Timing & Notifications
Follow the Right Leader; 1 & 2 Kings • Sermon • Submitted
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Ready, Set, Go
Ready, Set, Go
All of you should be very aware of this program. If you’re new to MP this is the program that helps us prepare for emergencies.
Fire seasons like this one make it most important to be as prepared as we can be b/c the threat of a major fire is severe.
We have got to be ready to evacuate as soon as we get the notification.
What if they send out notifications but we’re not listening, or ready to go when the danger is right on our doorstep?
What if we’re prepared but no one notifies us?
We’ve got the information that help on all fronts.
To sign up for the emergency notifications, go to:
coconino.az.gov/ready
You can have them sent to your phone or email.
And when we get the notifications we can be prepared b/c we have this program; Ready, Set, Go.
These are the steps based on the level of danger we are in:
Ready
Ready
Technically, b/c we live in a forest we should always be ready.
But this season it is particularly dangerous.
Hopefully, you’ve already prepared the outside of your house as best you can. Raked pine needles and cut back your trees.
BTW, maybe you’ve noticed a few trees dying around town due to the lack of moisture. We’ve got to cut those down.
Inside, remember the 5 P’s
People, pets, papers, prescriptions, and plan
At ready, we have to have everything organized in a few places around the house ready to grab and load the car.
It shouldn’t take long to get the car loaded.
Things don’t all need t/b in the same place. But, it all should be easy to grab quickly if the notification comes to Get Set.
The next notification is SET
Set is the pre-evac order
Set is the pre-evac order
This is when we load the car. We don’t have to evacuate, yet.
But, If you can and have a place to go, you need to go.
We may drive around town w/ stuff in our car for a few days until the next notification comes.
If the next notification is “all clear” then we get to unload our cars. Maybe we were prepared unnecessarily. But, better that then the alternative.
B/C, if not the all clear, the next notification is GO
Go means, Go! Now!
Go means, Go! Now!
They will notify us as early as they can. But, by then there’s no time to collect stuff around the house.
If you’re not packed and the car loaded at SET, all you’re getting out w/ is the clothes on your back.
If MP gets the GO order, then everyone in town is getting on I-17; probably northbound.
That’s why if you can go early it will help everyone.
The authorities are on top of these things as well as anyone can be. Our firefighters and the emergency mgt team are as good as there is.
Even then, w/ the best training, experience, preparation by the authorities, even then sometimes we can all get caught by surprise.
The Backbone fire that caused the evacuation of Pine and Strawberry blew up fast.
Strawberry was given the SET order, then in less than 30 they were given the GO order. No time.
If we get the SET order, get your car gassed up and loaded, right away.
Fires can grow and move fast.
Last Sunday, the Rafael fire went from 400 acres to 20,000. By Monday it was 16 miles from SW Flagstaff.
That’s what led to Kachina Village and north t/b upgraded to SET.
Chief Tope tells us a fire can travel more than 40 mph.
So, 16 miles to Flagstaff if the wind picked up how much time would they have?
There was a fire near Cornville the week before.
To drive there it’s 38 mi. But, you can’t go directly.
It’s less as the crow flies. Or, as the embers fly.
If the fire is moving 40 mph and it’s less than 35 mi away then that’s how much time you have to get out of here if it gets out of hand.
That’s why it’s so important to pat attention, get the notifications on time, and be prepared.
The questions are, Have you signed up to receive the notifications? And, Are \you prepared to do what you’re advised to do when you get them?
You’ve got to believe our emergency managers know what they are doing and you’ve got to know how to use your computer and your phone to communicate.
This is life-saving information whether we are talking about forest fires, floods, ice storms, tornados, or earth quakes.
For the most part, we can’t prevent these things from happening. The Rafael fire was ignited by a lightening strike. 8 fires in the Chino Valley started the same night all by lightening.
But, we can be prepared to respond in the best way we can when these things beyond our control are bearing down on us.
We have some control. Not over the fire, but how we respond to the situation.
Wouldn’t it be great if there was a warning system that would notify us of a pending disaster in our personal lives in order for us to be prepared so we can respond in the best way?
And maybe a system that would help us avoid as many of these disasters as possible?
There is. It’s called the Word of God.
So much is written here, just like the Ready, Set, Go brochure; to help us both avoid trouble and prepare for it.
We can know what to expect. We can know what we shouldn’t expect.
We shouldn’t expect to avoid all disasters. But we can expect for God to accompany us thru the ones we can’t avoid and minimize the damage.
Then, we just need t/b notified in time to do something about what’s coming.
And, that’s one of the things the HS does for us. He advises us what to do today to be ready for what’s coming tomorrow.
God who indwells us and talks to us.
The questions are, Have you signed up to receive these notifications? Are you paying attention? And, Are you prepared to do what you’re advised to do when you get them?
We’ve got to believe God always and only good, is involved in our lives on a personal level, knows what He’s doing, and we’ve got to know how to use the tools we have to communicate w/ Him.
