Bible Text:

“Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these…”                                                             (John14:12)

Eleven-year-old Angela had a debilitating disease of the nervous system. She was unable to walk. Her movements were very restricted, and the doctors were pessimistic about her overall recovery. She would probably be confined to a wheelchair for the remainder of her life. Very few people ever regained their motor skills after this particular affliction. 

But Angela was undaunted. She would not accept the prognosis. Eventually she was transferred to a rehabilitation hospital in the San Francisco Bay area. Every form of known therapy was used. She was even taught imaging exercises. She was taught to close her eyes and see herself walking in her mind’s eye. She worked hard and she retained a positive spirit through the ups and downs. 

One day, while straining to imagine moving her legs, a “miracle” happened. The bed moved. In fact, the bed moved all around the room. Angela screamed, “Look! Look! I can do it! I moved! I moved!” As it turned out, everything in the hospital moved. There was a San Francisco earthquake. But Angela was convinced that she did it. Now, a few years later, she is back in school and walking again.

 The power of expectation—of an expectant spirit—in the human condition is amazing. Expectation is a strong, vital, God-given life force. 

I’m not talking here just about optimism. “Optimism is an 80-year-old man married to a 30-year-old woman who buys a 12-room house next to a grade school.” Expectation is on a much higher plane than that.  

This past week Governor Ed Rendell spoke at his inauguration. He said, “I expect that this time next year it will be an all-Pennsylvania Super Bowl—the Philadelphia Eagles against the Pittsburgh Steelers.” That’s another kind of expectation. It’s not particularly unhealthy, but neither is it exactly what I’m referring to this morning. 

Then there’s the story of the three fathers in the paternity waiting room. After a while a nurse comes in and says to the first father, “Congratulations, sir, your wife just gave birth to twins.”

 “Twins? Oh my goodness!” he replied. “But you know, that may be appropriate. I happen to work for the Doubleday Book Company.”

A short time later another nurse came in and said to the second father, “Congratulations, sir, your wife just gave birth to triplets.”

 “Oh my, triplets!” he exclaimed. “But you know, that may be appropriate too. I happen to work for the 3M Company.” 

At that point the third father got up and bolted out of the room. “Where are you going?” the other two asked. 

“I’m leaving,” he replied. “I now understand how this works. I happen to be a supervisor for the 7-Up Bottling Company.”

 What is your expectation level this morning? Do you expect that we will ever be warm again outside? Will the temperature ever go above freezing? Are you a high expectation person, or a low expectation person? Someone said that a low expectation person is someone who watches a football game between Southern Methodist and Notre Dame and doesn’t care who wins. 

Christian believers are called to a high expectation lifestyle. This is the season of Epiphany—the story of the Wise Men. The Biblical narrative indicates that the Wise Men followed the star for a long time because they expected that at the end point something significant would happen. They expected that at the end, some life-changing experience would appear. The story of the Magi is only one of many high expectation narratives in the Scriptures.

Faith builds expectation. I came across this quotation recently in an issue of Newscope. 

Religious teens are more positive about life, according to findings by the National Study of Youth and Religion.  The four-year, Lilly Endowment-funded research project showed that 12^th graders who attend religious services at least weekly and view their religion as important also had a higher self-esteem and a more positive attitude about life in general when contrasted with their less-religious peers.[i]

 I call you today to high expectation living as a community of believers. 

JESUS FOSTERS HIGH EXPECTATION LIVING

 I call you to this because Jesus fosters high expectation living. This past Tuesday the staff and I were reading through one of the stories in the 7^th chapter of Luke. A group of fishermen had fished all night and caught nothing. Jesus tells them to push out into deep water and let down their nets. They were highly skeptical, but because it was Jesus, they just knew they had to do it. The result was two huge boatloads of fish. 

I’m not exactly sure, but I think it might have been Jesus’ disciples who coined the expression, “Yeah, right.” Let down your nets and put out into deeper water, and see if you don’t catch fish. “Yeah, right.” If you believe in me, you will not only do the works that I do, but you will also do greater things than these. “Yeah, right.” 

But that’s the level of expectation for followers of Jesus. That’s the message. It is both humbling and challenging at the same time.

 At one point, the New Testament has an interesting comment for those who are in anticipation of Jesus. The comment is this: “All the people were on tiptoe of expectation.”[ii] There was a rising tide, a groundswell of anticipation and expectation. That’s the way we are called to live. 

A friend of mine has a special slogan for his larger membership church. It is based on the text for today. The slogan is this: “Expect greater things, grow greater things, do greater things."”

 Barbara was a 31-year-old wife and mother of three small children. She was staring at possible thyroid cancer. She was also a Christian and had a good familiarity with the gospels. She knew the story of the woman in a crowd of people who reached out and touched the hem of Jesus’ robe, thereby finding healing from her affliction.

