1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:03,520 Turn with me to 2nd Kings Chapter 6. 2 00:00:03,720 --> 00:00:07,720 We are beginning a new chapter tonight in the study of this 3 00:00:07,720 --> 00:00:11,320 precious book. And as you're turning to the 4 00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:14,440 second Kings 6, I want to ask you a question that you don't 5 00:00:14,440 --> 00:00:16,800 have to answer. You can answer in your heart. 6 00:00:18,680 --> 00:00:23,640 Which of Elijah's miracles has impacted you the most up to this 7 00:00:23,640 --> 00:00:25,880 point? I want to ask you that 8 00:00:26,440 --> 00:00:27,960 personally. What would your answer be? 9 00:00:29,960 --> 00:00:34,280 Would it be the miraculous provision of that oil for that 10 00:00:34,280 --> 00:00:38,200 widow and her two sons? Would it be the marvellous 11 00:00:38,760 --> 00:00:43,040 resurrection miracle of the Shunamite sun? 12 00:00:44,720 --> 00:00:49,560 Would it be the undeserved guidance that Elijah provided to 13 00:00:49,560 --> 00:00:52,080 the Three Kings when they were preparing to go to war with 14 00:00:52,080 --> 00:00:56,440 Moab? There is no right or wrong 15 00:00:56,440 --> 00:00:59,080 answer. Each miracle is powerful in its 16 00:00:59,080 --> 00:01:03,960 own way. But if you were to ask me what 17 00:01:03,960 --> 00:01:10,240 supernatural story up to this point has moved you, I would 18 00:01:10,240 --> 00:01:13,720 tell you that the one that resonates with me the most is 19 00:01:13,720 --> 00:01:15,720 what we're about to read in the first few verses. 20 00:01:15,720 --> 00:01:21,080 The Second Kings chapter 6. We're going to study 7 verses. 21 00:01:21,600 --> 00:01:26,720 That's how brief this miracle is within the span of seven verses. 22 00:01:26,760 --> 00:01:31,560 And in it you're going to find an interesting insert in this 23 00:01:31,560 --> 00:01:36,280 collection of supernatural interventions from God through 24 00:01:36,280 --> 00:01:38,120 the ministry of this man, Elijah. 25 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:42,680 So I trust that you're there. Let's begin in verse one down to 26 00:01:42,680 --> 00:01:46,040 verse 7. And if the sound team can help 27 00:01:46,040 --> 00:01:49,640 me with the buzzing, I think there's bees or Wasps behind me. 28 00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:56,920 There it is, verse one. Now the sons of the prophets 29 00:01:56,920 --> 00:02:01,480 said to Elijah, see, the place where we dwell under your charge 30 00:02:01,480 --> 00:02:05,920 is too small for us. Let us go to the Jordan and each 31 00:02:05,920 --> 00:02:09,720 of us get there a log and let us make a place for us to dwell 32 00:02:09,720 --> 00:02:12,720 there. Any answered, go. 33 00:02:13,520 --> 00:02:15,800 Then one of them said, Be pleased to go with your 34 00:02:15,800 --> 00:02:18,520 servants. And he answered, I will go. 35 00:02:19,080 --> 00:02:22,400 So he went with them, and when they came to the Jordan they cut 36 00:02:22,400 --> 00:02:25,360 down trees. But as one was felling a log, 37 00:02:25,360 --> 00:02:29,600 his axe had fell into the water. And he cried out, Alas, my 38 00:02:29,600 --> 00:02:34,600 master, it was borrowed. And the man of God said, where 39 00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:37,760 did it fall? When he showed him the place, he 40 00:02:37,760 --> 00:02:42,720 cut off a stick and threw it in there and made the iron float, 41 00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:47,360 and he said, Take it up. So he reached out his hand and 42 00:02:47,360 --> 00:02:52,880 took it. Pray with me, Lord, we want to 43 00:02:52,880 --> 00:02:58,280 pray what we sang. Oh Father, use my rants of life 44 00:02:58,360 --> 00:03:02,600 in any way you choose. We surrender ourselves to your 45 00:03:02,600 --> 00:03:05,440 fresh tonight. And Lord, we know that we cannot 46 00:03:05,440 --> 00:03:08,440 ultimately be used unless we know Your word. 47 00:03:08,800 --> 00:03:13,680 And so we pray that you bathe us in the revelations that you 48 00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:16,040 desire to convey through these verses. 49 00:03:16,040 --> 00:03:19,360 Help us hear your voice. See your wisdom, Lord, we just 50 00:03:19,360 --> 00:03:22,280 pray that there would be a great protection from any distraction, 51 00:03:22,280 --> 00:03:24,880 anything that would rob us from the fullness of this Bible 52 00:03:24,880 --> 00:03:27,640 study. Please, Lord, guide us step by 53 00:03:27,640 --> 00:03:31,480 step, verse by verse. We depend on You and we thank 54 00:03:31,480 --> 00:03:34,160 you in advance that we are people who could come freely 55 00:03:34,520 --> 00:03:37,800 with open Bibles, not having to fear to look over our shoulders. 56 00:03:38,120 --> 00:03:41,320 And we can relish and enjoy all that you have for us with any 57 00:03:41,520 --> 00:03:47,400 risk of being persecuted, arrested, harmed, harassed, so 58 00:03:47,400 --> 00:03:50,200 that we thank you for this time may not be wasted because we 59 00:03:50,200 --> 00:03:53,240 know things can change very quickly in the culture with 60 00:03:53,240 --> 00:03:55,880 government. So Lord, help us, help us be 61 00:03:55,880 --> 00:03:59,880 used by you and for your glory. While it is day for night is 62 00:03:59,880 --> 00:04:03,040 coming, when no man can work. We ask these things, trusting 63 00:04:03,040 --> 00:04:05,600 you with a zeal in our hearts, believing that you're going to 64 00:04:05,600 --> 00:04:08,200 fuel that passion more through your word. 65 00:04:08,440 --> 00:04:15,160 In Jesus name we pray, Amen. There are so many things that I 66 00:04:15,160 --> 00:04:18,839 can say from verse one alone, so many observations. 67 00:04:19,120 --> 00:04:22,040 I want us to look at it again Now, the sons of the prophets 68 00:04:22,040 --> 00:04:24,680 said to Elijah, see, the place where we dwell under your charge 69 00:04:24,680 --> 00:04:28,000 is too small for us. So I'm reading this and the 70 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:29,880 initial thought that comes to my mind, and This is why. 71 00:04:29,880 --> 00:04:34,240 Listen, it's always important to keep in mind the wider context 72 00:04:34,240 --> 00:04:35,840 of whatever book in the Bible you're reading. 73 00:04:36,960 --> 00:04:40,760 We have this tendency of isolating parts of God's Word 74 00:04:41,040 --> 00:04:44,480 when it was designed to be understood and viewed with a 75 00:04:44,480 --> 00:04:46,720 collection of other truths surrounding it. 76 00:04:47,600 --> 00:04:51,280 So let me ask you this to read that the place where the sons of 77 00:04:51,280 --> 00:04:54,920 the prophets dwell, these students, these seminary 78 00:04:55,520 --> 00:04:59,240 enrolled young prophets to see that where they were going to 79 00:04:59,240 --> 00:05:02,920 school, where they were living for the time being was too 80 00:05:02,920 --> 00:05:06,080 small. What does that indicate? 81 00:05:08,520 --> 00:05:09,960 It's very simple. It's not a true question. 82 00:05:10,720 --> 00:05:13,760 Growth now, OK, we say, OK, growth is good. 83 00:05:14,040 --> 00:05:16,720 But it's even better when you understand and you remind 84 00:05:16,720 --> 00:05:18,640 yourself of the spiritual climate of this time. 85 00:05:19,440 --> 00:05:23,520 Was Israel loving the true Lord? No. 86 00:05:23,520 --> 00:05:29,520 There was rampant idolatry, growing apostasy, and all the 87 00:05:29,520 --> 00:05:36,040 while the culture Israel society was increasing in moral 88 00:05:36,040 --> 00:05:40,880 darkness, God was still recruiting servants of God. 89 00:05:41,800 --> 00:05:46,640 He's calling men. He's training men, He's 90 00:05:46,640 --> 00:05:52,120 selecting men more than ever. And right there, I'm encouraged 91 00:05:52,720 --> 00:05:55,400 as I take a peek outside and look at our nation and realize 92 00:05:55,400 --> 00:05:58,320 that it's not the same nation as it once was just a few decades 93 00:05:58,320 --> 00:06:03,560 ago. And instead of being overcome by 94 00:06:03,760 --> 00:06:06,240 a culture that is growing in their indifference towards the 95 00:06:06,240 --> 00:06:10,960 things of God, I realize that God is still recruiting. 96 00:06:11,800 --> 00:06:13,840 He's still doing things in people's lives. 97 00:06:13,840 --> 00:06:16,080 He's still drawing people. He's still gifting them. 98 00:06:16,080 --> 00:06:18,840 He's still anointing them. He's still empowering them. 99 00:06:19,560 --> 00:06:23,000 It's no different than this day. We should trust that He's always 100 00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:24,600 been doing that throughout church history, and he will 101 00:06:24,600 --> 00:06:26,240 continue to do that until the end of the age. 102 00:06:27,200 --> 00:06:29,240 And so we should be encouraged by this, right? 103 00:06:29,640 --> 00:06:33,840 That despite all the craziness, the gates of hell will not 104 00:06:33,840 --> 00:06:36,960 prevail against the church. And God is building His church 105 00:06:36,960 --> 00:06:39,240 and strengthen His church. Yes, governments are collapsing. 