Initiate God's Word! Set Divine Appointments

INITIATE GOD’S WORD! SET DIVINE APPOINTMENTS

By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com

WILL YOU ALLOW THE TRAP OF WHERE YOU AND YOUR FAMILY HAVE BEEN TO DEFINE WHERE YOU ARE GOING

My friend God has a plan. Can you dream? Will you dream larger?

Can your heart declare: GOD HAS MORE? Will we bring on God’s plan?

INITIATE GOD’S WORD.

Isaiah 54:2 Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes;

I. PERTINENT TERMS FOR THE LESSON:

A. APPOINTMENT:

To assign, to fix, set, EQUIP, to delegate.

Elevation to a new station.

A Godparent.

Backer, one that supports or makes possible an activity.

To provide with a full set of needed things.

To arrange a meeting at a certain time and place.

B. SPONSOR:

To promote, fund, finance, underwrite, subsidize.

C. ENABLE:

To make possible.

Entitle, permit, approve.

The means of authority.

D. FACILITATE:

To help things go smoothly.

To assist or aid.

To help things go farther.

E. INITIATE:

Begin, to set going, to start action.

II. THERE IS A DATE WITH THE MANTLE OF GOD! SEEMS A MAN CAN BE DOING EVERYDAY MENIAL CHORES AND MEET HIS DIVINE APPOINTMENT.

A. There was an old man named Elijah. He was a preacher that had been very successful in his ministry, and his ministry is nearing the end.

B. YOU ARE NEVER A SUCCESS WITHOUT A SUCCESSOR.

C. Shaphat had a beautiful farm.

Shaphat had a son named Elisha.

D. One day Elisha got up and ate breakfast, put on his shoes, went out to the barn, hitched up the oxen and went out in the field and was plowing.

1 Kings 19:19 So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him.

E. THERE CAME A NEW EXPERIENCE FOR THIS FARM BOY, HE IS NOW WEARING ELIJAH’S MANTLE. ELISHA WILL NEVER AGAIN BE THE SAME.

III. DO YOU HAVE A DATE WITH THE MANTLE? MANY YEARS PASS, THE YOUNG FARM BOY HAS BEEN MENTORED BY ONE OF THE GREATEST MEN OF GOD THE BIBLE RECORDS.

A. Elijah and Elisha’s journey has been long and twisted: (2 Kings 2)

1. GILGAL: rolling stone gathers no moss.

2. BETHEL: house of God, altar of prayer

3. JERICHO: sweet fragrance, praise, worship,

4. JORDAN: death, self-denial.

B. The Divine Appointment goes much deeper.

2 Kings 2:9 And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.

C. Elisha’s appointment comes to the FULL CIRCLE, NOW THE FOLLOWER BECOMES THE TRUSTED LEADER.

2 Kings 2:14 And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the Lord God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over.

15 And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.

D. DO YOU HAVE A DIVINE APPOINTMENT WITH GOD’S MANTLE!

IV. GOD CAN USE LITTLE PEOPLE FROM LITTLE PLACES THAT SEEM TO BE IN BIG MESSES TO ACCOMPLISH HIS DIVINE APPOINTMENTS.

A. NAAMAN was a mighty man. He was CAPTAIN of the host of the King of Syria.

Naaman was honorable and a great man.

B. Naaman was in a mess. Naaman had everything but his health broke. Somehow this mighty man was EXPOSED TO LEPROSY.

C. Naaman seemed doomed to die.

D. THEN COMES A LITTLE GIRL TO BRING A DIVINE APPOINTMENT INTO THIS HONORABLE MAN’S LIFE:

2 Kings 5:2 And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman’s wife.

3 And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy.

4 And one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel.

E. Naaman learned a valuable lesson: there is a man of God, and there is a God!

2 Kings 5:15 And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing of thy servant.