The Anticipation

What are you expecting… and how much are you expecting it?

Supernatural salutations unto you, my precious and highly treasured Beloved Family. I need to express to you how blessed and nourished my heart was to be with y’all on Sunday and the experiences we shared together in that time were of great value. I pray that your opinion upon reflection is the same. It is in that place of unity that Jesus can literally do anything our hearts desire together… or anticipate.

Romans 8:18-21 BSB
I consider that our present sufferings are not comparable to the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the revelation of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not by its own will, but because of the One who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.

This is an excerpt from the eternally famous and enormously powerful Romans chapter eight. You have likely heard me comment on many occasions about the personal and radical effects that this subset of scripture has had on Kay and me. It is just one of those places in the Holy cannon that is never very far from my heart and meditations, because of how overwhelmingly impacting and overflowing in truth these precious words are.

My intent here is to draw your attention to the spiritual force of, “anticipation,” and the beneficial fruits that can grow on its lovely branches. As we get deeper into this Great Awakening, it is going to become more incumbent for us to hang on tightly to the promises and hope of God. I tell our Grace Group pretty frequently, when I give them information updates about the things going on in the world and news cycles, that it will likely get worse in our nation before it gets better. We have just begun this spiritual war, fighting for the Holy Cause of Liberty and the righteousness in the Kingdom of our King, Jesus. I know that does not tickle your ears or give you warm fuzzies to hear, but it is nevertheless true. There is hardship, persecution, suffering, and, potentially, even some pain ahead for the remnant of sincere believers.

Just typing those words is difficult for me because I am a person of eternal hope and divine optimism. I KNOW that the plans that my Good Father has for me are plans of, “good and not of evil to give us an expected end,” (Jeremiah 29:11). Yet, Jesus prophesied that there would be a, “falling away,” and a, “pruning,” that was necessary for the purity of His Bride (the Church, the Ekklesia) to be exposed. There will be some who just will not have the resolve, the love, the commitment, and the tenacity to, “overcome,” when these fiery trials come upon them. I pray for these people as Jesus did for Peter that their, “faith fail not.” We are discipling and preparing a people, here at Beloved, who have the virtues of Christ and the hearts of heroes… please allow the Spirit to finish what has been started in the depths of your soul.

In the above text, let us break down some awesome things hidden in plain sight.

• “I consider that our present sufferings are not comparable to the glory that will be revealed in us.” There is a ton here that we could spend vast amounts of time on, but please notice the tiny word, “in,” there. These dark, punishing, and painful times that we are presently experiencing will have the effect of super-charging the glory IN us. We do not need God to send more down… He will not make us pray for more… He does not force us to beg Jesus or others… but He desires for His glory to be revealed IN us. A phenomenal truth being exposed here is that the trials, persecutions, and afflictions of this life present the opportunity of making us bitter or better. Make us failures or fortunate. Make us overwhelmed or overcomers. This dark world truly needs the glory in us to get out of us… like really NEEDS this to happen; especially in this broken, wicked, and confused society that has been developed by anti-Christ leaders and philosophies.
• “The creation waits in eager expectation for the revelation of the sons of God.” We could take this, “revelation,” in two different directions, and I believe them both to have truth and value. It could be that we are a generation in serious need of having a revelation of our identity, calling, and divine destiny to explode inside of us because the whole cosmos is ANTICIPATING us to be who we were created to be! Or… it could mean that the whole of creation is eagerly ANTICIPATING that we, the people of God, the chosen generation, the royal priesthood, the peculiar ones to expose, or reveal, our divine nature to it. I honestly can, and do, interpret it both ways depending on the context and application of that precious promise. Either way, your ANTICIPATION should be jacked-up sky-high for the sake of the whole world. Everyone and everything is fervently and enthusiastically awaiting us to rip open our Clark Kent dress shirt to reveal that massive, “S,” on our chest that will bring them a Savior with Salvation.
• “For the creation was subjected to futility, not by its own will, but because of the One who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.” God, in His infinite wisdom, bound all of creation together (in hope) to the decisions, authority, and consequences of Adam, the first man. This was to bring accountability and unity to the totality of the work of God’s magnificent words and hands. This may seem a bit unfair to the innocent kitty-cat who was born into a sinful world six-thousand years later, but that is a shallow rendering of the complexity of the effects of the Gospel. If everything was subjected to the consequences of the first Adam, then, by default, EVERYTHING must be subjected to the conquering of the Last Adam, Jesus! The hope-filled ANTICIPATION, eagerly awaiting you and me to rescue them is herein declared to be a necessary part of our Great Commission. That is why we are commanded to preach the Gospel to, “all of creation”… and if necessary, use words! And don’t even get me started on the, “glorious freedom,” part because you know that stirs me up like the propeller of a nuclear submarine.

Beloved family and friends, do not let the debilitating and fear-mongering news cycles have even the slightest effect on your settled heart. They are busy right now with wars and rumors of wars, even so much so as to be threatening a nuclear holocaust, Armageddon, and World War III. I can adamantly and confidently declare to you all that God has a plan and He will not be defeated by measly, weak, and wicked humans. Stay close to His heart, His Word, and His Spirit so that you can navigate these tenuous times in victory and peace.

Psalm 40:5
Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders You have done, and the plans You have for us–none can compare to You–if I proclaim and declare them, they are more than I can count.

Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

Psalm 34:19
Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all. 

(Do you know what ALL means in the Hebrew…?)

These   are shouting words!

I adore you!
Steve