Pick It Up

2 Ki 2:13-14 ¶ He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan;

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.

Judges 15:15 And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith.

Elisha and Samson were two very different kind of men, but they had at least two things in common.

1. They were both used by God mightily

2. They both had something they needed within reach but they had to pick it up.

It doesn’t matter how much glory, how much power, how much peace or joy or how much prosperity surrounds you or is within reach) it doesn’t help you unless you pick it up.

That jawbone became a weapon of mass destruction against Samson’s enemies, but he had to pick it up.

A young prophet lost a borrowed axe head, it flew off into the water ( Elisha threw a stick into the water where it fell and the axe head swam to the surface of the water) within reach, but the young prophet had to put out his hand and pick it up.

I didn’t come to this pulpit today to whine and whimper and complain about how bad the economy is, or to criticize our government or pass judgment on our present administration.

There’s a lot of bad stuff happening in the world, but I choose not to focus on the bad.

You say: Man of God you can’t just bury your head in the sand like an Ostrich.

I’m not burying my head in the sand, I’m burying my head in the word.

I’m lifting up my eyes to the hills where my help comes from.

I came to this place tonight to prophesy: I came to tell you that the Devil is not in charge, I don’t care what it looks like, or feels like or sounds like.

God is still in control.

I came to cast out the spirit of fear and dread.

I came to break the spirit of hopelessness and despair.

We are not going under

It doesn’t matter what happens to gas prices or health care, or social security, or retirement plans or anything else, God is still in charge.

The earth is the Lords and the fullness thereof.

The church is just like the ark in the old testament: The flood waters rose till they covered the highest mountains, but the ark just rode on top of the waters, in other words (in the worst of times the ark was lifted to it’s highest place).

This is the finest hour for the church: We were chosen by God to live right now in this present season, and if God in all of his wisdom saw fit to allow us to live in this season, it is because he believes us.

Tell your neighbor: God believes in you.

God put Ezekiel in the midst of a valley full of Dry bones (because God knew that Ezekiel possessed the power to transform that situation).

One lone prophet with the word of the Lord in his mouth transformed that valley of dry bones into a mighty army.

You may be the only Christian in your family, you may be the only Christian on your job, or in your class or your whole school.

You may be the only Christian on your block or in your neighborhood.

But what you need to do is quit pouting and start prophesying.

If you are the only believer there it’s because God has confidence in you.

For too long Gods people have shuffled around with their heads down, and their backs stooped over, stepping on their bottom lip crying about how bad it is.

I didn’t say things weren’t bad, I didn’t say I like what’s happening in our government, or that I am not aware of the tragedies that have shaken our world.

*What I am saying is: Greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world.

*I know in whom I have believed and I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

*What I’m saying is: God is for me, and if God be for me then who can be against me.

The world is shaking ( Earthquakes) (Tsunami’s) (Tornado’s) (Financial storms are shaking the national economy).

But we are in the world and not of the world.

We have an unshakable Kingdom, built upon an unshakable foundation, ruled by an unshakable King.