Don't Let The River Take What You Pursued God For Series

Don't Let the River Take What You Pursued God For

PPT 1 Series Title

Gods best version of me

PPT 2 Todays Message Title

We began our series last week talking about how God's call is always forward, and you will remember I used the example of a cars gears and asked are you in park, neutral, reverse, or drive? God's best version of you is being in drive.

Another illustration we used was from Hebrews 2 where it talks about the danger of letting things slip, because of the current of the river of life.

For the most part this series will be about reaching forward, but we also need to be very aware that we don't let slip the things God has already given us.

The thief comes for to steal...

Steal what? I am often amazed at how quickly it seems some people forget what was preached. Sometimes it is probably a failure on my part, but I also recognize from Mark 4, the parable of the sower, that there is an enemy who wants to keep God's word from being implanted in your life and producing fruit. Often we think the word is only stolen from unbelievers, experience has taught me otherwise. In fact I think it is stolen more from Christians than it is from those outside the kingdom. The reason is we are exposed to it more than they are, if you are a thief you go where you can make the biggest haul.

Not only the word but sometimes callings and giftings are stolen from people. I know the bible says the gifts of God are irrevocable, but Paul also said to Timothy, "Stir up the gift that is in you..." Timothy hadn't lost it per se, but it was dormant in his life, somethings can be so dormant as to make us doubt they exist. The enemy was to steal any deposit God makes in a persons life.

"Don't let the River take what you pursued God for!"

PPT 3,4 Text

2 Kings 6:1-7

2Ki 6:1 Now the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, "Behold now, the place before you where we are living is too limited for us.

2Ki 6:2 "Please let us go to the Jordan, and each of us take from there a beam, and let us make a place there for ourselves where we may live." So he said, "Go."

2Ki 6:3 Then one said, "Please be willing to go with your servants." And he answered, "I shall go."

2Ki 6:4 So he went with them; and when they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees.

2Ki 6:5 But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, "Alas, my master! For it was borrowed."

2Ki 6:6 Then the man of God said, "Where did it fall?" And when he showed him the place, he cut off a stick, and threw [it] in there, and made the iron float.

2Ki 6:7 And he said, "Take it up for yourself." So he put out his hand and took it.

We are going to look at this story from several different angles over the next couple of weeks. Today we will just skim the surface and then in future messages dig deeper into it.

The point of the text today is that a believer can be actively involved in the work of God and his cutting edge can be lost. So while the overall theme of this series is pressing on for the upward call of God, we need to take a little time and be sure that we don't lose what we have already gained. That we don't let the current of the river of life dull our cutting edge, or take from our hands the weapons of our warfare as listed in Ephesians.

By way of background The school of the prophets had grown to the point that they needed to provide new facilities. As they are in the process of cutting down trees to build their new home, one of the prophets loses his axe head in the Jordan River. He becomes distraught because the axe head was borrowed. He cries out to Elisha his headmaster and the great prophet performs a miracle which causes the axe head to float to the surface and the man puts out his hand and picks it up, and the work is resumed.

There are so many fascinating elements to this story I wish I could preach it all today, but we would be here like the story in the book of Acts where Paul preached all night long.

On the surface it seems to be just a little story about the intervention of God in normal everyday events.