Elisha
The Lives God Ruined • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 20 viewsNotes
Transcript
“Good morning, my name is Mark Dell, Senior Pastor here at Legacy Bible Church. I would like to welcome all of you here today. And I would also like to welcome those who are listening online too.
INTRODUCTION (10 minutes)
INTRODUCTION (10 minutes)
Jab 1
You know
Jab 2
Jab 3
So it is all too often with us. We cause others great anguish and risk the truly valuable because we will not let go of the insignificant things we possess today
Michael P. Green. (2000). 1500 illustrations for biblical preaching (pp. 300–301). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.
Right Hook
When we think about our lives being ruined it doesn’t always mean that there is doom and gloom. It doesn’t always mean a tragedy. It might in fact be something that is a relief but there is always a step of faith that goes along with it. There is a letting go that has to take place.
Letting go of a mindset, an actual thing, maybe a relationship; whatever gets in the way of God being first in our life is something that every Christ follower has to face. But each of us usually has something that we must give in order to receive God’s best for us.
There is a story about a boy who got his hand caught inside an expensive vase. His upset parents applied soap suds and cooking oil, without success. When they seemed ready to break the vase as the only way to release the hand, the frightened boy cried, “Would it help if I let loose of the penny I’m holding?”
So it is all too often with us. We cause others great anguish and risk the truly valuable because we will not let go of the insignificant things we possess today
Michael P. Green. (2000). 1500 illustrations for biblical preaching (pp. 300–301). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.
Right Hook
EXPLANATION (10 minutes)
EXPLANATION (10 minutes)
We are going to talk about the prophet Elisha this morning. We don’t know too much about his life before he was a prophet other than the fact that he was probably pretty wealthy and was a hard worker.
We first meet Elisha when the prophet Elijah goes to anoint him to be a prophet to replace him. (Anointing was a little ceremony where oil would be poured on the head of a person who would be told whatever God had for them. It was very significant. It was God’s will being told, it was commissioning someone. This is where we find Elisha.
So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen in front of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and cast his cloak upon him. And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, “Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?” And he returned from following him and took the yoke of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh with the yokes of the oxen and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and went after Elijah and assisted him.
Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.” Then he was afraid, and he arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.
But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, “Arise and eat.” And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again. And the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.” And he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God.
There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.” And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.” And the Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria. And Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel, and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place. And the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha put to death. Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”
So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen in front of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and cast his cloak upon him. And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, “Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?” And he returned from following him and took the yoke of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh with the yokes of the oxen and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and went after Elijah and assisted him.
Ben-hadad the king of Syria gathered all his army together. Thirty-two kings were with him, and horses and chariots. And he went up and closed in on Samaria and fought against it. And he sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel and said to him, “Thus says Ben-hadad: ‘Your silver and your gold are mine; your best wives and children also are mine.’ ” And the king of Israel answered, “As you say, my lord, O king, I am yours, and all that I have.” The messengers came again and said, “Thus says Ben-hadad: ‘I sent to you, saying, “Deliver to me your silver and your gold, your wives and your children.” Nevertheless I will send my servants to you tomorrow about this time, and they shall search your house and the houses of your servants and lay hands on whatever pleases you and take it away.’ ”
Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land and said, “Mark, now, and see how this man is seeking trouble, for he sent to me for my wives and my children, and for my silver and my gold, and I did not refuse him.” And all the elders and all the people said to him, “Do not listen or consent.” So he said to the messengers of Ben-hadad, “Tell my lord the king, ‘All that you first demanded of your servant I will do, but this thing I cannot do.’ ” And the messengers departed and brought him word again. Ben-hadad sent to him and said, “The gods do so to me and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people who follow me.” And the king of Israel answered, “Tell him, ‘Let not him who straps on his armor boast himself as he who takes it off.’ ” When Ben-hadad heard this message as he was drinking with the kings in the booths, he said to his men, “Take your positions.” And they took their positions against the city.
