STANDING AT A DISTANCE LOOKING THROUGH BINOCULARS?
--- ACCEPTING A SPIRIT OF BARRENESS?
PONDERING PLAYGROUND OR BOOT CAMP?
By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com
This is at least a two part message.
2 Kings 2:7 And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan.
Isaiah 6:8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
BARREN:
To not produce life.
Unable to reproduce, not able to bear fruit, dull, unprofitable.
Sterile, infertile, not expecting.
Desert:
To forsake, to abandon, to give up.
Desolate, uninhabited, empty, void.
To deserve punishment.
I. IS IT EASY TO ACCEPT BARREN LIFELESS --- UNFRUITFULNESS AS A NORM?
A. In the Bible days to be BARREN was counted as severe punishment.
B. Norm: acceptable, standard, pattern, customary behavior.
C. Will we accept barrenness as acceptable?
D. DAVID KNEW HOW TO WORSHIP GOD! He did not care what people thought.
David’s wife loved him, but she could not see the eternal part of praise and worship.
2 Samuel 6:16 And as the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal Saul’s daughter looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart.
E. Micah’s worship style was much different from David’s. Micah was more reserved and concerned about what people thought. David comes home TO BLESS HIS HOUSE, and she MOCKED and made fun of David.
2 Samuel 6:20 Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, How glorious was the king
of Israel today, who uncovered himself to day in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself!
F. DAVID’S WORSHIP WAS SPECIAL, PERSONAL --- David loved God, and gave himself totally.
2 Samuel 6:21 And David said unto Michal, It was before the Lord, which chose me before thy father, and before all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord, over Israel: therefore will I play before the Lord.
22 And I will yet be more vile than thus, and will be base in mine own sight: and of the maidservants which thou hast spoken of, of them shall I be had in
honour.
G. GOD REQUIRED A PAYMENT PLAN FOR HOW MEAN AND NOT UNDERSTANDING MICAH WAS TO DAVID.
2 Samuel 6:23 Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto the day of her death.
H. WHY DIDN’T MICAH REPENT?
Why wasn’t she sorry? Why didn’t she humble herself and repent after she made a big mistake? If we confess, God is faithful to forgive.
I. MICAH WAS SATISFIED TO ACCEPT HER BARREN CONDITION AS THE NORM. How sad?
J. Are we looking for SOLOMON’S TEMPLE OR DAVID’S HEART?
II. THERE WERE MANY BARREN, HOPELESS CASES THAT REFUSED TO ACCEPT BARRENNESS AS THEIR NORM!
A. The lamp of God was growing very dim at church.
Eli and his two Preacher sons, Hophni and Phinephas were out of touch with God.
The Preachers were good at their religious duties, but they did not know God in a personal way.
Eli thought HANNAH WAS DRUNK, he couldn’t recognize God’s spirit upon her?
B. HANNAH CAME TO CHURCH BROKEN AND BARREN, she spilled herself before the Lord God.
HANNAH SOUGHT GOD FOR WHAT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO MAN ---
HANNAH ASKED GOD FOR A SON!
C. GOD GAVE HANNAH A SPECIAL SON --- NAMED SAMUEL.
Samuel was faithful to God and ignited the flame of God in the church.
Samuel would anoint the first two Kings of Israel.
D. Once a year Hannah made a special little coat for her son, thread? tears?
GOD HONORED HER ---
1 Samuel 2:21 And the Lord visited Hannah, so that she conceived, and bare three sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before the Lord.
E. BARREN HANNAH HAD 6 CHILDREN, Samuel and 3 more sons and two daughters.
F. WHY? Because Hannah would not accept BEING BARREN!
III. COME O BARREN AND GIVE LIFE.
ABRAHAM IS CALLED THE FATHER OF THE FAITH, AND SARAH IS THE MOTHER.
SARAI WAS BARREN --- NO CHILDREN --- BUT GOD...
A. 20 YEARS THE PROMISE WAS TO ABRAHAM, THE BARRENNESS BECOME DRY BONES?
B. Don’t try to redefine GOD’S PROMISE.
Genesis 17:17 Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall
Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?
C. CAN GOD? GOD CAN! 100 years old AND 90 = MIRACLE.
D. Don’t accept the BARREN SPIRIT.
E. MANOAH’S WIFE MET AN ANGEL --- O, BARREN --- BARE LIFE: SAMSON WAS A PROMISE --- THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD WAS UPON SAMSON.