The timing of his notifications is perfect. As long as we are paying attention, we will end up in the right place at the right time.
Timing and notifications. God is rarely early, never late, and always accurate w/ His advice about what to do next.
This is the message that comes thru in 2 Kings 8:1-6.
Elisha’s message, and Elijah before him, was even when it seemed to the majority of the Nation that God was uninvolved w/ them, He was still very involved on a personal level w/ those who had faith.
The majority hedged their bets and spent more time praying to another god.
But our God demands we be all in w/ Him, sink or swim. There was a distance between them and God. But, God hadn’t moved.
As the situ for the nation worsened God wanted the few faithful to know He would continue to notify them, guide them, and provide for them if they were prepared to follow Him faithfully.
Here’s what happened.
The Backstory
The Backstory
Now Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, “Go away with your family and stay for a while wherever you can, because the Lord has decreed a famine in the land that will last seven years.” The woman proceeded to do as the man of God said. She and her family went away and stayed in the land of the Philistines seven years.
You may recall the story, it comes from 2 Kings 4.
A wealthy wife w/ a strong faith in God. An older husband w/ little or no faith. They had no kids.
The wife had learned to be content even tho childless. A tough as it is in our culture to have no kids, it was seen as a personal tragedy in that culture. People talked behind her back.
Elisha wanted to do something good for her b/c she treated him so well.
So, God notified her, thru Elisha that she would have a son w/in the year. She was hesitant, but thrilled.
Don’t get my hopes up if it’s not true! It was.
Then, tragically, the boy suddenly died. Now, doubly heart-broken.
She cried out to God, thru Elisha. Elisha prayed and God restored the boy’s life.
The God who gives life, restores life, and keeps us content thru the ups and downs of life.
That was the message of a few weeks ago.
Now the perspective is, as God notified her of what was going to happen, she was faithfully prepared to respond appropriately.
After that happened, Elisha notified her that there will be a drought and subsequent the famine would grow severe so this little family should evacuate and relocate to another nation to avoid the danger.
Stay there for 7 years until the drought subsides.
They were Ready, Set, and the went.
She had faith. A relationship w/ Elisha that opened the communication lines w/ God to give and receive significant information.
They were prepared, the camel was loaded, they got out of town.
This ought to be fresh. Think about what goes thru your mind as you evacuate.
What will happen to our house? The furnishings? Neighborhood? Our friends?
Sara went thru this difficult conversation Monday afternoon. The SET order came for Kachina Vlg and north.
Stuff was getting real. The smoke was thick above us and the sun was red.
She’s in Tucson w/ her dad for Father’s Day. I’m here. I’m asking her about where her things are that she wants me to organize in case we get the SET notification.
What else do we need to get ready?
I knew about the jewelry, photo albums, those things.
But, what else?
We have several large family heirloom antiques in the house.
Everything is insured, but we wouldn’t replace these. They are irreplaceable. We can get furniture. Just not this furniture.
A pie safe that was the first piece her mother gave her to start her collection of antiques.
A china cabinet w/ the original beveled glass. Curved sides and original wood shelves.
A doctor’s cabinet that was in her grandfather’s doctor’s office in Tyler, TX that he kept meds and supplies. Glass door. Side cabinets. Drawers across the bottom. Glass shelves. Only 1 shelf is not original.
When we move from state to state, we pay the packers and movers extra to make special crates so these pieces are not damaged.
Most of the our stuff we bought, it’s insured and will get replace. But, how do you drive away from furniture w/ such sentimental value wondering what will be left as the fire bears down?
We have access to trailers. But who has time to build the crates and help us get them loaded. It would do little good to load them, strap them down, only to have the glass shatter and the wood scar as we jammed things in w/ them.
As we thought thru this, we think we could save 2 of them just by loading them in our cars. But we’d probably have to leave the Dr.’s cabinet.
So, if we had to, we are prepared to drive away heart-broken at what might happen.
This little family, rode their camels, donkeys, or walked away from everything they owned on the word of God, thru Elisha, that they’d be safer among the Philistines for 7 years.
Then, they were notified it was okay to return. This is what they came home to.
The Return
The Return
At the end of the seven years she came back from the land of the Philistines and went to appeal to the king for her house and land. The king was talking to Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, and had said, “Tell me about all the great things Elisha has done.” Just as Gehazi was telling the king how Elisha had restored the dead to life, the woman whose son Elisha had brought back to life came to appeal to the king for her house and land.
Gehazi said, “This is the woman, my lord the king, and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life.”
Her timing was perfect. However God notified to her this was the time to return and this was the time to appeal to the king and file a claim on her land, it led to her arrival at the most fortunate time.
Coincidence? Divine appointment.
First, notice no mention of her husband. We know he was older from the background story, in fact, too old to conceive a child.
Probably, he had died during their stay away.
In this male dominant, authoritarian culture, it would not have been appropriate for a woman to file this claim for her family. This would have been her husband’s responsibility if he were there to do it.