And behold, a prophet came near to Ahab king of Israel and said, “Thus says the Lord, Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold, I will give it into your hand this day, and you shall know that I am the Lord.” And Ahab said, “By whom?” He said, “Thus says the Lord, By the servants of the governors of the districts.” Then he said, “Who shall begin the battle?” He answered, “You.” Then he mustered the servants of the governors of the districts, and they were 232. And after them he mustered all the people of Israel, seven thousand.
And they went out at noon, while Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the booths, he and the thirty-two kings who helped him. The servants of the governors of the districts went out first. And Ben-hadad sent out scouts, and they reported to him, “Men are coming out from Samaria.” He said, “If they have come out for peace, take them alive. Or if they have come out for war, take them alive.”
So these went out of the city, the servants of the governors of the districts and the army that followed them. And each struck down his man. The Syrians fled, and Israel pursued them, but Ben-hadad king of Syria escaped on a horse with horsemen. And the king of Israel went out and struck the horses and chariots, and struck the Syrians with a great blow.
Then the prophet came near to the king of Israel and said to him, “Come, strengthen yourself, and consider well what you have to do, for in the spring the king of Syria will come up against you.”
And the servants of the king of Syria said to him, “Their gods are gods of the hills, and so they were stronger than we. But let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. And do this: remove the kings, each from his post, and put commanders in their places, and muster an army like the army that you have lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot. Then we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.” And he listened to their voice and did so.
In the spring, Ben-hadad mustered the Syrians and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel. And the people of Israel were mustered and were provisioned and went against them. The people of Israel encamped before them like two little flocks of goats, but the Syrians filled the country. And a man of God came near and said to the king of Israel, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because the Syrians have said, “The Lord is a god of the hills but he is not a god of the valleys,” therefore I will give all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord.’ ” And they encamped opposite one another seven days. Then on the seventh day the battle was joined. And the people of Israel struck down of the Syrians 100,000 foot soldiers in one day. And the rest fled into the city of Aphek, and the wall fell upon 27,000 men who were left.
Ben-hadad also fled and entered an inner chamber in the city. And his servants said to him, “Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. Let us put sackcloth around our waists and ropes on our heads and go out to the king of Israel. Perhaps he will spare your life.” So they tied sackcloth around their waists and put ropes on their heads and went to the king of Israel and said, “Your servant Ben-hadad says, ‘Please, let me live.’ ” And he said, “Does he still live? He is my brother.” Now the men were watching for a sign, and they quickly took it up from him and said, “Yes, your brother Ben-hadad.” Then he said, “Go and bring him.” Then Ben-hadad came out to him, and he caused him to come up into the chariot. And Ben-hadad said to him, “The cities that my father took from your father I will restore, and you may establish bazaars for yourself in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria.” And Ahab said, “I will let you go on these terms.” So he made a covenant with him and let him go.
And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his fellow at the command of the Lord, “Strike me, please.” But the man refused to strike him. Then he said to him, “Because you have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, behold, as soon as you have gone from me, a lion shall strike you down.” And as soon as he had departed from him, a lion met him and struck him down. Then he found another man and said, “Strike me, please.” And the man struck him—struck him and wounded him. So the prophet departed and waited for the king by the way, disguising himself with a bandage over his eyes. And as the king passed, he cried to the king and said, “Your servant went out into the midst of the battle, and behold, a soldier turned and brought a man to me and said, ‘Guard this man; if by any means he is missing, your life shall be for his life, or else you shall pay a talent of silver.’ And as your servant was busy here and there, he was gone.” The king of Israel said to him, “So shall your judgment be; you yourself have decided it.” Then he hurried to take the bandage away from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets. And he said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have let go out of your hand the man whom I had devoted to destruction, therefore your life shall be for his life, and your people for his people.’ ” And the king of Israel went to his house vexed and sullen and came to Samaria.
Now Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel, beside the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. And after this Ahab said to Naboth, “Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is near my house, and I will give you a better vineyard for it; or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its value in money.” But Naboth said to Ahab, “The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.” And Ahab went into his house vexed and sullen because of what Naboth the Jezreelite had said to him, for he had said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.” And he lay down on his bed and turned away his face and would eat no food.