F. ELISABETH AND ZACHARIAS, WERE OLD AND STRICTEN IN YEARS.
One day Elisabeth felt a movement in her barren womb.
COUSIN MARY COMES AND THE BABY JUMPS, --- JOHN THE BAPTIST WAS COMING TO PREPARE THE WAY FOR THE LORD.
IV. DOES YOUR JOURNEY SEEM TO END IN A BARREN PLACE?
THERE IS A PROCESS, A JOURNEY, THE EASY WAY IS NOT ALWAYS BEST. THE JOURNEY MAY SEEM TO HAVE MANY STRANGE TWIST BUT GOD LOVES YOU AND HAS A PLAN FOR YOU!
A. JERICHO HAS COME TO THE POINT OF HOPELESS BARRENNESS.
WHERE THERE IS NO WATER, THERE CAN BE NO LIFE.
Now what shall we do if we seemed trapped in a BARREN PLACE?
Shall we stay here?
B. Define some words:
1. JOURNEY: act of going from one place to another.
2. PROCESS: a course of action, progress, system, method,
C. WE SEEM TO HAVE A PLEASANT PLACE, BUT THIS PLACE IS BARREN?
We live here in a place that can not bring forth new life.
D. WE FACE EXTINCTION IF WE CAN’T BRING FORTH NEW LIFE.
Will we accept a barren church as the NORM?
2 Kings 2:19 And the men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth: but the water is naught, and the ground barren.
E. MANY SUGGEST THERE WAS SOMETHING IN THE WATER SOURCE THAT BROUGHT ABOUT MISCARRIAGES IN HUMANS AND IN THE ANIMALS.
There was no fruit to their labor. Increase and production was doomed.
F. More than this the poor water available was KILLING THE EXPECTATIONS, DREAMS, VISIONS OF WHAT MIGHT BE POSSIBLE.
G. THERE WERE MANY MEN OF GOD IN THE CITY OF JERICHO, BUT THEY SEEMED POWERLESS AND TRAPPED ---
GOD’S WORD AND PROMISES WERE BOUND AND DID NOT BRING FORTH EFFECTIVE NEW LIFE.
20 And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And they bring it to him.
H. It is insane to think I can keep doing things the same old way and expect a different outcome.
I. THE FIRST WAY OUT OF BARRENNESS IS TO REACH FOR A NEW THING.
A cruse was a flat metal pan or plate or box like container.
The instructions of the man of God was the CRUSE HAD TO BE NEW.
What if they in great stubbornness brought an "OLD" CRUSE?
21 And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the Lord, I have healed these waters; there shall not be
from thence any more death or barren land.
J. ELISHA BOLDLY APPROACHED THE SOURCE OF THE PROBLEM, HE STEPPED TOWARD THE SPRING THAT WAS THE SOURCE OF THE BARREN CITY.
K. Elisha threw in SALT:
1. SALT IS TWO POISONS JOINED TOGETHER:
SODIUM
CHLORIDE
2. Salt is a preservative, it melts snow, kills germs.
3. Salt is essential to life.
22 So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake.
L. GOD’S FIX IS NOT TEMPORARY, THE BARREN CITY BROUGHT FORTH LIFE AGAIN AND AGAIN, BECAUSE WE DON’T HAVE TO ACCEPT A BARREN SPIRIT.
V. HOW DID ELISHA GET HERE WITH A PLAN OF ATTACK AND HE WAS NOT WILLING TO ACCEPT A BARREN CITY THAT KILLED NEW LIFE?
THERE WERE MANY OTHER PREACHERS AROUND.
A. Don’t think Elisha was living in an easy day with smooth messages for a good people.
There was a very mean King named AHAB with an even meaner wife, JEZEBEEL.
Jezebel had many of God’s preachers killed.
Jezebel vowed to KILL ELISHA’S MASTER, ELIJAH.
B. THERE WAS AN OLD PREACHER THAT FOUND A YOUNG MAN OF GREAT POTENTIAL.
Elijah came by Elisha’s Dad’s farm and found him busy, working very hard.
ELISHA HAD TO BURN THE OXEN --- NO BRIDGE BACK ---
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.
C. THE OLD PREACHER WAS GOING TO POUR HIMSELF INTO THIS YOUNG MAN.
Elisha was to be the NEW VESSEL.