106 00:06:39,240 --> 00:06:43,320 Yes, society is is derailing, But the church, the true church, 107 00:06:43,720 --> 00:06:45,720 is developing and growing stronger and stronger. 108 00:06:48,080 --> 00:06:53,960 With that I see something else. The passionate dedication and 109 00:06:53,960 --> 00:06:57,760 interest of the sons of the prophets is wonderful, not just 110 00:06:59,080 --> 00:07:03,000 despite the issues going around them culturally, but because of 111 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:06,080 a certain scandal that happened among the sons of the prophets. 112 00:07:07,040 --> 00:07:11,280 Again, always keep in mind what happened before, what's 113 00:07:11,280 --> 00:07:14,560 happening next, what's going on in the larger context of the 114 00:07:14,560 --> 00:07:18,040 book. Where did we conclude when it 115 00:07:18,040 --> 00:07:20,480 came to Elijah's ministry last last Friday? 116 00:07:20,480 --> 00:07:24,880 What what did we study concerning him and his ministry? 117 00:07:25,640 --> 00:07:28,200 Something happened not with Elijah, but with his assistant. 118 00:07:28,760 --> 00:07:30,760 What was his name? Gehazi. 119 00:07:30,760 --> 00:07:32,000 Yes. And what happened? 120 00:07:32,160 --> 00:07:34,480 He was cursed by God because of his embezzlement. 121 00:07:36,480 --> 00:07:40,040 He lied, he deceived, and he used the ministry for personal 122 00:07:40,040 --> 00:07:45,240 gain and he became a leper. Now, Gehazi was not just 123 00:07:45,360 --> 00:07:48,480 Elijah's personal assistant. We have reason to believe that 124 00:07:48,480 --> 00:07:51,560 he was actually being trained to succeed Elijah, just like Elijah 125 00:07:51,560 --> 00:07:55,000 succeeded Elijah. So he was just any ordinary 126 00:07:55,000 --> 00:07:56,880 servant. He was somebody who was selected 127 00:07:57,280 --> 00:08:00,440 potentially to take this man of God's place one day. 128 00:08:01,240 --> 00:08:04,440 And if that's the case, and you can imagine how his downfall 129 00:08:04,600 --> 00:08:09,160 would have sent a shockwave of discouragement among the sons of 130 00:08:09,160 --> 00:08:12,560 the prophets. But what do we read instead? 131 00:08:13,280 --> 00:08:19,120 We find these students laser focused, committed more than 132 00:08:19,120 --> 00:08:23,080 ever. They didn't lose any steam, They 133 00:08:23,080 --> 00:08:25,760 didn't recant in their convictions or their callings. 134 00:08:26,200 --> 00:08:29,120 They kept their eyes on the Lord and they marched on. 135 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:32,960 So let these students in verse one inspire you and me. 136 00:08:33,600 --> 00:08:37,640 Because failures that are committed by other people who 137 00:08:37,640 --> 00:08:41,520 claim to serve God, even spiritual leaders, is not a rare 138 00:08:41,520 --> 00:08:45,160 occurrence. And if you haven't experienced 139 00:08:45,160 --> 00:08:48,040 it in your context yet, God forbid, you never have to. 140 00:08:48,480 --> 00:08:50,960 But at the same time, I have to be honest, brace yourself. 141 00:08:51,720 --> 00:08:54,440 Brace yourself. You will be let down by somebody 142 00:08:54,440 --> 00:08:56,760 who bears the name of Christ. You might even be let down by a 143 00:08:56,760 --> 00:09:01,960 major leader or influence. When that does happen, or if it 144 00:09:01,960 --> 00:09:03,680 does happen, what are you going to do? 145 00:09:05,600 --> 00:09:08,320 What are you going to do? Determine today and let this 146 00:09:08,320 --> 00:09:12,600 study inspire you that you will serve the Lord wholeheartedly, 147 00:09:12,600 --> 00:09:16,640 even if others choose not to. I'm going to keep my eyes on 148 00:09:16,640 --> 00:09:21,280 Christ and I'm going to serve Him in whatever way I can, even 149 00:09:21,280 --> 00:09:23,360 if others fall along the wayside. 150 00:09:24,280 --> 00:09:27,240 So Ghazi is removed, right? I mean, we got to remember 151 00:09:27,400 --> 00:09:29,120 there's only a remnant in Israel. 152 00:09:29,120 --> 00:09:35,120 There's only a few thousand among millions, and that the guy 153 00:09:35,120 --> 00:09:38,800 next in line to take the top position among the prophets 154 00:09:38,960 --> 00:09:42,800 blows it. What do you find the sons of the 155 00:09:42,800 --> 00:09:46,960 prophets doing lining up for months and years to counseling 156 00:09:46,960 --> 00:09:48,080 sessions? I'm not against counseling 157 00:09:48,080 --> 00:09:50,160 sessions, but you don't see them doing that. 158 00:09:50,160 --> 00:09:51,240 I know. OK, what do we need to do? 159 00:09:51,240 --> 00:09:57,160 Let's get to work. Man falls, God doesn't fall, God 160 00:09:57,160 --> 00:09:59,680 doesn't fail. So let's see what God wants us 161 00:09:59,680 --> 00:10:01,520 to do. And they are going to do 162 00:10:01,520 --> 00:10:03,720 something. And I want you to be inspired 163 00:10:03,720 --> 00:10:06,280 with that too. I want to bring a different 164 00:10:06,280 --> 00:10:09,960 vantage point though, with with Ghazi's failure brought to our 165 00:10:09,960 --> 00:10:14,040 attention. I mean, that's the last verse of 166 00:10:14,040 --> 00:10:17,360 chapter 5, right? The leprosy of Naben shall cling 167 00:10:17,360 --> 00:10:18,600 to you into your descendants forever. 168 00:10:18,600 --> 00:10:20,600 So he went out from his presence, a leper like snow. 169 00:10:20,600 --> 00:10:23,000 And then the next verse, in chapter 6, verse one, now the 170 00:10:23,000 --> 00:10:25,520 sons of the prophets said to Elijah, and they're talking 171 00:10:25,520 --> 00:10:27,400 about how they outgrew the space. 172 00:10:27,840 --> 00:10:33,880 Is it possible that there's some connection between Gehazi's 173 00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:39,520 disqualification, dismissal and the growth of the sons of the 174 00:10:39,520 --> 00:10:43,640 prophets? It's not explicitly stated, but 175 00:10:43,640 --> 00:10:49,120 it's biblically warranted. We saw some dark streaks in 176 00:10:49,120 --> 00:10:51,240 Ghazi's character early on, did we not? 177 00:10:52,240 --> 00:10:55,040 One of them was when the Shudamite woman came to Elijah 178 00:10:55,040 --> 00:10:57,480 because her son died. She clung to him. 179 00:10:57,480 --> 00:10:59,040 And what did Ghazi do? He shoot. 180 00:10:59,040 --> 00:11:03,240 He tried to shoo her away, and he was rebuked for that red 181 00:11:03,240 --> 00:11:06,240 flag. What was another red flag in 182 00:11:06,240 --> 00:11:09,200 that story? When Elijah told him to go on 183 00:11:09,200 --> 00:11:12,240 ahead, take his staff at the place it on the boy, Did the boy 184 00:11:12,600 --> 00:11:16,200 show any sign of life? Another red flag. 185 00:11:18,120 --> 00:11:21,720 So there were warning signs and then ultimately just manifest in 186 00:11:21,720 --> 00:11:25,600 chapter 5. And I'm thinking, I wonder if 187 00:11:25,600 --> 00:11:32,280 this man carry that kind of an energy, if he unintentionally, 188 00:11:32,280 --> 00:11:35,920 just because of who he was, made a negative impact among the sons 189 00:11:35,920 --> 00:11:38,640 of the prophets. And I wonder if Ghazi was that 190 00:11:38,640 --> 00:11:40,960 kind of guy, like when he was in the meeting and when he was, 191 00:11:41,560 --> 00:11:44,240 when he was sharing his thoughts and something just people kind 192 00:11:44,240 --> 00:11:49,240 of cringed a bit. We can't say for certain. 193 00:11:50,840 --> 00:11:53,600 I also wonder if there was a sense of relief in some way 194 00:11:53,600 --> 00:11:55,560 because Gehazi was removed from the scene. 195 00:11:57,160 --> 00:12:00,560 Again, we can't say for sure. But one thing is for certain, as 196 00:12:00,560 --> 00:12:05,160 a biblical principle, sometimes before a spiritual house can 197 00:12:05,160 --> 00:12:08,120 increase, God has to clean that house. 198 00:12:10,040 --> 00:12:11,440 Hey, there's so many examples of that. 199 00:12:11,440 --> 00:12:14,560 Funny enough, this morning I'm in my Bible. 200 00:12:14,560 --> 00:12:16,440 I told you earlier I was reading the book of Matthew. 201 00:12:16,440 --> 00:12:19,040 I still am reading Matthew and I came to a familiar passage. 202 00:12:19,040 --> 00:12:20,440 I want you to see it with your own eyes. 203 00:12:21,120 --> 00:12:24,480 But this time maybe because I was reading Second Kings the 204 00:12:24,480 --> 00:12:26,320 other day, preparing for tonight. 205 00:12:26,920 --> 00:12:30,280 This was highlighted to me in Matthew 21, verse 12. 206 00:12:30,280 --> 00:12:33,560 This is when Jesus entered into the temple and drove out all who 207 00:12:33,560 --> 00:12:37,280 sold and bought in the temple. I want you to read it, but I 208 00:12:37,280 --> 00:12:39,480 want you to see a sequence of thought perhaps that you haven't 209 00:12:39,480 --> 00:12:44,520 noticed. Matthew 2112 And Jesus entered 210 00:12:44,520 --> 00:12:47,600 the temple of drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, 211 00:12:47,600 --> 00:12:50,800 and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats 212 00:12:50,800 --> 00:12:53,720 of those who sold pigeons. He said to them, It is written, 213 00:12:53,720 --> 00:12:56,080 My house shall be called the House of prayer, but you make it 214 00:12:56,080 --> 00:12:58,680 a den of robbers. Most of us know this by heart. 