But Jezebel his wife came to him and said to him, “Why is your spirit so vexed that you eat no food?” And he said to her, “Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and said to him, ‘Give me your vineyard for money, or else, if it please you, I will give you another vineyard for it.’ And he answered, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’ ” And Jezebel his wife said to him, “Do you now govern Israel? Arise and eat bread and let your heart be cheerful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”
So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal, and she sent the letters to the elders and the leaders who lived with Naboth in his city. And she wrote in the letters, “Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth at the head of the people. And set two worthless men opposite him, and let them bring a charge against him, saying, ‘You have cursed God and the king.’ Then take him out and stone him to death.” And the men of his city, the elders and the leaders who lived in his city, did as Jezebel had sent word to them. As it was written in the letters that she had sent to them, they proclaimed a fast and set Naboth at the head of the people. And the two worthless men came in and sat opposite him. And the worthless men brought a charge against Naboth in the presence of the people, saying, “Naboth cursed God and the king.” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death with stones. Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been stoned; he is dead.”
As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, Jezebel said to Ahab, “Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money, for Naboth is not alive, but dead.” And as soon as Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, Ahab arose to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.
Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, “Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who is in Samaria; behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone to take possession. And you shall say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Have you killed and also taken possession?” ’ And you shall say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: “In the place where dogs licked up the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick your own blood.” ’ ”
Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me, O my enemy?” He answered, “I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of the Lord. Behold, I will bring disaster upon you. I will utterly burn you up, and will cut off from Ahab every male, bond or free, in Israel. And I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the anger to which you have provoked me, and because you have made Israel to sin. And of Jezebel the Lord also said, ‘The dogs shall eat Jezebel within the walls of Jezreel.’ Anyone belonging to Ahab who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, and anyone of his who dies in the open country the birds of the heavens shall eat.”
(There was none who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the Lord like Ahab, whom Jezebel his wife incited. He acted very abominably in going after idols, as the Amorites had done, whom the Lord cast out before the people of Israel.)
And when Ahab heard those words, he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his flesh and fasted and lay in sackcloth and went about dejectedly. And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, “Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the disaster in his days; but in his son’s days I will bring the disaster upon his house.”
And Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel, and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place. And the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha put to death. Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”
So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen in front of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and cast his cloak upon him. And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, “Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?” And he returned from following him and took the yoke of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh with the yokes of the oxen and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and went after Elijah and assisted him.
:
:
Here is what is going on.
God picks Elisha to be the prophet to succeed Elijah. It’s a very important job. So he goes and finds him. Elijah finds Elisha at work. It looks like Elisha is a pretty wealthy guy. 1 Kings tells us that Elijah interrupts his plowing. WE are told that he was plowing with 12 yoke of oxen.
12 yoke of oxen mean 24 animals. That is a lot of livestock! And think of the amount of property that was in this family to be able to farm enough to employ 24 oxen and people to handle them. This was a man who had a lot of wealth.
And here he was, in the spring, because that is when you plant and he has the whole season ahead of him. He is planting his crop so that he will be able to survive the coming year. You see, his crop is going to be his income.
Here comes Elijah and he comes up to him in the middle of his plowing and he puts his mantle, or his coat and puts it on Elisha. The mantle would have been a sheep skin or a skin of an animal and this is a type of coat that you would wear to protect you from the sun or the weather.
But it was a significant and purposeful thing that Elijah was doing. He was telling Elisha through this act that he was being invited to become a prophet of God.
It is almost like putting a crown on the King or Queens head. It was very significant and the action of Elisha is one that we need to take note of.
Elisha doesn’t even seem to blink an eye. He knows right away what he is going to do. He follows Elijah immediately and tells him that he is going to say goodbye to his parents.
Elisha is at that point that every Christian faces when they come face to face with God’s plan for their lives. “What am I going to do? How do I answer this call? Do I really just go and follow this guy? Should I actually do this and is it too risky?” Elisha knew exactly what was being asked of him when Elijah placed the mantle on him. He was being asked to go into a prophet training program.
What does Elisha do? He makes the decision. And he makes sure that when he makes this decision there is no turning back.
