06/09/2026
Title: WHEN PEOPLE COME TO JESUS, THEY EXPECT HIM TO ACT
● Demonstrating the Power of the Living Christ to Our Generation
John 4:47 (AMPC)
“Having heard that Jesus had come back from Judea into Galilee, he went away to meet Him and began to beg Him to come down and cure his son, for he was lying at the point of death.”
■ 1. People Came to Jesus Expecting Results
When people came to Jesus, they did not merely ask Him to pray for their problems and then leave hoping for the best.
They came expecting Him to "do something".
They came for healing.
They came for deliverance.
They came for provision.
They came for restoration.
The nobleman in John 4 did not simply say, "Jesus, please pray for my son."
He came with a specific expectation:
"Come down and cure my son."
His expectation was that an encounter with Jesus would produce a tangible result.
People's expectation of results were based on the track record of Jesus of curing people of all manner of sickness and all manner of disease, and His willingness to heal the people out of compassion, which birthed confidence in the fact that Jesus could do it.
● Supporting Scripture
The l***r said to Jesus in:
Matthew 8:2–3 (NKJV)
“Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”
Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.”
The noble man believed Jesus was both "able and willing" to heal his sick servant.
That is the kind of faith we must restore in the Church.
■ 2. We Must Restore Expectation in Prayer
There is a difference between saying:
"Lord, please pray for this situation."
and saying:
"Lord, I believe You are able and willing to act in this situation."
Biblical prayer is not merely an exercise in expressing our problems to God. It is communion with a God who answers prayer.
Jesus taught His disciples to pray with expectation.
● Supporting Scripture
Mark 11:24 (NKJV)
“Whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.”
Prayer should produce faith that God will intervene.
We must teach people to come to God expecting Him to answer according to His will and purpose found in the Bible.
■ 3. The World Often Expects More From Darkness Than From God
There is a sobering reality in our generation.
People may visit a witchdoctor, medium, or occult practitioner because they expect that person to produce a supernatural result.
They may believe that spiritual powers can heal them, make them prosperous, destroy their enemies, or give them children.
The cried out to Tammuz, the goddess of fertility, for children.
Ezekiel 8:13-14
Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
13 He also said to me, Yet again you shall see greater abominations which they are committing.
14 Then He brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the Lord’s house; and behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz [a Babylonian god, who was supposed to die annually and subsequently be resurrected].
Yet some Christians approach God with virtually no expectation.
They believe more readily in the supernatural power attributed to darkness than in the supernatural power of the living God.
That must change.
The Church should not communicate to the world that the powers of darkness are more real or more effective than the power of God.
● Supporting Scripture
1 John 4:4 (NKJV)
“He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”
The God who lives in us is greater.
Hannah did not cry out to Tammuz for a child but to God.
1 Samuel 1:27: Hannah prays for a child, saying, "For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition that I made to him."
■ 4. God Wants to Demonstrate That He Is the God Who Answers
Elijah understood this principle.
Israel had been confronted with competing claims about who was truly God.
Elijah did not merely debate the prophets of Baal.
He called for a demonstration.
● Supporting Scripture
1 Kings 18:24 (NKJV)
“Then you call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD; and the God who answers by fire, He is God.”
The issue was not merely theological argument.
The question was:
"Who is the true God?"
And God answered.
Fire fell.
The people saw the manifestation of God's power and declared:
“The LORD, He is God!”
● Supporting Scripture
1 Kings 18:38–39
God answered Elijah's prayer publicly, and the people responded by acknowledging Jehovah.
■ 5. Samuel Demonstrated the Reliability of the Word of God
Samuel's ministry also demonstrated that God could speak through a human servant with such authority that the nation recognized the reality of God's presence and word.
1 Samuel 3:19 (NKJV)
“So Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground.”
This is a remarkable description of a servant of God.
Samuel did not merely possess religious knowledge.
His life became a reliable channel through which God's word was demonstrated to the nation.
The goal is not to exalt the servant.
The goal is to make the God whom the servant represents known as the only true God; And Jesus, His begotten Son, the only way to the Father, only Truth, and only Life.
■ 6. Signs and Wonders Can Point People to Christ
Jesus did not perform miracles merely to entertain crowds.