215 00:12:59,960 --> 00:13:03,800 So he comes in to clean house because they're operating in a 216 00:13:03,800 --> 00:13:06,000 mirror in which it was not designed. 217 00:13:06,800 --> 00:13:09,920 And he reminds the people there, the audience, this house is 218 00:13:09,920 --> 00:13:13,760 called a House of prayer. It's not meant to be a business. 219 00:13:15,880 --> 00:13:19,360 But Matthew gives us something interesting in the following 220 00:13:19,360 --> 00:13:20,680 verse. After he cleans house. 221 00:13:20,680 --> 00:13:24,920 Notice what happens in verse 14. And the blind and the lame came 222 00:13:24,920 --> 00:13:27,800 to him in the temple and he healed them. 223 00:13:30,280 --> 00:13:32,160 An interesting thought to include there. 224 00:13:32,960 --> 00:13:35,560 So here's here's how things flow. 225 00:13:35,840 --> 00:13:39,760 Jesus comes in, he cleans house, God's house. 226 00:13:40,720 --> 00:13:45,120 And after he cleans house, the power of God in the temple 227 00:13:45,960 --> 00:13:47,600 manifested. And people were receiving 228 00:13:47,600 --> 00:13:50,400 healing. People came in after something 229 00:13:50,400 --> 00:13:52,360 was done. After things were removed, 230 00:13:52,560 --> 00:13:56,160 people were able to come in and experience something heavenly. 231 00:13:59,440 --> 00:14:03,200 This is one of many examples that reveal the instances of the 232 00:14:03,200 --> 00:14:07,160 Lord's purging work. And sometimes when the Lord 233 00:14:07,160 --> 00:14:12,360 purges us, what's included in that procedure is that He will 234 00:14:12,360 --> 00:14:18,760 remove certain influences or relationships that will hinder 235 00:14:18,760 --> 00:14:20,720 personal or even collective growth. 236 00:14:22,200 --> 00:14:26,000 That's why you and I have to train ourselves to not be so 237 00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:32,960 overwhelmed if the Lord in His Providence removes people from 238 00:14:32,960 --> 00:14:36,800 our lives or ministry that bring no spiritual benefit to you. 239 00:14:40,480 --> 00:14:43,800 Because in His sovereignty, one of the things that He assures 240 00:14:43,800 --> 00:14:47,120 those who are truly abiding in Him, you know it very well in 241 00:14:47,120 --> 00:14:53,560 John 15 verse 2, any branch in me that does not bear fruit He 242 00:14:53,560 --> 00:14:57,320 removes. But the branch who does bear 243 00:14:57,320 --> 00:15:01,600 fruit, He prunes that it may bear more fruit. 244 00:15:03,800 --> 00:15:06,040 Pruning is cutting. Cutting is uncomfortable. 245 00:15:06,040 --> 00:15:08,560 It hurts, but it is necessary for growth. 246 00:15:10,320 --> 00:15:14,040 And maybe in a corporate setting, in an individual 247 00:15:14,040 --> 00:15:16,760 setting, for sure the Lord will prune. 248 00:15:16,760 --> 00:15:20,320 He will remove sometimes that looks like distractions in your 249 00:15:20,320 --> 00:15:26,320 life, misplaced priorities. Sometimes it's people that 250 00:15:26,320 --> 00:15:30,360 should not be connected to you or people who should not be in 251 00:15:30,360 --> 00:15:36,720 leadership positions before a house, whether it's a corporate 252 00:15:36,720 --> 00:15:41,280 house or the individual temple. The Holy Spirit can increase God 253 00:15:41,280 --> 00:15:45,440 sometimes has to clean Gehazi's remove that find an interesting 254 00:15:45,440 --> 00:15:50,200 following that that the seminary there in Israel is growing. 255 00:15:50,200 --> 00:15:53,680 It's booming. Let's go to verse two of second 256 00:15:53,680 --> 00:15:57,440 kings. The inspiration of these 257 00:15:57,440 --> 00:16:03,240 students only grows more. Let us go to the Jordan and each 258 00:16:03,240 --> 00:16:07,360 of us get there a log and let us make a place for us to dwell 259 00:16:07,440 --> 00:16:10,240 there. OK, so it's one thing to 260 00:16:10,240 --> 00:16:13,040 recognize a need. It's a whole other thing for you 261 00:16:13,040 --> 00:16:15,920 to offer a solution and to volunteer to be an answer. 262 00:16:17,240 --> 00:16:20,240 So you have these sons of the prophets who say, why don't we 263 00:16:20,240 --> 00:16:22,480 move? Go closer to the Jordan and 264 00:16:22,480 --> 00:16:24,320 build a bigger place. We have real estate there. 265 00:16:24,320 --> 00:16:27,440 Let's take advantage of it. May I suggest to you tonight, 266 00:16:27,440 --> 00:16:30,720 precious people of God, that we must adopt A similar mentality. 267 00:16:32,880 --> 00:16:37,520 It is helpful to highlight problems and bring that 268 00:16:37,520 --> 00:16:42,920 attention to your leaders, but it's much more helpful to not 269 00:16:42,920 --> 00:16:48,160 just come with issues, but to also present prayed up solutions 270 00:16:49,080 --> 00:16:51,840 and even to be willing to be part of an answer. 271 00:16:52,040 --> 00:16:56,360 Voicing problems can help, but doing more than that and coming 272 00:16:56,360 --> 00:17:00,680 alongside to be a part of the answer is how we will thrive. 273 00:17:03,040 --> 00:17:06,160 And there are three important words in this verse that we 274 00:17:06,160 --> 00:17:07,520 can't afford to miss. Read it again. 275 00:17:07,520 --> 00:17:10,680 Let us go to the Jordan and hear the three words. 276 00:17:10,760 --> 00:17:19,359 Each of us, Each of us, not some of us, each of us, we're all 277 00:17:19,359 --> 00:17:21,920 signing up for this. Get there a log and let us make 278 00:17:21,920 --> 00:17:27,200 a place for us to dwell there. The only way that we can see 279 00:17:27,200 --> 00:17:29,520 significant growth, if you're passionate about God's Kingdom 280 00:17:29,520 --> 00:17:33,800 advancing in the city, in the state, the only way that we can 281 00:17:33,800 --> 00:17:38,200 see that progression is with this each of us mentality. 282 00:17:39,520 --> 00:17:43,440 Some of us will not take us very far, but like these sons of the 283 00:17:43,440 --> 00:17:46,480 prophets, when you and I are willing to cut a piece of the 284 00:17:46,480 --> 00:17:50,240 work and carry that load, miracles can happen. 285 00:17:51,120 --> 00:17:57,040 Amazing things can take place, and we've seen that here. 286 00:17:57,080 --> 00:17:58,960 I praise God that Maranatha Bible Church is filled with 287 00:17:58,960 --> 00:18:02,240 people like, I mean, I, I shared it in the announcements last 288 00:18:02,240 --> 00:18:03,440 Friday. I made an announcement. 289 00:18:03,440 --> 00:18:06,640 Can we, can we have people help us downstairs to set up, you 290 00:18:06,640 --> 00:18:08,640 know how long that took us 15 minutes. 291 00:18:08,640 --> 00:18:10,400 You know what would have taken us if we just had people who 292 00:18:10,400 --> 00:18:12,640 were designated for that probably a couple hours. 293 00:18:12,640 --> 00:18:15,240 And then the same thing happened Sunday night when we tore down 294 00:18:15,480 --> 00:18:18,240 so many people stayed back and we were able to get things done 295 00:18:18,480 --> 00:18:21,280 in such a short amount of time. And so now I want you to take 296 00:18:21,280 --> 00:18:27,360 that very recent and simple example, magnified on a larger 297 00:18:27,360 --> 00:18:31,200 scale and on a consistent basis. What can we do as a church if 298 00:18:31,200 --> 00:18:34,760 each of us can identify a load that we're carrying? 299 00:18:34,840 --> 00:18:37,840 I'll tell you what, we can see great leaps and bounds. 300 00:18:38,760 --> 00:18:43,960 We can see massive increase development and effectiveness 301 00:18:43,960 --> 00:18:46,320 and fruitfulness and people being impacted and touched. 302 00:18:46,320 --> 00:18:48,640 I'm not talking about numerical growth necessarily. 303 00:18:48,640 --> 00:18:53,720 I'm talking about impact and it's going to have to take that 304 00:18:53,720 --> 00:18:56,440 kind of dedication. Each of us. 305 00:18:57,720 --> 00:19:02,120 Selfishness will stop the growth of any ministry, even this one, 306 00:19:05,800 --> 00:19:08,880 and we will not see true growth if it's only some of us. 307 00:19:08,880 --> 00:19:11,040 You know, this language of each of us is found all over the New 308 00:19:11,040 --> 00:19:12,920 Testament. Can I show you one place? 309 00:19:13,280 --> 00:19:17,960 Look at Ephesians chapter 4. In that chapter Paul talks about 310 00:19:17,960 --> 00:19:21,800 the body briefly, and notice what he says about the body, the 311 00:19:21,800 --> 00:19:25,480 mystical, the spiritual body of Christ in Ephesians 4 and verse 312 00:19:25,480 --> 00:19:32,580 15. Rather speaking the truth and 313 00:19:32,580 --> 00:19:35,860 love, we are to grow up in every way into Him who is the head 314 00:19:35,860 --> 00:19:39,900 into Christ, from whom the whole body joined and held together by 315 00:19:39,900 --> 00:19:42,780 every joint with which is it is equipped. 316 00:19:43,260 --> 00:19:49,680 When each part is working properly makes the body grow so 317 00:19:49,680 --> 00:19:51,520 that it builds itself up in life. 318 00:19:51,560 --> 00:19:52,680 Do you see? It's there, right? 