Joyful Expectation

Study The Word
Hebrews 9:28
So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

The journey of the church of Jesus Christ began with a very powerful, supernatural event: the simultaneous baptism and infilling of the Holy Spirit of the 120 as recorded in Acts 2. What an incredible start! And now, as this church age draws to its close, we are anticipating another miracle of even grander proportions – the catching away, or the rapture of the church. The anticipation that the church has is a living, breathing hope that shapes the daily lives of those that have the Spirit of God in them.

ἀπεκδέχομαι  Apekdechomai  look for  –  waiting with great anticipation, patiently to wait

There’s a powerful Greek term that captures the very essence of how we, as Spirit-filled members of the church of Jesus Christ have, as we anticipate the approaching of this glorious expectation: “Apekdechomai”.
Apekdechomai speaks of an attitude of intense yearning, a deep and joyful eagerness, an expectation that is bubbling over with gladness as we wait for something monumental to happen. This is the very attitude the Bible says every Spirit-filled child of God possess as we see the day of His coming drawing closer and closer!
This divine anticipation certainly doesn’t communicate fear or anxiety, does it? No, not at all! Why? Because this celebratory anticipation that fills our hearts is actually the reciprocal attitude with which Jesus Christ Himself, and the entire Heavenly Host, are joyfully waiting for the great reunion! Think about it: they are eagerly anticipating being finally reunited with us, those who have believed in Jesus until His return. What a thought! If you are born again and filled with the Spirit, then truly, happy are you! You are on the winning side, filled with a hope that transcends earthly worries of what the future holds for us, whether we be alive or asleep in Christ.
Rejoice, because it is written, “Eye has not seen nor ear heard nor has it entered into the hearts of men the things that God has prepared for them that love Him.”(1 Corinthians 2:9 – 10)
But here’s another glorious truth: “God has revealed these things to us by His Spirit.” So, our expectation of His coming is not rooted in ignorance or fear, but in a revealed, joyful hope of His coming that is revealed to us in the written Word.
Regarding this hope the Apostle John says, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when Jesus shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3:2)
So, from now until that day, let these truths reside within you: “NOW are we the sons of God.”   Now!
Not one day, some day or another day but, right now, today glory God!  And that “we know that, when Jesus shall appear, we shall be like Him;” and “unto us that look for him shall he appear the second time”, unto the salvation of our physical body; the transfiguration of our mortal bodies to become just like Jesus’s glorified body.

Pray The Word
Heavenly Father, thank You for the blessed hope of the rapture, the catching away of Your church.  Father, thank You for the blessed hope in me of an intense yearning with a joyful eagerness and expectation for our Lord Jesus’s return that cries out even so come Lord Jesus, come.  Thank You Father, that this anticipation is the same one that even Jesus has for us which expels all fear and anxiety; as You, and the entire Heavenly Host are also joyfully awaiting Our glorious reunion. I rejoice in the knowledge of the things You have prepared for me, revealed by Your Word and Your Spirit in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Speak The Word
I am a child of God, joyfully expecting the Lord’s coming! My anticipation is reciprocal to the joy of heaven therefore there can be no fear regarding my meeting the Lord Jesus again at His coming. Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, the glorious things God has prepared for me as they have been revealed to me as a son of God.  I am a son of God NOW, I am a child of God now, and when He shall appear, I shall be like Him, for I shall see Him as He is!