there are certain expectations, legitimate expectations.

There's a standard of the ministry that we must live up to. But not only is there the problem of unfulfilled expectations due to the failure or to the fall of the servants of God, but there is a problem of misplaced expectations in ministers and among other Christians in general. You see, some ministers fail because of sin.

Others fail because unrealistic expectations are placed upon them. Acts 14, 11 says, and when the people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voice as saying in the speech of Lyconia, the gods are come down to us in the likeness of men. Now, aren't we seeing the same thing today? You know, in the movie industry and in the television industry, it has created secular heroes, celebrities, but we have done the same thing in the Christian realm.

We've done it with Christian television. We've done it with musicians. We've done it with others.

And when the early church put an unhealthy expectation upon Paul or Apollos and other ministers, Paul writes and he says, that's carnal. He said, it's a mark of a baby Christian to exalt men. Turn with me if you want to the first Corinthians, the third chapter.

You that have known the Lord, you that have been walking with the Lord, this is familiar to you. First Corinthians, the third chapter and the fifth verse, Paul has to write and he says, who then is Paul? Talking about himself, who then is Paul? Who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed. Now it doesn't say in whom, it says by whom.

Even as the Lord gave to every man, he said, I have planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. Go down to verse nine. He says, but we are laborers together with God.

Ye are God's husbandry. Ye are God's building. Let me ask you tonight this, whose building are you? On what foundation are you building your life? Are you a reflection of some church? Are you just a reflection of some denomination? Are you a reflection of some teacher or some teaching? Or are you a reflection of Jesus Christ? And Paul says, for other foundation could no man lay that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Beware of who you're putting your hopes and your expectations upon. Because Paul goes on, he says, they're going to come a day when every man's work shall be made manifest. For the day shall declare it because it shall be revealed by fire and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.

If any man's work abide which he hath built upon, he shall receive a reward. And my friend, we're trying to minister to you in this church so that when the fire comes, you're on a solid foundation and you can stand and you can say, everything's gonna be all right. Hallelujah.

And I'm not talking about an emotion. I'm talking about a foundation. Hallelujah.

I'm not talking about rhetoric. I'm not talking about courses. I'm not talking about phrases that we have.

I'm talking about a hard experience that you can stand. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord. Number three, there is the expectations that we have of the Lord or the Savior. First is the expectations of service, the expectation of the servants of God.

And let me talk to you about expectations we have of the Savior, the Lord. Turn to John chapter 21. John chapter 21 is an account of Peter in a state of discouragement.

He's in defeat. He's in disappointment because he has not lived up, first of all, to his own expectations. And he has experienced unrealistic expectations of the outcome of Christ's kingdom.

Now, please follow me because if you don't get anything else here tonight, if nothing else applied to you, this is going to apply to every one of you. Peter struggles over what he sees as the failed mission of the Savior. And in chapter 21, he's gone fishing.

And this is a time after the resurrection. I mean, if anybody should be walking in victory, it should be Peter and the disciples because the Lord has already appeared to them. He's shown them his hands, his nail-scarred hands.

He's appeared to them. He's already been resurrected. And you would think that they would be on cloud nine, but instead they're out fishing.

Why? I believe because Peter struggles over what he sees as the failed mission of the Savior. Peter is feeling the disappointment of unfulfilled expectations. You see, the disciples in following Jesus, in following Christ, they saw his coming and his salvation, not only in spiritual terms, they also saw it in earthly terms, in materialistic terms, in political terms, in economic terms.

In other words, they thought that Jesus was going to come down and set up the millennium. And that's why they wanted and had the argument as to when we kick those Romans out of office, which one of us is going to be number two. And that's why that argument was so important to them.

The disciples were what we call today kingdom now people. And there are various actions of the disciples to indicate that they were looking for this earthly kingdom. There was an occasion when Jesus told the story of a rich man who wanted to get to heaven.

And I think you're familiar with the story. He saw that this man had made an idol, had turned riches into idolatry. And so he said to him, sell everything that you have.

And he went on to say how difficult it is for a rich man to get to heaven. And the disciples were amazed. They were gasped.

They said, oh my good. No, how can this be? Because they were expecting to come in to their kingdom. They were expecting not only were they going to come and take over the throne, but they were going to take over the treasury as well.