319 00:19:53,760 --> 00:19:58,360 When each part is working, not just working, working properly. 320 00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:00,920 It's possible to be working aimlessly. 321 00:20:01,280 --> 00:20:03,280 It's possible to be working and wasting your time. 322 00:20:03,760 --> 00:20:08,160 He's saying when each part is working properly, it makes the 323 00:20:08,160 --> 00:20:10,840 body grow. Can I ask you a simple question 324 00:20:10,840 --> 00:20:14,160 at this Bible study? Whatever church you're a part 325 00:20:14,160 --> 00:20:20,840 of, can you identify a load? That you are carrying or do you 326 00:20:20,840 --> 00:20:22,920 just listen to messages about carrying loads? 327 00:20:25,240 --> 00:20:26,720 I'm not talking about everybody's going to carry the 328 00:20:26,720 --> 00:20:29,440 same load, but if everybody carries a load, then it's going 329 00:20:29,440 --> 00:20:31,760 to be a lot lighter and things can get accomplished much 330 00:20:31,760 --> 00:20:33,760 quicker. So what's the load you're 331 00:20:33,760 --> 00:20:37,040 carrying? What is it that you do? 332 00:20:38,480 --> 00:20:41,480 Not where you go? What do you do in that place 333 00:20:41,480 --> 00:20:46,160 where you go? It could be anything from I pray 334 00:20:46,160 --> 00:20:49,560 for this church. I wish I was physically capable 335 00:20:49,560 --> 00:20:50,800 to do more things, but I can pray. 336 00:20:50,800 --> 00:20:53,120 I have a voice. I I lift up the members of the 337 00:20:53,120 --> 00:20:54,360 district. You're carrying a load. 338 00:20:55,280 --> 00:20:57,320 I greet people here. I'm part of that ministry. 339 00:20:57,320 --> 00:20:59,720 I play an instrument wonderful. I teach the kids. 340 00:20:59,720 --> 00:21:01,520 I clean up. I'm willing to clean up. 341 00:21:01,520 --> 00:21:02,840 Sign me up. Call me whatever you want to 342 00:21:02,840 --> 00:21:03,960 call me. Put any label on me. 343 00:21:04,160 --> 00:21:05,800 I'm willing to clean up if that's carrying load, I'm 344 00:21:05,800 --> 00:21:08,920 carrying load when each part, the sons of the provinces, each 345 00:21:08,920 --> 00:21:11,280 of us, not just some of us, when each of us. 346 00:21:12,960 --> 00:21:17,680 And in this case, they want to build a new campus, they want to 347 00:21:17,680 --> 00:21:20,760 find a new facility. And so they come up to Elijah 348 00:21:20,760 --> 00:21:23,640 and they say let's go build it, which I find absolutely 349 00:21:23,640 --> 00:21:25,840 fascinating concerning how God works. 350 00:21:27,720 --> 00:21:29,120 So what's fascinating about this? 351 00:21:29,120 --> 00:21:30,720 Let me tell you what's so fascinating about it. 352 00:21:31,000 --> 00:21:34,080 Apart from the Lord Jesus Christ in the Bible, there is no one 353 00:21:34,080 --> 00:21:37,720 else who has more recorded miracles attached to their name 354 00:21:38,120 --> 00:21:41,240 than Elijah. This man performed a lot of 355 00:21:41,240 --> 00:21:45,520 miracles. So with that in mind, here's 356 00:21:45,520 --> 00:21:47,480 what I would think if I was one of the sons of the prophets. 357 00:21:47,480 --> 00:21:50,440 If I was clever, I would have grabbed a couple of other 358 00:21:50,440 --> 00:21:53,760 students like, hey, we've seen Elijah do some amazing things. 359 00:21:53,760 --> 00:22:02,320 We need a new building. Doctor Elijah, we've seen you do 360 00:22:02,320 --> 00:22:04,760 incredible things. It's kind of tight in here. 361 00:22:05,800 --> 00:22:10,360 Can you just, you know, say something, do something, wave 362 00:22:10,360 --> 00:22:13,240 your hand? You know they didn't do that, 363 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:18,440 nor did Elijah look at them after they suggested this plan 364 00:22:18,440 --> 00:22:23,280 and say, Oh, you of little faith, do you not remember how 365 00:22:23,280 --> 00:22:26,200 God made the manna appear on the dew of the ground? 366 00:22:26,600 --> 00:22:29,400 Do you not believe that He can also provide a dwelling place 367 00:22:29,400 --> 00:22:34,720 for us out of thin air? None of those things were 368 00:22:34,720 --> 00:22:37,360 suggested. You know what this shows me? 369 00:22:37,640 --> 00:22:41,080 Even God's prophets are practical. 370 00:22:42,840 --> 00:22:45,800 You know why I say that to you? Because you have a lot of 371 00:22:45,800 --> 00:22:48,760 Christians who think being spiritual means being as 372 00:22:48,760 --> 00:22:53,160 impractical as possible. You have some good hearted 373 00:22:53,160 --> 00:22:54,960 Christians who want everything to be a miracle. 374 00:22:56,680 --> 00:22:59,840 So they're looking for a spouse and instead of, you know, like 375 00:22:59,840 --> 00:23:04,440 talking to people and getting to know them, they want it to 376 00:23:04,440 --> 00:23:09,920 happen by way of a miracle. You need a new house to live in 377 00:23:09,960 --> 00:23:12,160 and you're expecting it through divine intervention instead of 378 00:23:12,160 --> 00:23:17,760 saving up money and getting an agent and looking at places you 379 00:23:17,760 --> 00:23:20,920 want to be healthier, but you just want to pray about it 380 00:23:21,280 --> 00:23:24,680 instead of going to the doctor and changing your diet. 381 00:23:25,640 --> 00:23:28,920 Are you more spiritual than the sons of the prophets and Elijah? 382 00:23:31,880 --> 00:23:34,400 I'm not saying that God can't work in miraculous ways in these 383 00:23:34,400 --> 00:23:36,400 areas. I've seen it in these areas. 384 00:23:36,600 --> 00:23:42,560 But to be immobile unless he does is plain foolish and it's 385 00:23:42,560 --> 00:23:44,960 actually not spiritual. It's silly. 386 00:23:46,880 --> 00:23:48,800 You know what the spiritual thing is according to the Bible 387 00:23:49,560 --> 00:23:54,840 that you are practical. And as you engage in these hands 388 00:23:54,840 --> 00:24:00,320 on feet on the ground, realistic approaches, you do the next 389 00:24:00,320 --> 00:24:02,480 thing that the sons of the prophets do in verse 3. 390 00:24:02,800 --> 00:24:05,480 So they suggest let's get some tools, we have some land, let's 391 00:24:05,480 --> 00:24:07,280 build a place. But notice again what they do in 392 00:24:07,280 --> 00:24:08,600 verse 3. Let's read it. 393 00:24:08,720 --> 00:24:10,680 Then one of them said, be pleased to go with your 394 00:24:10,680 --> 00:24:12,160 servants. And he answered, I will go. 395 00:24:14,360 --> 00:24:17,640 So why do they want Elijah to come along with them? 396 00:24:17,640 --> 00:24:20,240 It's very simple because they recognize that he had a special 397 00:24:20,240 --> 00:24:23,800 connection with the Lord and they realize at the same time 398 00:24:23,800 --> 00:24:27,400 that they could benefit from his ongoing counsel and guidance, 399 00:24:27,480 --> 00:24:32,120 guidance in the process. So here's what I see from this 400 00:24:32,600 --> 00:24:35,320 that we're going to build a place. 401 00:24:36,480 --> 00:24:40,520 But Elijah, we would love for you to be our source of guidance 402 00:24:41,200 --> 00:24:44,080 every step of the way. Can I tell you what they're 403 00:24:44,080 --> 00:24:46,960 doing? They're including God's man, 404 00:24:47,880 --> 00:24:52,200 ultimately God, in their pursuits. 405 00:24:53,440 --> 00:24:55,680 That's what a truly spiritual person does. 406 00:24:56,360 --> 00:25:00,440 No matter how practical your task or your proposal may be, 407 00:25:00,800 --> 00:25:02,720 you don't fail to invite God in it. 408 00:25:06,160 --> 00:25:08,520 And this miracle is going to show that we should do that 409 00:25:08,520 --> 00:25:12,240 because He cares. Who do I mean by heat? 410 00:25:12,240 --> 00:25:15,080 God cares. God cares about even these 411 00:25:15,080 --> 00:25:17,280 things because He cares about us. 412 00:25:17,280 --> 00:25:23,480 So can I ask you, whatever you do, make it a habit to ask the 413 00:25:23,480 --> 00:25:30,760 Lord to protect you from foolish investments, blind spots in your 414 00:25:30,760 --> 00:25:35,920 decisions to go ahead of you so that you would not waste your 415 00:25:35,920 --> 00:25:38,640 time or deplete yourself of resources. 416 00:25:41,080 --> 00:25:43,680 I pray this all the time. I'm talking about when, when we 417 00:25:43,680 --> 00:25:46,720 have to purchase things for the house or we have to do something 418 00:25:47,720 --> 00:25:50,720 very hands on and, and we have to engage with other people for 419 00:25:50,720 --> 00:25:53,560 that work. I always ask the Lord, Lord, 420 00:25:53,560 --> 00:25:55,520 please, I don't want to make a mistake here. 421 00:25:55,520 --> 00:25:57,880 I want to be a good steward of my resources. 422 00:25:58,240 --> 00:26:02,200 I, I want this to be in any way possible a, a gracious 423 00:26:02,200 --> 00:26:05,560 transition, a gracious process. Lord, just please go before me 424 00:26:05,560 --> 00:26:08,040 in this. Please open my eyes, right? 425 00:26:09,280 --> 00:26:11,040 Please use this for your glory. Somehow. 426 00:26:12,240 --> 00:26:17,760 Invite the Lord in those things, not just for crises, not just 427 00:26:17,760 --> 00:26:20,280 for problems, not just for evangelism and everything. 