The word says that he took his yoke of oxen and he slaughtered them, he cooked them and had a giant barbecue for the village. He provided the meat for his own going away party. He said goodbye to his parents and goodbye to his friends and he even made sure that there would be no temptation to come back. He destroyed and ate the animals that would work his fields for him.
Today that would be like a carpenter throwing his tools into the river. It would be like the computer programer throwing all his computers into a chipper. It was final. This would be like selling the company that you own and signing a non-compete clause. This is walking away.
From this point on Elisha would be under the supervision of Elijah, arguably one of the greatest prophets in the bible. He spent 8 years with Elijah before we hear about him again which is at the end of Elijah’s life.
From here the Lord takes Elijah to heaven in the whirlwind and with the flaming chariots and horses and he disappears when the mantle that he put on Elisha fell out of the sky for Elisha to have.
8 years with Elijah. 8 years of training. Was it everything it was supposed to be? Was this the right choice? Was he even ready for this? Now Elisha has to step out on his own and be the Lord’s representative.
At one point in my life I worked as a bill collector. That was fun. I had to go door to door and ask for the money for the electric bill. If they couldn’t pay I had to go around back and pull the meter. For about a month I trained with a couple of different guys to learn the ropes and to get some experience.
But the day came when I had to do it myself. I had to be the guy to knock on the door. I had to do the talking, I had no one to hide behind.
But I remember sitting in that first driveway. Is this really going to work? Are they going to listen to me? Was this the best decision?
This is where Elisha was. He didn’t know if God was going to be with him like his master Elijah.
Then he took the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him and struck the water, saying, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” And when he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over.
You can read about Elisha in 2 Kings.
Elisha now knows that the Lord is with him and that he is the Lords representative. He will now move into the service of the Lord. Elisha will become an advisor to kings and nobles. Elisha will help a woman keep her children from being sold into slavery by praying to the Lord for a miracle in her life where the little jug of oil that she had would not stop pouring into a bunch of empty jars she borrowed from her neighbors so that she could sell that oil and pay her debts so her kids wouldn’t go into slavery.
He prayed that a barren Shumanite woman would have a child and she did. That child would die prematurely and Elisha prayed that he would be healed and he was. Rose from the dead.
Elishas prophecies came true, he fed 100 men with just a few loaves of bread and some corn. Sounds like someone else doesn’t he? He heals a King of leprosy through the power of the Lord.
Elisha goes on to do all this work for the Lord and performs all kinds of miracles.
This is where Elisha was. At this point is where many people wh
But none of this could have happened unless his life was “ruined” by God.
APPLICATION (10 minutes)
APPLICATION (10 minutes)
Can you imagine if he was plowing those oxen that day when Elijah came up to him and he said. “I will come with you but I have to get the field plowed first. Then I have to plant these seeds. But, then I have to make sure the seeds are watered and then of course I have to be here for the harvest.
I will come with you next time. I will come to you after this harvest. After this crop. Elisha, he had a pretty good existence. He was set up for a great retirement. He was in a pretty good financial position. But then God shows up through Elijah to “ruin” that life.
And he just does it. He makes that decision and doesn’t even seem to think it through. He knew what Elijah was asking, it was a cultural thing. A prophet, a great teacher approaches you and puts his coat on you and that means he has called you.
You and I have that same calling from the Lord.
When you follow Christ you follow Christ. You can’t hang on to your old self and your new self. You don’t get to keep both identities. You belong to Him.
It’s like a marriage. You stand at the altar and you make those vows and when you are pronounced husband and wife you are done. You are done with dating, you are done with a search for intimacy from any other person. You have committed and there is no turning back.
In Deuteronomy there is a verse that talks about a slave who wants to remain with his or her master. If they like being in service to thew master they can commit themselves for life with the master and they do so by pushing an awl, a sharp point through their ear into the door post of the house which signifies that they belong to that master forever. That is what has happened here.
Elisha gave up on his life plan and surrendered to God’s plan. Many of us have yet to surrender to God’s plan in our lives. We are holding on to the plow, we are holding on to the thing that we control, the tangible thing right in front of us. We are holding on to what we know.