And when Jesus said, it's hard for a rich man to get in the kingdom, they said, wait a minute, we're going to come into the kingdom. We're going to be rich men. We come into the kingdom.

And he said, it's hard for a rich man to get in the kingdom. And this is what they said. Then Peter answered and said unto him, behold, we have forsaken all and followed thee.

What shall we have therefore? Do you know what that means? What we shall have therefore? In other words, what's going to be our reward for following you? What's left for us? What's it going to be worth for us in following you? Aren't we going? Jesus had just blown their whole prosperity theology. He blew kingdom theology out the door and they were amazed. Even when Jesus was about to ascend up to the father, again, Acts 1, 6, they asked the same question and said, will thou at this time is now the hour when you're going to restore the kingdom to Israel? See, this was the reason for Peter going fishing.

He expected a different outcome from following Jesus. And I dare say that there may be some of you tonight who know what Peter feels like. Have you ever had the same feelings about your walk with the Lord? Have certain things happened or not happened that have left you disappointed and wondering and disillusioned and questioning and doubting God? Perhaps life has not gone the way that you've expected it in your career.

Maybe it's not gone the way you expected it in your job or your marriage or your church life or whatever. And as a result, you can be like Peter. You can be carrying a known or unknown root of bitterness or disappointment towards the savior.

Acts 21 and 23 says, and they went forth and entered into a ship immediately. And that night they caught nothing. And you see, that's the very point where Jesus had called Peter out of a boat.

The first time he called him out of his boat to follow Jesus. And now Peter's back to square one because it didn't work out like he thought it would work out. Then I ask you tonight, are you spiritually in a place like Peter? Are there unrealized expectations, unfulfilled dreams, unfulfilled desires, prayers that have not been answered? You counted on something happening and God has not answered.

And maybe your walk with God tonight is hindered because of it. You're like Peter. And tonight, if you need freed from an unrealized expectation, you have to do what Peter did.

Peter repented. Peter dealt with it. Peter was not fully able to love and trust the Lord until he confessed his sin of disappointment.

Follow it with me. Look at it. Look at it with me, if you will.

Verse 15, chapter 21. It says, So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than this? And he said unto him, Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, feed my lambs.

He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonah, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. I saith unto thee, feed my sheep. And he said to him the third time.

By now, Peter is a little bit irritated. And Simon, son of Jonah, lovest thou me? And Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, lovest thou me? And he said to him, Lord, thou knowest all things. Thou knowest that I love thee.

Jesus saith unto him to feed my sheep. Now, let me explain to you something that's going on here in the Greek. That third no is different.

When Jesus responded, when Peter responded to Jesus, he said, Lord, you know? The first two times, the no meant past tense. He said, Lord, you know? In the past, I follow you. But Jesus was searching deeper.

He knew that Peter was in that boat. He knew that Peter was disappointed with him. He knew that Peter did not love him unreservedly.

He knew that Peter had unrealized expectations. And he says to Peter again, do you love me? And this time Peter says, Lord, you know all things. You know what's in my heart right now.

And he lays it before the Lord and says, yes, Lord, I confess. I confess my disappointment in you. And in that confession and in his grief, there was a repentant heart.

And God saw his repentance and said, okay, now, Peter, you can go out and feed my sheep. And when Jesus sees that Peter will love him unreservedly, with no questions asked, with no conditions, with no earthly ambitions, no fleshly expectations, then Peter's heart is cleansed. Then Peter is ready for ministry.

And that's where Peter comes to the place that David had come. In Psalm 62, look at it again. Truly my soul waiteth upon God.

From him cometh my salvation. He only, David says three times in the Psalms, he only, he only, nobody else. He only, all of my expectations are in him.

Even though David didn't know if he's gonna get back into the kingdom or not. Even though he didn't know whether, what the outcome was, no. He said, everything's gonna come all right because my expectation is in the Lord.

He probably sang, turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in his wonderful face and the things of this earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace. One more, turn with me to it.

Psalm 16, I gotta close very quickly. Psalm 16, I better turn to it. Psalm 16, verses five and six.

And the Lord is a portion of mine inheritance and of my cup. Thou maintainest my lot. The lines are fallen unto me in a pleasant place.

Yea, I have a goodly heritage. Verse eight, I have set the Lord always before me because he is at my right hand. I shall not be moved.