428 00:26:20,280 --> 00:26:24,120 Even when you're building an extension to your school, invite 429 00:26:24,120 --> 00:26:27,920 them. And this is what's so wonderful. 430 00:26:27,960 --> 00:26:30,560 These were Bible college students, and I wonder if these 431 00:26:30,560 --> 00:26:34,160 students of God's Word had a particular verse in mind before 432 00:26:34,160 --> 00:26:37,480 they invited Elijah. Psalm 27, verse one. 433 00:26:37,480 --> 00:26:41,800 Unless the Lord builds the house, those who labor build it 434 00:26:41,800 --> 00:26:44,720 in vain. I just like to have my 435 00:26:44,720 --> 00:26:47,400 sanctified imagination think that that was one of the verses 436 00:26:47,400 --> 00:26:49,800 that came to their minds. And they said we can't look, we 437 00:26:49,800 --> 00:26:53,200 have every, we have our, we have our land, we have the wood, we 438 00:26:53,200 --> 00:26:55,080 have the exact location. We have some tools. 439 00:26:55,080 --> 00:26:57,280 We got enough men, but we need God's blessing. 440 00:26:58,680 --> 00:27:01,520 We need God's blessing on this Elijah, please come with us. 441 00:27:01,520 --> 00:27:03,800 And we're we're going to find out by the end of the story that 442 00:27:03,800 --> 00:27:05,640 it was a good thing that they did bring Elijah with them. 443 00:27:08,920 --> 00:27:13,560 So far this body of believers are doing everything just right. 444 00:27:15,120 --> 00:27:18,000 But something happens. Verse 4. 445 00:27:19,120 --> 00:27:21,800 So he went with them. And when they came to the 446 00:27:21,800 --> 00:27:26,040 Jordan, they cut down the trees. But as one was felling a log, 447 00:27:26,040 --> 00:27:29,240 his axe had fell into the water. And he cried out. 448 00:27:29,240 --> 00:27:31,880 Alas, my master, it was borrowed. 449 00:27:35,040 --> 00:27:39,960 There's one detail about this incident that you and I have to 450 00:27:39,960 --> 00:27:42,040 meditate on. It's a very simple thing. 451 00:27:42,600 --> 00:27:47,680 This axe head was borrowed. He didn't buy it. 452 00:27:48,440 --> 00:27:54,280 It was lended to him. And that really just reinforces 453 00:27:54,280 --> 00:27:56,880 the point that I just made earlier, that God didn't make a 454 00:27:56,880 --> 00:27:59,440 building magically appear, nor did He provide the tools to 455 00:27:59,440 --> 00:28:05,200 build it in a supernatural way. You have to understand that 456 00:28:05,200 --> 00:28:08,040 servants of God are not exempt from the natural courses of 457 00:28:08,040 --> 00:28:11,960 life's challenges and actions. So the son of one of the 458 00:28:11,960 --> 00:28:15,160 prophets had to go to a relative or one of his neighbors, knock 459 00:28:15,160 --> 00:28:18,360 on the door and convince that person we're building a new 460 00:28:18,360 --> 00:28:20,760 school. Can I borrow one of your axes? 461 00:28:22,440 --> 00:28:23,600 Right. The Christian life is very 462 00:28:23,600 --> 00:28:29,040 practical. So he does this, and I think 463 00:28:29,040 --> 00:28:32,440 this is also a reflection of the the destitute condition of the 464 00:28:32,440 --> 00:28:33,880 sons of the prophets. They didn't even have enough 465 00:28:33,880 --> 00:28:37,600 tools. They didn't even have enough of 466 00:28:38,360 --> 00:28:40,560 the necessary instruments to make this thing happen. 467 00:28:40,560 --> 00:28:46,000 They have to go around and ask. And this is actually more of an 468 00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:47,440 encouraging thought than anything else. 469 00:28:47,440 --> 00:28:49,120 Why? Because this was a season of 470 00:28:49,120 --> 00:28:50,880 need. They weren't getting a lot of 471 00:28:50,880 --> 00:28:53,640 funding from fellow Israelites for their school. 472 00:28:54,560 --> 00:28:59,080 They barely had a meal to eat just a few chapters ago or 473 00:28:59,080 --> 00:29:02,120 verses ago. And here we see that they also 474 00:29:02,120 --> 00:29:08,080 didn't have enough resources. And yet in this season of need, 475 00:29:09,360 --> 00:29:12,600 they still had God with them. Why? 476 00:29:12,600 --> 00:29:15,840 Because yes, this is a borrowed axe and he got a little bit too 477 00:29:15,840 --> 00:29:18,280 excited. The axe had flies through the 478 00:29:18,280 --> 00:29:22,000 air, plunges into the water, and God is right there. 479 00:29:22,160 --> 00:29:25,600 And for some strange reason, it's then where he performs the 480 00:29:25,600 --> 00:29:28,440 miracle for this Acts had to be restored. 481 00:29:29,960 --> 00:29:36,720 So some might say, where was God for this body of students to get 482 00:29:36,720 --> 00:29:39,200 the resources? I'm saying don't look at it that 483 00:29:39,200 --> 00:29:41,080 way. Look at it in this way that God 484 00:29:41,080 --> 00:29:43,160 in his wisdom knows what to give us, what not to give us. 485 00:29:43,160 --> 00:29:46,480 But He's there every step of the way. 486 00:29:48,200 --> 00:29:50,080 He's there when you have plenty. He's there when you're 487 00:29:50,080 --> 00:29:53,720 borrowing, he's there when you're working a wonderful job. 488 00:29:53,720 --> 00:29:57,440 He's there when you have no job. He's there when you're healthy, 489 00:29:57,600 --> 00:30:00,400 he's there when you're sick. He's always there. 490 00:30:01,640 --> 00:30:03,160 And that's what this story shows us. 491 00:30:04,560 --> 00:30:10,040 But what's so interesting here is that this happened after 492 00:30:10,040 --> 00:30:13,240 everything that you can imagine can go right, went right, every 493 00:30:13,240 --> 00:30:18,440 kind of attitude, act of faith, practical humility. 494 00:30:20,440 --> 00:30:23,000 Why did this happen? Why did this inconvenience take 495 00:30:23,000 --> 00:30:25,560 place? Why couldn't it have just been a 496 00:30:25,560 --> 00:30:30,120 smooth process? You stayed in the will of God 497 00:30:30,800 --> 00:30:33,880 despite the scandal, despite the growing coldness spiritually in 498 00:30:33,880 --> 00:30:37,840 the land. Instead of being lazy, you're 499 00:30:37,840 --> 00:30:39,920 active. And you said each one of us are 500 00:30:39,920 --> 00:30:43,080 going to participate. You invited the man of God who 501 00:30:43,080 --> 00:30:45,200 represented God into your like you did. 502 00:30:45,480 --> 00:30:49,800 You checked off every box. And here's one of them who's 503 00:30:49,800 --> 00:30:53,480 going to work and he loses something that he borrowed. 504 00:30:55,400 --> 00:30:59,120 And he's saying, I get it. Like, I get that losing 505 00:30:59,120 --> 00:31:00,520 something can be an inconvenience and can be 506 00:31:00,520 --> 00:31:04,960 annoying, but what's the big deal about a piece of a tool 507 00:31:04,960 --> 00:31:07,520 breaking? Well, it's a big deal to him. 508 00:31:08,680 --> 00:31:10,240 Notice the language again at verse 5. 509 00:31:10,520 --> 00:31:13,320 But as one was filling a log, his axe had fell into the water 510 00:31:13,320 --> 00:31:17,800 and he cried out. He didn't just drag his feet to 511 00:31:17,800 --> 00:31:20,680 Elijah to say like something happened, we got to find out the 512 00:31:20,680 --> 00:31:23,600 solution. He was desperate, he cried out. 513 00:31:24,960 --> 00:31:29,600 What's the reason for the fear? Well, I think there's different 514 00:31:29,600 --> 00:31:33,920 things that we can consider. One thing to consider is that 515 00:31:33,920 --> 00:31:38,080 this man now was no longer able to participate in the building 516 00:31:38,080 --> 00:31:41,160 process. So that made an impact on this 517 00:31:41,160 --> 00:31:46,200 whole project to begin with and it annoyed him that he could not 518 00:31:46,560 --> 00:31:49,840 serve in this capacity. I wonder if we've come to the 519 00:31:49,840 --> 00:31:52,400 place in our service to the Lord that if we're ever hindered from 520 00:31:52,400 --> 00:31:57,400 doing it, it would bother us. It bother this man. 521 00:31:58,280 --> 00:32:00,880 My wife and I were talking on our way here about the COVID 522 00:32:00,880 --> 00:32:01,720 years. I can't believe that even 523 00:32:01,720 --> 00:32:04,040 happened. It's like a dream. 524 00:32:04,160 --> 00:32:06,000 Like how did that happen? Cuz we're driving and things 525 00:32:06,000 --> 00:32:08,400 were busy and we're talking about the meeting tonight. 526 00:32:08,400 --> 00:32:15,160 In past meetings, and I did not enjoy talking into a camera with 527 00:32:15,160 --> 00:32:19,000 no other faces in the place. I really didn't thank God that 528 00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:21,000 we didn't take too long to open back up again. 