Slow What does God want from you? Pause Is there a particular thing in your life that needs to be removed from your life? Pause. Is there something that needs to be slaughtered? So that it gone forever?
Is there something that God has for you that you are ignoring or putting off? What is it that you are trying to not think about even now?
In a couple of minutes I am going to give you the opportunity to release something that has a hold of you. God will do great things.
I have news. That thing that you hold onto will never save you. It will never give you peace, it will never fill the void in your life. It never will. Whatever you are chasing or putting your trust in, it will never replace what God has for you.
What God has for you is so much more, so much better.
But sometimes it feels like we have to go through a ruin in order to be done with it.
Elisha could have kept his hands on that plow and he could have plowed for the rest of his life and he could have died with a lot of wealth and possessions. But what he did when he made that decision was he let go of the things that he could theoretically control and he let God select his path.
Because he let God take control, God did amazing things. We know that Elisha trusted in God. We know that he, on several occasions turned down great wealth from people so we know that he wasn’t greedy. But we know that he trusted God with all his circumstances and he wasn’t going to trust in his own abilities anymore.
What is that thing that God is asking for?
Maybe it is your soul. Maybe you have never really ever recognized Jesus as the son of God and that he was sinless, he died and rose again and he lives today helping those who trust in Him. Have you given yourself to him yet?
Maybe God is asking for you to be obedient in certain areas of your life? Have you been baptized yet? Jesus tells us to get baptized when we surrender to him as an act of obedience and so you publicly identify yourself with Christ so that other will see and so others can pray for you and hold you accountable. Have you yet to be baptized? See me after the service.
Maybe there is a habit you need to give up. Statistics say that 79 percent of men 18-30 look at porn and 76 percent of women look at porn once a month.
That is staggering. Because the addiction rate is so prevalent. Is porn something that you need to give up? Because it will destroy your relationships. It will really mess up your relationship with God. Is that what you need to give up? I was with a group of teenage guys years ago and we were having a small group discussion about some things that are hindering their relationship with God.
There were about 10 11 guys in the group and out of those 11 guys 10 said they had an issue with watching porn. Its real folks. It will wreak havoc on your mind and on your spirit
What else is there that you hold on to? Is it a life that you wish you had that isn’t happening and you are desperately trying to make it happen? It is an identity that you want for yourself that isn’t what God wants for you? It will not satisfy you. Look at your life. Has anything that you have ever turned that wasn’t God really worked for you?
What do you need to let go of? One thing. One thing. Maybe it is a small thing. Listen, it takes faith to do these things. But we exercise faith don’t we? Believing God and letting Him prove Himself to us.
Our trust in God shows up in the way we make decisions. If we really trusted God we would be able to let go very easily.
1500 Illustrations for Biblical Preaching Faith, Exercise Of
Many years ago it was decided to put a suspension bridge across a wide gorge. How could they build a bridge across such a wide space? In fact, how could they even start? They shot an arrow from one side to the other. The arrow carried across the gulf a tiny thread, and thus the connection was established. By and by the thread was used to draw a piece of twine across; the twine carried after it a small rope; the rope soon carried a cable across—and in good time came the iron chains the bridge was to hang from.
Although often weak in its beginning stage, a seemingly small faith can draw us to a stronger and stronger faith that will accomplish greater and greater things.458
There were some scientists in England who lost some very precious equipment off the side of a cliff and the equipment was there for them to recover but it would have been too difficult to send a grown man down. There was a young boy who was asked to be lowered down and the boy refused. They asked over and over and even offered him a lot of money to do this for them. Finally the boy agreed but on one condition would he do it. The boys father had to be the one holding the rope.
Isn’t that Great? The faith is stronger when you can trust in the object of that faith. Your faith is stronger when you trust in that object of your faith. You can trust in your heavenly father.
This is the time I talked about. This is the time to let God have your life, or that area of your life that you are holding on to. What needs to be given to Him? Let’s do that now.
What do you
Father, I have been holding on to this for a long long time. I don’t need it, I need you. I give that to you right now. In the name of Jesus.