Therefore my heart is glad in my glory, rejoices my flesh also shall rest in hope. But I like the sixth verse. It says the lines are fallen unto me in a pleasant place.

Yea, I have a goodly heritage. You know, every day now I pick up the New York Times and I see that the lines have fallen into America in a very unpleasant place. On the front page, you will see the lines of the stock market.

They go like this all the time. The lines aren't very good. But you see, when I get up in the morning and I pick up my Bible, the line goes straight up, hallelujah, because my expectation is in him.

Do you know what the word line there means? The word expectation is the same as line. It means cord. It means the line of a scarlet thread.

The line are my, the line are my hopes. They're stretched out unto him and from him back to me. And David declares that whatever his circumstances are, however they may vary, the cord of hope binds him to the Lord.

In everything and everywhere, there is that outstretched. He said the line of hope, my expectation, it stretches wherever I go. You work in a tough job, the line is there, hallelujah.

You're in a tough marriage, the line is there, hallelujah. It's a cord of hope. All your expectations are to be in him.

Proverbs 23, 18 says, thine expectation shall not be cut off, hallelujah. Let me give you a couple of illustrations in closing. One of our Teen Challenge graduates left Teen Challenge, got a job, settled into town, and got a job.

It was about five miles away to where he worked. He had no car. So he had to depend on other people that drive him back and forth.

Sometimes he'd walk a few miles, hitchhike a ride, get a ride the rest of the way home. Sometimes he'd have to walk the whole way. And when he'd be walking, he'd be complaining.

And he said, in essence, he was saying, Lord, this is not what I expected. He complained bitterly to the Lord until one day he was walking and the spirit of God spoke to him. And he just began to focus on the goodness of the Lord.

And he said, my goodness, what's wrong with it? I'm complaining. When what the Lord has done for me, number one, I got a job. The other side one.

I give my wife and I give my daughter permission. If they ever see their father or whenever, not if ever, whenever, they see their father rising up in self-will and his eye problem manifesting itself in the home. I give my wife and I give my daughter.

I may be sorry for this, but I said, I prayed about this. Got my health. I got legs to walk on.

I got a paycheck. I got a place to live. He said, Lord, oh, I thank you.

And he began to turn his eyes upon the Lord. About two days later, somebody gave him a car. He gets in the car and the spirit of God spoke to him and said, you know, you could have had that car a long time ago.

All I was waiting for is for you to put your expectation in me and not in the car. And then everything would have been all right. The reason I shared with you about Peter's love, the Lord challenging Peter's love.

Let me close with one more personal illustration. A number of years ago, my oldest daughter was just, I don't know if she was eight, nine, 10. It was in the seventies in a period of economic growth.

And it was during that time that brother ministering and he put out a message in his monthly letters warning that recession and judgment was, but it also talked about, it stirred her up. We could heard this, but just for some reason, that particular message, just for days and weeks, and they got closer to Christmas. In fact, it was just a few days before Christmas, putting some Christmas gifts out in the living room under a Christmas tree.

And little Christie was watching this and she started to talk again about, and she looked at my wife, putting those gifts down and she thought about that truth. And she looked and she thought, and she says, mommy, then she says, but you know, mommy, you think that Jesus could wait till I reacted just like you did until I put the phone down and the spirit of God said to me, what? I didn't know what the Lord meant. And for two days, I searched my heart back to me.

What are you laughing at? And then the Lord showed me, he said, your expectation is all taken up. In your ministry, in Teen Challenge, in this project. Oh, not in the Word, not in sin.

No, but it was all taken up and all of these other things. And it wasn't. And the Lord showed me that my expectation more was on this earth, even earth, even the things of God and was not in him.

And I said, oh Lord, yes, you're right. The psalmist said, whom have I in heaven but thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee. My flesh and my heart faileth but God is a strength of my heart and my portion forever.

And the Lord was trying to teach me through a little girl what David learned. My soul wait thou only upon God for my expectation is from him. Shall we pray? Shall we pray? All right.

Hebrews 3.14. Somebody volunteer for that, Joe. First Peter 5.9. First Peter 5.9, Tom. Okay.

And then Colossians 2.5. Colossians 2.5. And have that ready a little bit later. But Psalm 78, verse 34. This is a, this Psalm is a history.