Expecting the Expected Part 2
Download MP3Welcome to a place of peace, hope, and divine encouragement. This is Joy In Every Step with your host, beloved preacher, retired teacher, and faithful faithful servant of the Lord, Sarita Bernadette. Each week, Sarita shares heartfelt messages rooted in the Word of God, filled with wisdom, joy, and the gentle reminder that God cares deeply for you. Whether you're walking through the valleys or dancing on the mountaintops, Sarita's voice will guide you back to his promises step by step. So open your heart, settle your spirit, and take the next step in faith with Joy In Every Step.
Sarita Bernadette:Hi, I'm Sarita Bernadette, and welcome back to another episode of Joy In Every Step. I'm glad you're here. Last week, we shared on the topic expecting the unexpected. Specifically, we revisited the story of Elizabeth and Mary. Mary, the mother of Jesus, and her cousin Elizabeth.
Sarita Bernadette:You'll recall Mary was told through an angel that she would be the mother of the savior of the world, and at the same time, the spirit revealed to her that her cousin Elizabeth was also with child. When Mary went to visit Elizabeth, they greeted one another and the baby in Elizabeth's womb leaped. We know that baby was John the Baptist. Both women were experiencing miraculous pregnancies and both believed what God had promised them. We continue with the topic expecting the unexpected in this episode.
Sarita Bernadette:First Corinthians two and nine reads, But as it is written, what no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love Him. Beloved, human instinct seems to have the need to figure things out. Am I talking to anybody out there? In this verse, Paul explains that the plans of God cannot be figured out by humans. Try as we might, we are not able to fully comprehend what God is preparing.
Sarita Bernadette:The verse also reminds us that we should rely on God's wisdom and not our own intellect. He adds, for those who love him. The Lord has incredible blessings waiting for those of us who are in a close and loving relationship with him. So moving forward with our topic today, from the time of Mary and Elizabeth's encounter through the birth of both of those babies, we see that there were several people who were in close relationship with the Lord and were indeed expecting the unexpected. Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, was filled with the Holy Spirit shortly after John's birth, and he prophesied about Jesus the redeemer.
Sarita Bernadette:He was waiting with expectation. Most of you know about the angel who appeared to the shepherds in the fields to announce the birth of the savior. Those shepherds hurried off to find Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus. As you know, they found him in a manger. Later, when Jesus was presented in the temple, a man named Simeon came there because the Lord had revealed to him that he would not die before he'd seen the Lord's Christ.
Sarita Bernadette:And so it was that Simeon not only saw Jesus, he took him in his arms and praised God for allowing him to literally see salvation. That brings us to Anna. Luke two verses 36 through 38. There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Faniwell of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage.
Sarita Bernadette:Then, as a widow to the age of 84, she never left the temple, but worshipped there with fasting and prayer night and day. At that moment, she came and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. Anna. Anna belonged to the tribe of Asher, one of the 10 northern tribes of Israel. She was the daughter of a man called Fen'uul.
Sarita Bernadette:I believe Anna was destined to be in a position to see and proclaim Jesus in that temple. So Anna is from the tribe of Asher. The Ash the name Asher means happy. Back in the Old Testament, we see Asher first first mentioned when Jacob gives a blessing to each of his 12 sons, one of whom is named Asher. All of Asher's descendants were called the tribe of Asher.
Sarita Bernadette:That blessing that I'm speaking of is found in Genesis forty nine and twenty. Asher's food shall be rich, and he shall provide royal delicacies. This brief blessing from Jacob prophesies about Asher's natural or physical inheritance, referencing the fertile and prosperous land yielding abundant high quality food and prosperity. It also refers to something beyond the physical. The word royal is used here, royal as in regal, as in fit for a king.
Sarita Bernadette:That prophecy points towards service to a king. Luke two thirty seven tells us that Anna never left the temple. She was there day and night. Let's look at another Asher blessing, and we'll get back to Anna in a moment, I promise. Moses blessed Asher in Deuteronomy thirty and two.
