Dedicated To The Men of God Who Preach the Word of God As It Is To Men As They Are

"Preach The Word"

WHAT DOES THE LORD EXPECT
"From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. "
Hebrews 10:13

THE Bible has much to say about the present ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. The disciples
saw the Lord being taken up into heaven, and a cloud received Him out of their sight (Acts
1:9). What is the Lord doing now beyond the cloud? We know that He has gone to prepare a
place for us (John 14:2). We know also that He now appears in the presence of God for us (I
John 2:1). We know, in addition, that He is making intercession for us (Heb. 7:25). He is there
to answer the accusations made against His people on earth by Satan, who is the accuser of
the brethren before God (Rev. 12:9-10). But our Lord is doing more. He is awaiting the great
day of final victory, when all His enemies shall become His footstool. But He is expecting
certain things to take place now. For instance, He is
expecting:

I. OUR SALVATION
He expects people to be saved. He died for us. "He shall see of the travail of his soul, and
shall be satisfied" (Isa. 53:11). This is the basis for the message of the gospel. "[Christ], after
he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down" (Heb. 10:12). When does a man sit
down? Only when his work is finished. Christ accomplished a perfect work when He died on
the cross and rose again. It was a work never to be repeated; indeed, it never could be
repeated. Every day in the temple, morning and evening, a oneyear-old lamb without spot or
blemish was presented as a burnt offering (vs. 11). In addition, all day there were the meat
offerings and drink offerings. Moffat describes them as "the Levitical drudges." But we know
that;
Not all the blood of beasts
On Jewish altars slain
Could give the guilty conscience peace,
Or wash away the stain.
Christ dealt with the stain of guilt at Calvary. "For by one offering he hath perfected for ever
them that are sanctified" (Heb. 10:14). Because of the work that Christ has done, He expects
men and women to appropriate its benefits and enter into the joy of salvation. He is also
expecting:

II. OUR SANCTIFICATION
Salvation is Christ for me, or how I may be accepted. Sanctification is Christ in me, or how I
may be acceptable. Salvation is what Christ has done for me. Sanctification is what Christ is
doing in me. To be justified is to be reckoned holy. To be sanctified is to become holy. "God
blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it" (Gen. 2:3). That is, God set it apart for a holy
purpose. Practical sanctification is a daily separation from all evil things and ways. The crisis of
sanctification ushers in a process which does not end until the believer is with his Lord. There
is a progressive work of sanctification to be experienced daily by the activating power of the
Word of God in the believer's heart as the Word is believed and applied (I Pet. 2:2; Rom.
10:17). God has set us apart for a holy purpose. The Lord will help us, as we pray and obey, to
fulfill His purpose in us. He is also expecting:

III. OUR SERVICE
Christ is expecting our loyal service. His command is, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the
gospel" (Mark 16:15). How little has been accomplished over these two thousand years!
Communism has been on the rampage in the world for less than fifty years, and already its flag
flies over one-third of the world. It took communism just four years to capture China. Instead of
singing, "Count your blessings, name them one by one," we might sing,
Count your duties,
Name them one by one.
And it will surprise you
What the Lord wants done.
His promise is, "Go ye; and Lo, I am with you alway" (Matt. 28:19, 20). If we are ready to go
across the street or across the ocean, we can claim His promise and the consciousness of His
presence. Failure to obey His command leaves us unguarded and ungirded by His presence
and power. To disobey His command is just plain sin. Obedience is essential. We are called
upon to obey God's gospel (Rom. 1:5). We are to obey God's Word (I John 5:3). We are to
obey God's Son (II Cor. 10:5). We are to obey God's voice (Acts 5:29). We must understand
that the objects demanding obedience are clearly defined in the Scriptures. There's a day
coming when all mankind will obey Him "whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all
dominions shall serve and obey him" (Dan. 7:27). Obedience to the Word of God always
brings blessing. The early disciples were honored and blessed by the Lord because of their
simple obedience to the clear commands of God. They did not feel His commands were hard
to obey. They experienced God's blessing from day to day, and the result was that "the Lord
added to the church daily such as should be saved" (Acts 2:47). It is a good thing for the saints
of God to gather for Bible study. It is good for the saints to pray. But if these spiritual activities
are not accompanied by personal obedience to the Word of God, we have merely performed
an empty ritual. Obedience to the Word of God will lead us into service for the Lord that is
always divinely honored and blessed. God also expects:

IV. OUR SURRENDER
Christ waits and He wants to reach out through us to touch other lives. Our surrender to Him
places us in the open hands of Christ. Then He can take us, mold us, and fit us for any service.
We dare not hold back. He wants no resistance from the instrument that He is preparing for
His service. In the Old Testament, when the potter was making the clay ready for His purpose,
he saw that there were no pebbles to mar it when it was being formed on the potter's wheel.
Let there be nothing in our lives which would make it impossible for Christ's will to be fulfilled in
our lives. Partial surrender is no surrender at all. Christ works only through men and women
who are abandoned to Him. We must place ourselves completely and perpetually at His

disposal. This is what Christ is expecting as He is now seated at the Father's right hand. This
is what the apostle called for when he said, "Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable unto God" (Rom. 12:1). Anything less than full surrender is not acceptable to God.
Is God getting what He expects from us? Is He getting from us what His finished work has
enabled us to do - to live a sanctified life of service and surrender?

Sermon by Dr. Andrew Telford