It's Time To Dig Ditches

It’s time to dig Ditches

2 Kings 3:1-3:20

Now Jehoram the son of Ahab became king over Israel at Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, but not like his father and mother; for he put away the sacred pillar of Baal that his father had made. Nevertheless he persisted in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin; he did not depart from them. Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheepbreeder, and he regularly paid the king of Israel one hundred thousand lambs and the wool of one hundred thousand rams. But it happened, when Ahab died, that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. So King Jehoram went out of Samaria at that time and mustered all Israel. Then he went and sent to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, saying, “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to fight against Moab?” And he said, “I will go up; I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.” Then he said, “Which way shall we go up?” And he answered, “By way of the Wilderness of Edom.” So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom, and they marched on that roundabout route seven days; and there was no water for the army, nor for the animals that followed them. And the king of Israel said, “Alas! For the LORD has called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab.”

Three Kings not to mention all their armies, and animals found themselves in a desperate situation (they had went seven days in the wilderness and they had no water).

This is a dilemma: water is a necessity of life, it’s not an extra or luxury it’s necessary to sustain life.

Without it you die.

*The King of Israel starts blaming God for their dilemma (it was his fault not Gods).

This King was a bad influence:

Sometimes the biggest problem we have is our friendship circle (wrong associations).

You need to refine your friendship circle and eliminate all the whiners and complainers (sift out all the doubters and pouters).

Have a deliverance service and deliver yourself from people with no vision and no passion who spend all their time wallowing in self-pity.

*Wrong associations will kill you, they will kill your joy, kill your vision, kill your passion, and kill your faith.

*If it hadn’t been for King Jehoshaphat who knew the power of a word from God they would have all died in the wilderness.

(He asked is there not a prophet here that we may inquire of the Lord).

1) Jehoshaphat knew: one word from God can change everything.

There was an old cigarette commercial when I was growing up that said: I’d walk a mile for a Camel.

You need to surround yourself with people that would walk a mile or 5 miles 10 miles to hear a word from God, because they know one word from God can change your world.

I’m prophesying that today this fifth Sunday in this new charge while somebody is taking action on the word from God that is going to break the drought and shift you into abundance and overflow, shift you into a new season.

This is your Sunday for a breakthrough, for a turnaround.

Make this valley full of ditches (not exactly the word you want to hear when you’re in the middle of a desert dying of thirst) make this valley full of ditches.

If you have ever dug ditches then you know it’s hard work. And it’s especially difficult when the ground is hard and dry.

Here they were in a wilderness, a dry, desert valley place, a low place.

And in this place, this low dry desert place, the word of the Lord says dig ditches.

It was hard slow and difficult work (no doubt their hands were bleeding their backs were sore, their arms were aching their shoulders were aching and to top it all off, their thirst was becoming unbearable).

I’m talking to some people right now who have been in that same place: that low dry place everything is hard, it’s difficult, it takes a great amount of effort.

You have to force yourself to praise the Lord.

You have to force yourself to pray.

You have to force yourself to read the Bible.

You have to force yourself to go to church.

And it feels like you’re so dry and empty and your mind is saying this is ridiculous and the devil is telling you it’s not worth it.

The devil is telling you it’s over, it’s dead, and it’s never going to happen.