529 00:32:23,000 --> 00:32:26,960 But I was reflecting on that and I remember we were talking about 530 00:32:26,960 --> 00:32:29,880 the days when people were again coming back together and we were 531 00:32:29,880 --> 00:32:32,320 able to sing in each other's presence and hear a word from 532 00:32:32,320 --> 00:32:36,840 the pulpit and fellowship again. And I made the comment, I hope 533 00:32:36,840 --> 00:32:40,000 nobody takes what we have for granted ever, because we learned 534 00:32:40,000 --> 00:32:41,720 how quickly that can be taken from us. 535 00:32:43,320 --> 00:32:47,000 This man was bothered that he could not help out, I'm sure. 536 00:32:49,240 --> 00:32:51,800 But more than that, it was borrowed, meaning that he went 537 00:32:51,800 --> 00:32:54,160 to somebody, we're not told who he went to to ask for it. 538 00:32:54,800 --> 00:32:57,760 But the sons of the province, we're not popular to begin with. 539 00:32:59,360 --> 00:33:02,800 They were maligned. It wasn't too long before this 540 00:33:02,800 --> 00:33:04,720 where they were actually being chased and they had to hide in 541 00:33:04,720 --> 00:33:09,160 caves because a certain queen was in charge and she persecuted 542 00:33:09,160 --> 00:33:13,680 them heavily. So now you have this man who is 543 00:33:13,680 --> 00:33:19,800 walking on thin ice as a student of one of Elijah's schools, and 544 00:33:19,800 --> 00:33:22,600 he asks for an accent. He says, I, I'll give it back. 545 00:33:22,600 --> 00:33:27,760 You have my word. And it's gone in the murky 546 00:33:27,760 --> 00:33:28,840 waters. And he doesn't know how he's 547 00:33:28,840 --> 00:33:30,560 going to retrieve it. Great. 548 00:33:30,960 --> 00:33:34,080 Now this guy who I gave my word to is going to think maybe this 549 00:33:34,080 --> 00:33:37,000 is going to now be another stain on the reputation of the sons of 550 00:33:37,000 --> 00:33:41,960 the prophets might say that's speculation. 551 00:33:42,160 --> 00:33:43,720 This is definitely not speculation. 552 00:33:44,240 --> 00:33:46,560 Do you know that there is a law in the Old Testament that 553 00:33:46,560 --> 00:33:50,360 actually tells you what you have to do if you borrow something 554 00:33:50,360 --> 00:33:51,960 and something goes wrong with it? 555 00:33:54,080 --> 00:34:01,320 Go to Exodus. Look at chapter 22, Exodus 22, 556 00:34:01,320 --> 00:34:13,840 verse 14. If a man borrows anything of his 557 00:34:13,840 --> 00:34:18,719 neighbor and it is injured or dies, the owner not being with 558 00:34:18,719 --> 00:34:20,440 it, he shall make full restitution. 559 00:34:21,360 --> 00:34:23,600 So the context here is actually speaking about if you're 560 00:34:23,600 --> 00:34:26,880 borrowing an animal, an ox or any kind of beast for 561 00:34:26,880 --> 00:34:30,679 agricultural work, if you rent anything. 562 00:34:30,679 --> 00:34:33,199 But here it's expanded. If you borrow anything and it's 563 00:34:33,199 --> 00:34:36,560 injured or dies, and you can include if it's lost, it's a 564 00:34:36,560 --> 00:34:38,600 simple law. You got to pay back full 565 00:34:38,600 --> 00:34:43,239 restitution. Now, did the sons of the 566 00:34:43,239 --> 00:34:48,000 prophets have a helpful financial situation going on? 567 00:34:48,239 --> 00:34:50,520 No. The very fact that he had to 568 00:34:50,520 --> 00:34:54,679 borrow the tool indicates that. So he had to borrow it because 569 00:34:54,679 --> 00:34:56,800 he didn't want to pay for anything and now he has to pay 570 00:34:56,800 --> 00:34:59,760 for it, right? That might not be an issue for 571 00:34:59,760 --> 00:35:02,000 you because you have some cushion in your bank account. 572 00:35:02,240 --> 00:35:05,320 It would be if you have barely anything in that bank account. 573 00:35:08,320 --> 00:35:12,160 So the student who's already trying, just living by faith day 574 00:35:12,160 --> 00:35:14,960 by day, now adds more debt to his student. 575 00:35:14,960 --> 00:35:20,200 Debt, so to speak. This bothers him, may not bother 576 00:35:20,200 --> 00:35:21,800 you, but in his situation, it is. 577 00:35:21,800 --> 00:35:25,360 It's annoying, it's frustrating. And here's the thing that I want 578 00:35:25,360 --> 00:35:29,840 to bring to your attention. Problems can still ensue even 579 00:35:29,840 --> 00:35:35,480 though you do everything right. So you might be thinking, then 580 00:35:35,480 --> 00:35:37,040 what's the point of doing it right? 581 00:35:38,160 --> 00:35:41,000 And I'm here to tell you that the primary goal of that is to 582 00:35:41,000 --> 00:35:44,680 please your Lord. It's not for certain outcomes, 583 00:35:45,120 --> 00:35:47,440 it's ultimately to please the Master. 584 00:35:48,720 --> 00:35:51,840 But more than that, we can be confident that any obstacle or 585 00:35:51,840 --> 00:35:55,200 challenge that pops up in our pursuit of righteousness is not 586 00:35:55,200 --> 00:36:00,120 in vain. There are countless holy reasons 587 00:36:00,120 --> 00:36:05,840 why the Lord would allow detours as you walk the path of obeying 588 00:36:05,840 --> 00:36:07,800 Him wholeheartedly in every way possible. 589 00:36:07,800 --> 00:36:10,640 Being a man or woman of integrity holy. 590 00:36:11,920 --> 00:36:14,760 There are many reasons and you should never forget the 591 00:36:14,760 --> 00:36:18,720 possibilities of what I like to call sanctifying pit stops. 592 00:36:21,040 --> 00:36:25,520 Surprising sanctifying pit stops where there's some kind of a 593 00:36:25,520 --> 00:36:28,880 delay or some kind of roadblock and you have to stay somewhere. 594 00:36:29,440 --> 00:36:32,760 Why why I'm I'm I'm examining myself. 595 00:36:32,760 --> 00:36:36,480 I can't consciously recognize any sin I'm I'm living right. 596 00:36:36,480 --> 00:36:40,120 And so why this why why this issue? 597 00:36:40,280 --> 00:36:44,400 Why now why this much why would these people again, there are 598 00:36:44,400 --> 00:36:46,280 many reasons. One of them is potentially just 599 00:36:46,280 --> 00:36:48,240 to purify you further and it requires that. 600 00:36:50,120 --> 00:36:52,960 So you're asking God to be more like Christ and that includes 601 00:36:52,960 --> 00:36:54,360 patience. So here's a situation that 602 00:36:54,360 --> 00:36:58,680 requires more patience. It's like that joke of that 603 00:36:58,680 --> 00:37:01,400 person who says, and praise Lord, give me more patience and 604 00:37:01,400 --> 00:37:06,240 give it to me. Now, not everything is sprinkled 605 00:37:06,240 --> 00:37:08,200 on you supernaturally. Sometimes it takes real 606 00:37:08,200 --> 00:37:11,600 situations where one you're exposed to the lack of fruit in 607 00:37:11,600 --> 00:37:15,040 a certain area and then you now turn to God and ask him to to 608 00:37:15,040 --> 00:37:22,640 deal with it. And sometimes there are times 609 00:37:22,640 --> 00:37:25,120 where the Lord allows these things so that he can position 610 00:37:25,120 --> 00:37:29,800 you in a way where you will witness something of his glory 611 00:37:30,120 --> 00:37:33,560 and splendor. And it requires that kind of 612 00:37:33,560 --> 00:37:38,520 place or problem to behold it, as we're about to see here. 613 00:37:40,040 --> 00:37:48,920 So this young son. Comes to the master. 614 00:37:49,000 --> 00:37:54,840 I, I borrowed this. This is not the best time to I 615 00:37:54,840 --> 00:37:57,240 don't know what to do here. And the Lord is ready to 616 00:37:57,240 --> 00:38:01,040 position this man in a way to see something of God's character 617 00:38:01,040 --> 00:38:04,000 and kindness in his own life. But before we look at that, let 618 00:38:04,000 --> 00:38:09,560 me offer a helpful observation. Do you know it was not uncommon 619 00:38:09,560 --> 00:38:12,040 for axe heads to fly in this culture? 620 00:38:12,880 --> 00:38:14,200 Oh, look at all the heads that went up. 621 00:38:14,920 --> 00:38:19,960 You see that it wasn't uncommon saying what are you talking 622 00:38:19,960 --> 00:38:23,760 about? I want to point you to another 623 00:38:23,760 --> 00:38:27,960 law. And in this law it it deals with 624 00:38:28,720 --> 00:38:32,480 what one is to do if they commit involuntary manslaughter. 625 00:38:33,480 --> 00:38:37,000 So let me turn you there to Deuteronomy 19. 626 00:38:37,000 --> 00:38:41,760 Look at verse four with me. Deuteronomy 19 verse 4. 627 00:38:42,240 --> 00:38:46,200 This is a law that describes the regulations of what we know to 628 00:38:46,200 --> 00:38:48,240 be the cities of refuge. You remember that? 629 00:38:48,240 --> 00:38:50,520 I hope you remember the cities of refuge. 630 00:38:50,560 --> 00:38:54,720 Wonderful picture of Christ. But let's look at one law. 1 631 00:38:54,720 --> 00:38:58,200 instruction pertaining it. Deuteronomy 19, verse 4. 632 00:39:00,080 --> 00:39:03,240 This is the provision of them for the manslayer, who by 633 00:39:03,240 --> 00:39:06,960 fleeing there may save his life. If anyone kills his neighbor 634 00:39:06,960 --> 00:39:09,320 unintentionally without having hated him in the past. 635 00:39:09,600 --> 00:39:12,160 As when someone goes into the forest with his neighbor to cut 636 00:39:12,160 --> 00:39:15,800 wood and his hand swings the axe to cut down a tree, and the head 637 00:39:15,800 --> 00:39:18,520 slips from the handle and strikes his neighbor so that he 638 00:39:18,520 --> 00:39:21,240 dies, he may flee to one of these cities and live. 639 00:39:21,240 --> 00:39:25,080 Why don't you find that interesting, that out of all the 640 00:39:25,080 --> 00:39:28,800 hypothetical situations that you can give of somebody dying 641 00:39:28,800 --> 00:39:34,160 accidentally, you give the axe head flying off of a stick and 642 00:39:34,160 --> 00:39:40,280 it's smashing somebody's skull. Evidently it was common. 