A woman couldn’t own property. And she was very limited about jobs she could do to earn a living.
She was wealthy, had means, and likely was there offering to buy her land back. And, by now her son was coming of age and could be the responsible male for the business.
What would have happened was the gov’t, the king, would have seized the property until the rightful male heir returned to claim it.
The king wouldn’t have to return the property if the situation was not right.
Mosaic law required all land to stay in the same family and be passed down, generation to generation.
A family could sell land if they were in a tough financial situ, but law required the land to be returned every 50th year.
So, this was rightfully her husband’s family’s land, they had walked away from and now returned hoping to regain ownership and control from the king.
So, that was going on.
The king of Israel invited Gehazi, Elisha’s servant, to come and tell him stories about what Elisha had done.
The king showed no evidence of faith. He was curious about Elisha. Like a circus side-show, or magic act curious.
You may recall some Roman officials were that way about Jesus. No faith. They just wanted to see Him perform a magic trick for them.
The king had heard the rumors and gossip. He wondered if they were reality or exaggerations.
I’m sure he was looking to be entertained and Elisha sounded like a prime candidate to win Israel’s Got Talent w/ his magic act.
Just as Gehazi is recounting the story of the boy was resuscitated and given back to him mom, they walked in the throne room to make their request.
The rumor came to life.
B/C she was paying attention to the notifications, she had kept her communication lines open, maybe watching the news about the drought, but certainly keeping up w/ what God was doing back home, and she was prepared to act on the notification she rec’d, her timing was perfect.
Her timing was perfect b/c God’s timing was perfect.
A few hours earlier, a few hours later, and this would have played out entirely differently.
But, b/c she showed up when she did, the king did more for her than she was prepared to ask.
The Stuff was Returned
The Stuff was Returned
The king asked the woman about it, and she told him.
Then he assigned an official to her case and said to him, “Give back everything that belonged to her, including all the income from her land from the day she left the country until now.”
B/C she had signed up for the notifications, B/C she was paying attention and the communication lines were open, B/C she was prepared to respond appropriately to the notifications she rec’d, she got more back than she was asking for.
The king was so impressed to meet her and her son, to see in real life the young man Elisha had raised, well God had raised thru Elisha, So moved by her story, he assigned one of his officials to baby sit this claim thru the process and make sure she got back not only the land, but all the proceeds the land had earned while she was gone.
Unlikely in so many ways. The faithless king was so generous. And he did this for a woman.
Anybody else, any other time and the king would have told them to take a long walk on a short pier.
Forget about it. It’s the king’s now until the appropriate male heir comes to claim it. It would have been an easy case to make against this woman.
Only God.
But, this is what God does for those love Him and are called according to His purposes.
Not everything that happens to us is comfortable and easy. But, what comes of difficult times is good and beneficial; more than we could ask for.
Even when the majority around us are not, we are receiving the help we need when we need it to get what’s best for us.
God’s word is always good. His timing is always perfect. His notifications are always helpful.
Sign up for God’s notifications. Keep the lines of communication open. Be prepared to act on the notifications you receive.
Applications
Applications
Sign up
Sign up
How? Faith.
Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—
Believe in all that Jesus is, came to do, and will do for you.
Receive his offer of new life, his offer to that whatever punishment God may have for you, he’ll do the time for you.
As soon as you decide to be a follower of Jesus, the HS will come and change you from the inside out.
He will be your best counselor, encourager, and source of energy to do what you need to do.
Lines of communication
Lines of communication
There are 3 primary lines. All assisted by the HS. Once you have the HS, all these lines open up in ways you didn’t have before.
There is the written word of God. Read and Study. Reading large chunks is good. Memorizing verses is good. Studying definitions, meanings, and history is good.
The bible will help you know what to expect of God, what not to expect of God, and what to expect of yourself.
Pray. Just talk to God. Share your fears, struggle, joys, and heartaches. Praise Him for who His, thank Him for what he does, apologize for what you do wrong, and ask for help. Then, listen.
Spend time w/ friends who also have the HS who can speak into your life. They help alot. They may not get it exactly right about what God is saying to you, but they can get you on the right track to hear for yourself.
Keep these lines of communication open so when the next notification from God comes thru you’re prepared to act.
Be prepared
Be prepared
We live in the forest. We always have to be ready even before the authorities tell us to be ready.
We have to have had the conversations, we have to have the courage in place, and we have to have a plan.
God gives us access to all 3.
He helps us communicate w/ ea other, he gives us courage when ours is lacking, and He gives us wisdom when we ask.
He will take our fears and give us what need to act like we’re not really afraid and know what to do.
Always be prepared.
We’ve got to believe God is always and only good, is involved in our lives on a personal level, knows what He’s doing, and we’ve got to know how to use the tools we have to communicate w/ Him.
The timing of his notifications is perfect. As long as we are paying attention, we will end up in the right place at the right time.