His miracles revealed who He was and demonstrated the compassion and authority of God.
Nicodemus recognized this.
John 3:2 (NKJV)
“Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”
If you want the same signs and wonders you must stand in His presence, and be sent from God or from His presence. You must become a "man of the secret place", in order to defeat "men of secret cults or secret societies".
Signs pointed people toward the One who sent Jesus.
The same principle applies to the ministry of the Church.
The supernatural should never become a substitute for the Gospel.
Rather, the manifestation of God's power should "confirm and accompany the proclamation of Christ".
Mark 16:20 NIV
"Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it."
■ 7. We Are Called to Demonstrate the Gospel, Not Merely Explain It
Paul understood that the Gospel was more than persuasive words.
1 Corinthians 2:4–5 (NKJV)
“And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.”
Paul wanted people's faith to rest in God rather than human eloquence.
The Church must therefore proclaim:
* Jesus saves.
* Jesus heals.
* Jesus delivers.
* Jesus transforms lives.
* Jesus is alive.
And then we should give the Holy Spirit room to demonstrate the reality of what we preach.
■ 8. Elijah and Samuel Were Human Beings Like Us
We must be careful not to turn biblical heroes into unreachable superhuman figures.
Elijah had human weaknesses.
“Elijah was a man with a nature like ours...”
James 5:17-18 NIV
" Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.
Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops."
Yet this ordinary man prayed, and God responded.
Samuel was also a human being.
The lesson is not:
"Look how extraordinary Elijah was."
The lesson is:
"Look what God can do through a surrendered human vessel."
This should produce faith rather than intimidation.
If God could use Elijah, Samuel, Peter, and others, He can use surrendered believers today.
Mark 16:17-18 NIV
"And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”
■ 9. We Must Demonstrate That Jesus Is Alive
The world does not merely need another religious argument.
It needs an encounter with the living Christ.
Mark 16:20 (NKJV)
“And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs.”
Notice the order:
* They preached.
* The Lord worked with them.
* The word was confirmed.
The signs were not the message.
"Jesus was the message."
The miracles were the confirmation that accompanied the proclamation.
■ 10. The Living Must Demonstrate the Power of the Living God
The dead cannot preach the Gospel.
The dead cannot lay hands on the sick.
The dead cannot cast out demons.
The dead cannot plant churches.
The dead cannot disciple nations.
God has entrusted this generation to you and me, the living Church.
Psalm 115:17–18
“The dead do not praise the LORD... But we will bless the LORD.”
We therefore have a responsibility to our generation.
We cannot simply tell people that Jesus is alive.
"We must live in such a way that our generation encounters the evidence of His life through us."
■ 11. The Ultimate Purpose Is That People Believe in Jesus
The purpose of signs and wonders is not to make the minister famous.
It is not to create celebrity Christians.
It is not to make people dependent upon a man.
It is to bring people to Christ.
Acts 4:29–30 (AMPC)
“Grant to Your bondservants full freedom to declare Your message fearlessly, while You stretch out Your hand to cure and to perform signs and wonders through the authority and by the power of the name of Your holy Child and Servant Jesus.”
Notice the prayer:
"Grant us boldness to preach."
And:
"Stretch out Your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders."
The preaching and the demonstration belong together.
■ Conclusion: Let Our Generation Encounter the Living Christ
The nobleman came to Jesus because he believed Jesus could save his dying son.
Elijah stood before an entire nation and demonstrated that Jehovah alone is God.
Samuel became a trusted prophetic voice through whom God spoke to His people.
The apostles preached Christ, and God confirmed their message with signs and wonders.
The challenge before us is therefore not simply to "talk about Jesus".
It is to proclaim Him with such faith, holiness, compassion, and spiritual power that our generation encounters the reality of the living Christ.
We must become men and women who can say:
"Come to Jesus."
And when people come, we should expect God to act.
Not so that people will glorify us—
"but so that they will glorify Jesus."
Acts 10:38 (NKJV)
“God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.”
"The world needs more than an explanation of Christianity. It needs a demonstration of the living Christ through surrendered believers of the Living Church."
Dr. Gery Malanda
Gery Malanda Jeanne-Marie Malanda