643 00:39:41,040 --> 00:39:43,320 Whereas why would you give this kind of an insight, an 644 00:39:43,320 --> 00:39:45,640 instruction? Just like it's common in our day 645 00:39:45,640 --> 00:39:47,720 to see cars crashing into each other. 646 00:39:48,840 --> 00:39:49,960 So to us, it's like, that's weird. 647 00:39:49,960 --> 00:39:51,600 To them, it's like, yeah, it's like what you see in 648 00:39:51,600 --> 00:39:53,840 intersections or what you see on the news sometimes on highways. 649 00:39:55,960 --> 00:39:57,600 But that's not the reason why I bring this to your attention. 650 00:39:57,600 --> 00:40:00,960 The reason why I want to bring it to your mind is because of 651 00:40:00,960 --> 00:40:03,240 the provision that was made for this accident. 652 00:40:03,480 --> 00:40:06,120 What was the provision that if this happened, you're in a force 653 00:40:06,120 --> 00:40:09,360 with a friend or a Co worker and the axe that flies off you can 654 00:40:09,360 --> 00:40:11,200 run. God has provided a place for you 655 00:40:11,200 --> 00:40:14,120 to flee where you can be protected, where you can know a 656 00:40:14,120 --> 00:40:21,360 level of deliverance and safety. Now, this young man in Second 657 00:40:21,360 --> 00:40:26,000 King 6, he could have been thankful that the axe had didn't 658 00:40:26,000 --> 00:40:29,040 hit somebody in the face, right? It just fell into water. 659 00:40:30,200 --> 00:40:33,600 But I bring this to make this parallel that in the same way 660 00:40:33,600 --> 00:40:36,320 that in Deuteronomy 19 we're told that there is a provision 661 00:40:36,320 --> 00:40:39,800 for the one who did something accidental, but it was tragic, 662 00:40:39,800 --> 00:40:43,760 life altering, there is also provision for that young man. 663 00:40:43,920 --> 00:40:47,040 In his case, he didn't have a place to run to. 664 00:40:47,040 --> 00:40:50,640 He had a person that was accessible, namely Elijah, who 665 00:40:50,640 --> 00:40:55,360 represented, represented God in the same way those cities of 666 00:40:55,360 --> 00:40:57,840 refuge represented something of God's heart. 667 00:41:00,240 --> 00:41:04,880 And so making this parallel, here's the principle that in any 668 00:41:04,880 --> 00:41:07,920 moments where something stuns us, surprise us and 669 00:41:07,920 --> 00:41:10,840 inconvenience, it could be as severe as what we read in 670 00:41:10,840 --> 00:41:14,480 Deuteronomy 19, where the trajectory of your life will 671 00:41:14,480 --> 00:41:19,000 never be the same. Or it can be a moment of 672 00:41:19,040 --> 00:41:23,600 inconvenience that is burdensome to you, keeps you up at night. 673 00:41:23,640 --> 00:41:26,040 You know, it can be solved in different ways, but it's just, 674 00:41:26,520 --> 00:41:32,320 it's just pricking your heart. God is accessible and the Lord 675 00:41:32,320 --> 00:41:33,840 actually bids you to come to Him. 676 00:41:36,440 --> 00:41:38,680 He bids you to come to Him when the accent hits somebody and 677 00:41:38,680 --> 00:41:40,520 kills them. He bids you to come to Him. 678 00:41:40,520 --> 00:41:44,160 When you borrowed something and you don't know how you're going 679 00:41:44,160 --> 00:41:48,760 to pay it back. Are you beginning to see why 680 00:41:48,760 --> 00:41:50,640 this miracle resonates with me so much? 681 00:41:51,000 --> 00:41:52,880 Hope it warms your heart as well. 682 00:41:53,320 --> 00:41:55,040 It's only going to get warmer, I'm sure. 683 00:41:56,720 --> 00:41:57,920 And here's what's so interesting. 684 00:41:58,040 --> 00:42:04,200 Let's come back to 2nd King 6. Where did this axe head fall 685 00:42:05,800 --> 00:42:09,080 water? Is there any clues in our story 686 00:42:09,080 --> 00:42:12,440 that tells us which body of water it plunged into? 687 00:42:13,680 --> 00:42:15,240 Very good. You're reading carefully. 688 00:42:15,400 --> 00:42:17,800 We read there in verse four that as they came to the Jordan, they 689 00:42:17,800 --> 00:42:21,360 cut down trees. So it's very likely, most likely 690 00:42:21,720 --> 00:42:23,840 that this fell into the Jordan River. 691 00:42:27,600 --> 00:42:31,600 Is there any miracle that we recently studied that dealt with 692 00:42:31,600 --> 00:42:35,040 the Jordan River? Very good name in the leper. 693 00:42:36,920 --> 00:42:39,080 In his case, it wasn't an accent that was recovered. 694 00:42:39,080 --> 00:42:44,040 It was his skin, it was his health, it was his body. 695 00:42:45,280 --> 00:42:49,640 Now we we understand that kind of miracle being included in 696 00:42:49,640 --> 00:42:52,760 Holy Scripture. A man, a gentile, a general of 697 00:42:52,760 --> 00:42:56,720 the army healed of leprosy. That's got to go somewhere in 698 00:42:56,720 --> 00:43:00,440 axe head coming back to the service for a student. 699 00:43:03,320 --> 00:43:06,360 Is that is that worth putting in the Bible or is that a little 700 00:43:06,360 --> 00:43:10,560 trivial. Don't say it's trivial, because 701 00:43:10,640 --> 00:43:15,160 when you consider again the wider authorship going on here, 702 00:43:15,160 --> 00:43:16,720 then you realize something wonderful. 703 00:43:19,360 --> 00:43:21,600 God cares about the big and the small. 704 00:43:24,040 --> 00:43:27,280 He cares about your unintended debt as much as he does about 705 00:43:27,280 --> 00:43:32,880 disease. He is compassionate toward a 706 00:43:32,960 --> 00:43:37,360 general of an entire nation's army, and he is just as 707 00:43:37,360 --> 00:43:41,280 compassionate towards a student who's studying the Bible and is 708 00:43:41,280 --> 00:43:44,240 struggling to know how he's going to be able to have a 709 00:43:44,240 --> 00:43:47,400 future. That's what this miracle is 710 00:43:47,400 --> 00:43:51,520 showing that at the Jordan River, 2 miraculous things took 711 00:43:51,520 --> 00:43:54,920 place. Same message, but different 712 00:43:55,440 --> 00:44:01,880 messes. God's heart is for all, for the 713 00:44:01,880 --> 00:44:04,200 major issues, for the minor inconveniences. 714 00:44:05,280 --> 00:44:07,080 Why is that important? Because the New Testament 715 00:44:07,080 --> 00:44:13,840 instructs you and I first Peter 57 cast all your anxieties, not 716 00:44:13,840 --> 00:44:19,200 some of them all your anxieties. Whatever makes you anxious, you 717 00:44:19,200 --> 00:44:22,320 know to name in I'm sure the story of the axe head while he 718 00:44:22,320 --> 00:44:27,240 was suffering leprosy didn't really connect with I I have a 719 00:44:27,240 --> 00:44:31,200 bigger problem here going on and it could even be that this 720 00:44:31,200 --> 00:44:34,600 student with the axe head being loosened and launched into the 721 00:44:34,600 --> 00:44:37,200 water. He couldn't think about anything 722 00:44:37,200 --> 00:44:39,560 else except how am I going to solve this? 723 00:44:40,880 --> 00:44:45,320 Whatever makes you anxious. You're commanded by loving God 724 00:44:45,320 --> 00:44:47,120 to come to him at the cast at his feet. 725 00:44:47,880 --> 00:44:51,320 Cast all your anxieties on him. Why? 726 00:44:51,880 --> 00:44:55,920 Because he cares for you for all the anxieties and you know it 727 00:44:55,920 --> 00:44:57,800 hit me today even meditating on that verse. 728 00:44:59,000 --> 00:45:03,240 This is not just something that should make you feel a little 729 00:45:03,240 --> 00:45:07,160 giddy. It's a command, so it's a 730 00:45:07,160 --> 00:45:09,000 comforting command, but it's a command nonetheless. 731 00:45:09,000 --> 00:45:12,000 Cast all your anxieties on him. Do you know what What's told 732 00:45:12,080 --> 00:45:13,720 right after that? Do you know the next thought in 733 00:45:13,720 --> 00:45:16,360 Peter's writing? He says cast all your anxieties 734 00:45:16,360 --> 00:45:18,920 because he cares for you and notice what he says in first. 735 00:45:18,920 --> 00:45:22,840 Peter 5/8 Be sober minded, be watchful. 736 00:45:23,240 --> 00:45:26,360 Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring 737 00:45:26,360 --> 00:45:31,480 lion seeking someone to devour. Some would say that Peter's 738 00:45:31,480 --> 00:45:34,320 starting a new thought here. I'm saying it's somewhat 739 00:45:34,320 --> 00:45:37,440 connected to the previous point. There's something connected 740 00:45:37,440 --> 00:45:42,120 between our obedience to casting all our anxieties on Him. 741 00:45:42,600 --> 00:45:46,480 And if we fail to do that, Satan is right there ready to do 742 00:45:46,480 --> 00:45:51,880 something to your faith. Anxiety makes you vulnerable. 743 00:45:51,880 --> 00:45:56,000 Anxiety makes you weak. Anxiety makes you dizzy. 