Sarita Bernadette:Most blessed sons be Asher. May he be the favorite of his brothers, and may he dip his foot in oil. Your bars are iron and bronze, and as your days, so is your strength. He said, Most blessed of sons be Asher. Most blessed blessed.
Sarita Bernadette:This is part of the final blessing of Moses over the 12 tribes of Israel. He focuses on Asher, promising extreme abundance, often symbolized by dipping feet in oil. Favor is promised, as well as protection iron and bronze bars referencing the locks and the bolts of the city gates and enduring strength is promised. Abundance, favor, protection, and strength were spoken over Anna's family lineage. God's plans are always in effect, beloved.
Sarita Bernadette:Now let's talk about Anna, the prophetess. We meet her in the second chapter of Luke, and she's described as an elderly widow who spent her life praying and fasting in the temple. Her disposition was characterized first by intense spiritual devotion and patience. Anna never left the temple area. She literally lived there.
Sarita Bernadette:Can you imagine being so committed and filled with expected hope that you would be willing to live in the church until you saw the promise of God come to fruition? Anna had only been married to her husband for seven years when he passed away. Yet, was undaunted. She remained faithful. She didn't allow that loss to find her or to turn her toward hopelessness.
Sarita Bernadette:We don't read that she was concerned about God meeting her needs while she lived there in that temple. The Bible only mentions her faith and her devotion. What a reminder for us. When God is placed first seeking his kingdom and righteousness, the Bible promises that he will provide for all material needs. It tells us that he'll offer us peace and supply us with divine strength.
Sarita Bernadette:Key promises include Matthew six thirty three, But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. This verse pledges that everyday concerns like food and clothing are added when we prioritize God. Beloved, what if we believed as Anna did? The word of God includes many promises from him assuring us that he will take care of his people if we put him in his rightful place as the head of our lives. Luke twelve and twenty four, consider the ravens.
Sarita Bernadette:They neither sow nor reap. They have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds? Philippians four nineteen, and my God will fully satisfy every need of yours according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus. Psalm thirty four and ten.
Sarita Bernadette:The young lions suffer want and hunger, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. Note, Anna is one of only a small number of women in scripture described as a prophetess. She was gifted with a spirit led ability to speak truth and to recognize the promised Messiah when she saw him. Then upon seeing him, she immediately praised God and went on to evangelize throughout Jerusalem. Anna's story teaches us so much about expectant hope.
Sarita Bernadette:The expectant hope of God's promise carried Anna through her entire life. And this was so even though there had not been a prophet in Israel for over four hundred years. It is believed that there was no divine prophecy or scripture given for four hundred years after Malachi. Silence between the Old and the New Testaments. So Anna could have easily given up on God's promise.
Sarita Bernadette:Instead, she worshipped God in expected hope. Expecting hope is a confident, active waiting for God's promises to be fulfilled. It's rooted in faith. And we know, beloved, that faith is the substance of things hoped for. Faith is the assurance that yet unseen promises are a present reality.
Sarita Bernadette:As I read more about faith, the word hypostasis came up. Hypostasis. It popped up several times, and I found that it's a it's a word derived from the Greek for standing under. Standing under. Hypostasis.
Sarita Bernadette:It implies a substructure or a solid ground. It generally refers to the underlying fundamental substance or real existence of something. Beloved, faith provides the solid foundation to stand on while waiting for hopes to be fulfilled. James two seventeen and twenty six read, So faith by itself, if it has no works is dead. For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead.
Sarita Bernadette:Authentic faith in God is active. It is productive. It causes believers to obey the call of God on our lives and to do something about it. It pushes us towards righteous living. Active faith is essential for a relationship with God.
Sarita Bernadette:Anna the prophetess practiced active faith. She did something about what she believed. Anna put the Lord on the throne of her life. We should do likewise, beloved, let's adopt that radical kind of faith that expects the unexpected. You've been listening to Joy In Every Step.
Sarita Bernadette:I'm Sarita Bernadette, and I'm grateful you chose to spend some time here with me. Feel free to share this episode with someone you know would appreciate it. You can find Joy In Every Step wherever you listen to your podcasts and give us a follow there. Do check out the website at joyineverystep.org. See you next time.
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