Broken Expectations - God can fix them

BROKEN EXPECTATIONS

God Can Fix Them
By Pastor Gerard Keens-Douglas, St. George's Evangelical Church

Phil.1:12-21

EXPECTATIONS: We all have them

 •        Successful careers
•        Recognition and Respect from others
•        People to be nice to us
•        Good Health
•        Enough money
•        Steady job
•        Great Family
•        Sweet children
 Very often life’s experiences shatters our Hopes, fractures our dreams and diminishes our Expectations. 

How often we hear people say:

•        I thought I had found love…
•        Never saw this coming…
•        Boy, people really change…
•        He said he loved me…
•        What were you thinking…
•        I guess life or God had other plans…

LEARNING FROM A CHAMP

 Paul faced broken Expectations and Triumphed.
o  Unwelcomed Place — Prison
o  Unsupportive People
o  Uncertain Future
Paul teaches us how to cope with the pit-falls of broken dreams and life’s disappointments.

WHAT ARE THE PIT-FALLS OF BROKEN EXPECTATIONS?

People Become:
Discouraged
(Jonah, Elijah, John the Baptist)

Depressed
“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when desire comes it is a tree of life”
— Pro13:12
 “A merry heart does good as a medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones”
— Pro17:22

Disobedient
Living with the survival instinct.

Difficult (to live with)
Critical, complaining.

Distant
Ready to give-up, to leave, Life in the Spirit goes, focus change from God to people, hurts, self-pity.

DEALING WITH BROKEN EXPECTATIONS

Develop An Attitude Of Grace (Vs.12-14)
•        Look for the good in every disappointment
•        What can you celebrate?
•        How is this working for my or someone else’s good?
•        Joseph in Egypt, “God intended it for good…”

Develop An Attitude Of Joy  (vv.15-18)
•        “I Rejoice and will Rejoice” v.18
•        Sometimes my pain fulfills God’s purpose.
•        People can be encouraged, and empowered

Develop An Attitude Of Joy  (Vs.15-18)
•        Souls may be saved
•        Lives may be turned around as people watch you endure and stand strong.

Develop An Attitude Of Trust:
•        Trust God’s Sovereignty
•        God is in control, working in me, working His perfect will.
•        “For it is God who works in you to accomplish His will and good purpose”
— Phil.2.13

Develop An Attitude Of Trust:
•        Trust God’s Love
•        God is your Father, and he will always care for you
•        God loves you even when you don’t understand his ways and plans
 “God works all things together for good to those who love Him, who are called according to His Purpose” — Rom 8:28

Trust God’s Wisdom
•        If I trust God’s judgment he will make a way.
•        Heaven is not short on miracles
•        God is not too weak so as to manifest His power in my life.
•        Your faith has a chance to grow, to see God at work. 

A FINAL WORD
•        Hold your example
•        Look for encouragement
•        Recalibrate your expectations
•        Look for opportunities to serve others and show god’s grace in your life.

20 For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die. 21 For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better.
Philippians 1:20-21 (NLT)

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.
Ephesians 3:20

For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.
Philippians 4:13

And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:19