744 00:45:58,600 --> 00:46:05,800 And Satan can smell it. He loves to mess with those who 745 00:46:05,800 --> 00:46:10,560 struggle with it. It's amazing how anxiety doesn't 746 00:46:10,560 --> 00:46:14,520 take much for it to create a recipe of of greater disasters 747 00:46:14,640 --> 00:46:16,840 in our thinking, in our faith and our commitments and our 748 00:46:16,840 --> 00:46:20,120 relationships. I know for certain this is not 749 00:46:20,120 --> 00:46:23,560 accidental, that there is a charge to release that before 750 00:46:23,560 --> 00:46:27,920 Satan takes advantage of it. So learn to take all your no 751 00:46:27,920 --> 00:46:30,880 matter what it is, train yourself and accordance to God's 752 00:46:30,880 --> 00:46:37,360 Word to come to Him. And if that observation doesn't 753 00:46:37,360 --> 00:46:39,040 move you, perhaps the next one will. 754 00:46:41,000 --> 00:46:43,200 Because here's what I thought looked at looking at this as a 755 00:46:43,200 --> 00:46:50,880 final meditation. If the Lord showed concern for a 756 00:46:50,880 --> 00:46:54,840 lost axe head in order to relieve one of His servants, 757 00:46:55,720 --> 00:46:59,800 what does he feel about those who are lost in their sins? 758 00:47:02,720 --> 00:47:06,760 God's willing to look down from heaven if I can use that imagery 759 00:47:07,360 --> 00:47:11,440 and send forth the necessary power to raise this axe head to 760 00:47:11,440 --> 00:47:14,560 the surface and make it reachable for this man so he can 761 00:47:14,560 --> 00:47:18,360 attach it again, not have to worry about his neighbor. 762 00:47:19,520 --> 00:47:23,920 What's God's heart for those who are suffering a greater loss, 763 00:47:23,920 --> 00:47:25,840 one that will lead to an eternal separation? 764 00:47:27,960 --> 00:47:30,600 It's very, very dangerous to read too much into things. 765 00:47:30,600 --> 00:47:33,160 But sometimes there are vignettes of the gospel in the 766 00:47:33,160 --> 00:47:34,560 Old Testament that we must acknowledge. 767 00:47:34,560 --> 00:47:39,400 And I think we have one here saying how the reason why I 768 00:47:39,400 --> 00:47:42,280 believe that there is some gospel theme that we can pluck 769 00:47:42,280 --> 00:47:45,040 from these verses is because of the way that the miracle was 770 00:47:45,040 --> 00:47:48,760 performed. Look back again here at verse 6. 771 00:47:48,760 --> 00:47:51,840 Then the man of God said, where did it fall in second Kings 6 772 00:47:53,040 --> 00:47:55,920 When he showed him the place, he cut off a stick. 773 00:47:58,040 --> 00:48:01,720 Why? He cut off a stick and threw it 774 00:48:01,720 --> 00:48:05,120 in there and made the iron float and he said take it up. 775 00:48:05,560 --> 00:48:09,520 So he reached out his hand and took it without any explanation 776 00:48:09,520 --> 00:48:12,600 given. Elisha goes to some kind of a 777 00:48:12,600 --> 00:48:16,400 tree or some kind of a plant of some sort, and he takes a piece 778 00:48:16,400 --> 00:48:21,200 of that stick, cuts it off, throws it into the water, and 779 00:48:21,200 --> 00:48:23,440 that was the causation for this iron to float. 780 00:48:25,920 --> 00:48:29,000 He could have performed that miracle a million different 781 00:48:29,000 --> 00:48:35,280 ways, but it was in this way. So here's the procedure. 782 00:48:35,280 --> 00:48:42,320 Something was given so that something can be retrieved, and 783 00:48:42,320 --> 00:48:45,520 not just anything was given. For something to be cut off, for 784 00:48:45,520 --> 00:48:48,760 a branch to be cut off from a living tree or a living plant 785 00:48:48,760 --> 00:48:53,840 means that it's cut off from life and it's thrown in there. 786 00:48:53,840 --> 00:48:56,600 So this thing that was caught from life was thrown into this 787 00:48:56,680 --> 00:48:59,960 body of water and it rescued something else. 788 00:49:00,120 --> 00:49:01,760 This language sound familiar to you? 789 00:49:03,360 --> 00:49:09,680 Much more significant in the gospel where Christ our Lord is 790 00:49:09,680 --> 00:49:13,480 cut off from life so that you can live. 791 00:49:14,720 --> 00:49:20,160 Christ dives into what buried us so that we can be raised from it 792 00:49:20,160 --> 00:49:26,000 and rise above it. Christ rescues us by separating 793 00:49:26,000 --> 00:49:32,520 himself and reaching to us when we were beyond human help. 794 00:49:32,800 --> 00:49:35,200 If it was reachable, they could have reached for it. 795 00:49:35,200 --> 00:49:38,400 They could have fished for it. Evidently it was deep enough and 796 00:49:38,400 --> 00:49:41,720 it was murky enough where it required some kind of divine 797 00:49:41,720 --> 00:49:45,560 intervention. And with your salvation, no 798 00:49:45,560 --> 00:49:50,320 human hands, no human effort, no human rescue endeavour can make 799 00:49:50,360 --> 00:49:54,960 your rescue possible. But it's even more than that. 800 00:49:56,000 --> 00:49:58,920 What I love about this is yes, this stick that's cut off and 801 00:49:58,920 --> 00:50:02,200 thrown in, surrendered, given so that something else can be 802 00:50:02,200 --> 00:50:06,240 retrieved and rescued. Iron doesn't float. 803 00:50:08,560 --> 00:50:12,400 Not a deep Bible study, it doesn't. 804 00:50:13,200 --> 00:50:17,560 But because of this miracle, through this transaction, this 805 00:50:17,960 --> 00:50:22,120 object was able to perform contrary to its nature. 806 00:50:24,800 --> 00:50:27,000 And through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus 807 00:50:27,000 --> 00:50:29,840 Christ, not only are we miraculously justified, but we 808 00:50:29,840 --> 00:50:31,880 are supernaturally being sanctified. 809 00:50:32,440 --> 00:50:36,480 And now because of that, cutting off, surrendering, we're not 810 00:50:36,480 --> 00:50:41,440 just rescued in that also we are living in the Spirit. 811 00:50:42,840 --> 00:50:46,800 And now we're able to overcome what once overcame us, and now 812 00:50:46,800 --> 00:50:50,120 we're able to go from glory to glory and to be conformed to the 813 00:50:50,120 --> 00:50:54,000 image of the One who rescued us. And we're being sanctified and 814 00:50:54,000 --> 00:50:56,720 changed and transformed, and our desires are altered and our 815 00:50:56,720 --> 00:51:00,240 thinking is changed, and our behaviors are being melted into 816 00:51:00,240 --> 00:51:04,440 the image of Him who loved us. So even in this, you get a 817 00:51:04,440 --> 00:51:10,080 little snapshot of the underlying themes of the gospel. 818 00:51:10,080 --> 00:51:12,440 Something was cut off to rescue something else. 819 00:51:12,520 --> 00:51:15,280 And more than just rescuing it, it was able to perform in a way 820 00:51:15,280 --> 00:51:19,160 that didn't make sense, Such as the Christian life that when a 821 00:51:19,160 --> 00:51:24,720 person is truly born again, the way they walk after that can 822 00:51:24,720 --> 00:51:26,680 only be explained because of a miracle. 823 00:51:27,600 --> 00:51:29,320 And that's what Christ does for you and me. 824 00:51:29,400 --> 00:51:30,680 I'm ending the Bible study right there. 825 00:51:30,680 --> 00:51:32,280 I can't add anything more than that. 826 00:51:32,600 --> 00:51:35,680 Let's thank God for the study of how even in this miracle of an 827 00:51:35,680 --> 00:51:38,920 acts that being restored, we can reflect on our own restoration. 828 00:51:40,960 --> 00:51:44,320 If the praise team can actually join me so we can go straight 829 00:51:44,320 --> 00:51:46,880 into worship. I, I want you to take the time, 830 00:51:46,880 --> 00:51:50,480 which is a habit of ours at this Bible study to think about what 831 00:51:50,480 --> 00:51:54,640 you heard in these 7 verses and whatever touched you, whatever 832 00:51:54,640 --> 00:51:58,280 point, maybe more than one that ministered to you, bring it to 833 00:51:58,280 --> 00:52:03,000 the Lord. Now talk to him about it. 834 00:52:03,040 --> 00:52:06,240 I don't want to rush this time. I'm going to join you as well 835 00:52:06,240 --> 00:52:39,110 before we sing. Lord, your word is amazing. 836 00:52:40,110 --> 00:52:44,030 We're moved by it. Oh, the force behind these 837 00:52:44,030 --> 00:52:46,070 truths. We feel it in our souls. 838 00:52:46,070 --> 00:52:50,590 And Lord, if anybody here is indifferent or they, they didn't 839 00:52:50,750 --> 00:52:54,510 sense your power behind these things, we just pray that in 840 00:52:54,510 --> 00:52:58,760 these final moments, you wouldn't let us leave unchanged. 841 00:53:00,000 --> 00:53:03,400 Lord, deep in these truths in our hearts, embed them. 842 00:53:04,400 --> 00:53:08,240 Mark us for life to never forget these wonderful promises and 843 00:53:08,920 --> 00:53:13,080 principles. I thank you for allowing us to 844 00:53:13,080 --> 00:53:16,320 see Christ in it. Though we we want to worship you 845 00:53:16,320 --> 00:53:17,920 because this book is supernatural. 846 00:53:17,920 --> 00:53:20,160 You're the author of it. We confess that gladly, 847 00:53:20,160 --> 00:53:23,760 unashamedly, and we pray, Lord, that you would work in our lives 848 00:53:24,080 --> 00:53:27,000 so that this word would be reflected in our lives. 849 00:53:27,400 --> 00:53:29,360 We want to be transformed by you, Lord. 850 00:53:29,360 --> 00:53:32,800 That's our ultimate goal of these studies, to be transformed 851 00:53:32,800 --> 00:53:34,840 by it. And we thank you that you're 852 00:53:34,840 --> 00:53:36,480 doing it and you'll continue to do it. 853 00:53:36,480 --> 00:53:40,600 We give you all the honor and all the praise in Jesus name, 854 00:53:40,880 --> 00:53:42,600 Amen. Let's stand, let's give him 855 00:53:42,600 --> 00:53:44,200 thanks as we close this time together.