 Barbara was active in her Episcopalian/Anglican church. In many ways she saw her priest as someone who was a representative of Jesus in her life. One Sunday during Communion she decided to touch his robe imperceptibly as he passed by to serve her. Not only did she touch his robe, but he also stopped and laid hands on her head, praying for her healing. Listen to the rest of the story.

 After receiving the Communion wine, Barbara stood up at the altar. “I was so overwhelmed with God’s love that I knew I was healed,” she said. “My healing wasn’t physical at that point, but my heart was healed. I wasn’t anxious or afraid or doubtful or sad at all. I had complete trust in God and his love, something he knew I needed far more than any other kind of healing at that moment.” 

A few weeks after her healing at the altar rail, Barbara’s surgery revealed that the lump [on her neck] was indeed thyroid cancer. She went through treatments then, and six months later for a recurrence. Somehow the medical treatments, too, seemed to be directly from God. “I felt that God had simply completed a healing he had started at the altar at church.”

 Today, Barbara is healthy and leads a full and prayerful life. Her youngest child is in college; the God-given sense of assurance she received many years ago as the mother of three young children has been borne out in her life.[iii] 

Jesus fosters high expectation living. 

THE CHURCH IS A HIGH EXPECTATION COMMUNITY

 The church of Jesus is therefore meant to be a high expectation community. If we are worthy of Jesus’ name, we reflect high expectation living.

 I frankly expect many things through this church in the next few years. In all truth, there will probably be more things arise than I can finish. But it’s still very exciting. 

For all the years that I have been here we have known about a two plus acre piece of property across Highland Road and slightly to the east of us. In the last five years there has been a lot of encouragement to try to buy that property. We’ve had ups and downs, we’ve had roadblocks and openings. But finally this past fall, a very definite “yes” came through. Not only did we get it for a good price, but we also received an unexpected and very generous gift from one of our members for half the cost of the property.

 People now say to me, “Brian, what will we do with the property?” The answer is, “I frankly don’t know.” However, my expectation is that it will be good. I know enough about how God works to have high expectations.

 Let me tell you something about satellite ministry this morning. The future of the large membership church may very well lie in satellite ministries. We have one primary location (here at 44 Highland Road). We might have many satellite worshiping congregations. They are all part of one congregation, but they may have differing styles. That’s the growing edge. That’s where change is coming. 

Someone has said that change is inevitable except from vending machines. I think change is inevitable in the life of the church. During the past 50 years large churches planted new congregations. That’s the way this church was born, 53 years ago. However, in the next 25 years, large membership churches will establish satellite worshiping congregations.

 Satellites! Some people say we can’t do that here. But consider this quotation: “Nothing is so embarrassing as watching someone do something you said couldn’t be done.” 

I learned over 22 years ago to hold great expectations in faith in this place. Consider our youth ministry. We are the only church I know with 60 or 70 youth singing every Sunday morning of the school year. And each year we send 3 or 4 youth to some remote part of the world on a mission of peace.

 Consider our singles ministry. Our singles ministry is so well established and so well operated that it is a ministry where persons who are recently divorced or separated or widowed are referred by therapists and physicians in the area. The fact that it is a faith-based singles ministry makes it all that much more intriguing and effective.

 Consider healthcare. Two years ago we brought a parish nurse on staff. I had no idea where parish nursing might go. Today there are 40 or 50 people who offer an extension of congregational care in our Health and Welfare ministries. Health ministry is doing more than I ever imagined.

 Consider our foodservice ministry (Round Table). Ten years ago if you had told me we would have a full-time foodservice in this church I probably would have said, “Yeah, right.” Today we have not only a full-time chef but also a hospitality coordinator. Our food ministry is among the best across the church. It reflects the New Testament ministry of Jesus among the people. 

Consider outreach. Today we are reaching farther and deeper into this community and around the world than I ever expected.

 All this is because God has high expectations for us, with us and in us. This is a high expectation church. And hear me on this: I am not speaking here in terms of demands. I am speaking in terms of reaching into the inner life and then reaching out to touch the world.

 Some of you have heard me tell the story of two fishermen who were out on a dock one day. They were separated by 20 or 30 yards. One fisherman noticed that the other was pulling in a lot of fish but he was only keeping the small fish. If he ever caught a large fish, he would throw it back into the water. Time after time this happened. Finally the first fisherman walked over to the other and said, “I have to ask you a question. I notice you are throwing the big fish back into the water, and keeping the small fish. Why in the world would you do that?”

 Replied the second fisherman, “Because I only have a 10-inch skillet.” 

High expectation people have more than a 10-inch skillet.

 Live expectantly. That’s both challenge and good news. It’s both a call and a gift. Remember the words of Jesus, “If you believe in me, you will do the works that I do. In fact, you will do even greater things.”

 What a marvelous note on which to receive new members today. What a marvelous opportunity for this community of believers.

 Live expectantly! Thanks be to God.