3 Kings Who Searched For The Presence

3 KINGS WHO SEARCHED FOR THE PRESENCE

2 Kgs. 3:6-24

INTRODUCTION

A. HUMOR: SHOE ON THE OTHER FOOT

1. A minister answered his phone and a voice said, “Please send over a case of whiskey to ____ address.” The pastor recognized the voice as one of his church members. The Pastor said, “This is your PASTOR!”

2. He waited in silence for conviction to settle in on the wrongdoer. Instead, the voice said, “Pastor! What are YOU doing answering the phone at the liquor store?!”

B. TEXT

6 King Joram….7 sent this message to Jehoshaphat king of Judah: "The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to fight against Moab?" "I [& the King of Edom] will go with you," he replied. 9 After a roundabout march of seven days, the army had no more water...10 "What!" exclaimed the king of Israel. "Has the LORD called us three kings together only to hand us over to Moab?" 11 But Jehoshaphat asked, "Is there no prophet of the LORD here, that we may inquire of the LORD through him?" "Elisha son of Shaphat is here…”12 Jehoshaphat said, "The word of the LORD is with him." So the [3 kings]...went down to him. 14 Elisha said, "If I did not have respect for the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you [King Joram] or even notice you. 15 But now bring me a harpist." While the harpist was playing, the hand of the LORD came upon Elisha 16 and he said, "This is what the LORD says: Make this valley full of ditches. 17 For this is what the LORD says: You will see neither wind nor rain, yet this valley will be filled with water, and you, your cattle and your other animals will drink. 18 This is an easy thing in the eyes of the LORD; he will also hand Moab over to you. 20 The next morning...there it was—water flowing from the direction of Edom! And the land was filled with water. 22...To the Moabites across the way, the water looked red—like blood. 23 "That's blood!" they said. "Those kings must have fought and slaughtered each other. Now to the plunder, Moab!" 24 But when the Moabites came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and fought them until they fled. And the Israelites invaded the land and slaughtered the Moabites. 2 Kgs. 3:6-24

C. THESIS

1. This tells the story of how 3 kings were going to war, but found themselves dying of thirst without water. They sought God’s Presence for help and God commanded them to do a crazy thing – to dig ditches in the desert. IF they dug them, He would fill them with water. The more ditches they dug, the more water they would get.

2. This is a great parallel that if we want blessings from God, we must do the spiritual work God calls us to: of repentance, faith in God, intercession & obedience.

3. The title of this message is “Three Kings Who Searched for the Presence.” My question for you this morning is, “Do YOU want the Presence?”

I. WHERE DOES THIS PRESENCE COME FROM?

“Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before.” Acts 3:19-20, NKJV.

A. FROM THE PRESENCE OF GOD

1. The valley they had to dig, represented their own hard hearts. God says, “Break up your fallow ground: for [it is] time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you” Hosea 10:12. So revival must be preceded with disturbing our hard hearts. Only then can the rain of the Spirit be effective to make change come.

2. God is omniscient, that is, He’s everywhere, but we don’t feel or see Him except under certain conditions. His presence can become more concentrated until it becomes actually physical.

3. Moses was surprised to find God’s special presence on a burning bush in the desert. In the Bible that Presence came in response to preaching, praying, desperate needs, deep worship, prophesying, faith, anointing with oil, or spiritual hunger & desire.

4. God is still looking today for people who hunger & search for His Presence. He will still put His sacred fire and anointing on them. His presence will change your life!

B. EVERYONE IS SUPPOSED TO BE FILLED

1. The Apostle Paul commanded the Ephesian Christians to “be filled with the Spirit.” This isn’t some special blessing God reserved for only a few of His children....but is God's norm for every one of his children to be filled.

2. “Without the Spirit of God, we can do nothing. We are as ships without the wind, branches without sap, and like coals without fire, we are useless.”—Charles Spurgeon.