Elijah loved Elisha and Elijah would not accept a BARREN SPIRIT IN THE CHURCH.
VI. WE MUST DO MORE THAN LOOK THROUGH BINOCULARS AT A DISTANCE, GOD HAS A JOURNEY THAT BUILDS A MAN WITH GOD’S PLAN TO NOT ACCEPT BARRENNESS AS A NORM WITHIN OUR CHURCH.
A. THERE ARE FOUR DEGREES OF FRUIT?
No fruit? Fruit? More fruit? Much fruit?
WHICH DEGREE SHALL I GO AFTER?
B. WHY DID JERICHO NOT STAY BARREN WITH A SERIOUS WATER (ESSENTIALS) PROBLEM? Because God raised up a new man.
C. There were over 50 young preachers watching and talking about God.
These young preachers even discussed how bad the barren Jericho spring had
been.
D. GOD HAD A MAN THAT WOULD MORE THAN DISCUSS BARRENNESS, HE WOULD
CURSE IT.
2 Kings 2:7 And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view
afar off: and they two stood by Jordan.
VII. THERE WERE FOUR PLACES THAT ELIJAH LEAD ELISHA. ELISHA HAD TO
STICK WITH THE MAN OF GOD AND FOLLOW THE PLAN OF GOD.
THE JOURNEY IS NOT FOR ELIJAH, IT IS FOR ELISHA.
Today many desire God’s plan, but they don’t want to stick with God’s man?
ALSO NOTE THAT AFTER EACH PLACE IN THE JOURNEY, ELISHA COULD HAVE
WENT BACK AND STAYED WITH THE 50?
A. THERE WAS A LESSON AT GILGAL.
2 Kings 2:1 And it came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.
GILGAL HAS GREAT MEANING: ROLLING STONE, HARD PLACE.
Gilgal is where the children of Israel came out of the wilderness and they had not been following the command that on the 8th day to do circumcision.
Gilgal means:
Malcontent, restlessness
Surface, external, superficial
Rolling stone (gathers no moss)
No root system
Easy, entertainment
B. THERE IS A PROGRESSIVE LESSON AT BETHEL.
2 And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Bethel. And Elisha said unto him, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Bethel.
BETHEL MEANS:
A place where we come to meet with God.
Bethel is no comfort zone, the pillow was stone, not easy.
Faithfulness.
To gang control of the appetites and desires.
Altar, devotions, deeper.
Applied study and devotions, buried in the word.
To accept your place and acknowledge God.
C. WE NOW PROGRESS UPWARD TO JERICHO.
2 Kings 2:4 And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Jericho. And he said, As the Lord liveth, and as thy
soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho.
JERICHO IS AN UPWARD CLIMB.
This road was dangerous, it often was known as the BLOODY WAY.
Many robbers hid and would try to steal valuables along this road.
JERICHO WAS AN ENTRENCHED CITY, DUG IN, WALLED WITH NO EASY ACCESS.
TO BREAK THROUGH STRONGHOLDS...
Overcoming anger, stubbornness, drug abuse, family attitudes, feelings and emotions, etc.
Jericho means sweet fragrance.
PRAISE, WORSHIP FROM A DEVOTED ESTABLISHED HEART.
D. THE LAST STEP IN THE JOURNEY TO OVERCOME BARRENNESS IS CLEAR:
THE JORDAN.
2 Kings 2:6 And Elijah said unto him, Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the Lord hath sent me to Jordan. And he said, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul
liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on.
Many years prior to coming to the Jordan, Elisha was plowing, and he killed the oxen with which he plowed, being a type of burning the bridge, so he can’t return.
Now Elisha comes to the JORDAN RIVER, and he has to make a total commitment to never look back.
The Jordan is a type:
Death, self denial, total surrender.
Deny personal ambition and dreams.
Not seeking applause or popularity.
To wait patiently in faith with a complete trust.
VIII. NOW YOUNG ELISHA --- YOU HAVE BEEN FAITHFUL TO FOLLOW THE COMPLETE JOURNEY, NOW WHAT DO YOU WANT?
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. 10 And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if
not, it shall not be so.
THE DOUBLE PORTION IS THE ELDEST SON’S CLAIM.
The mantle was the students claim from his teacher.
The mantle will break the barren spirit, a new hope, a living hope.
IX. ELISHA COMPLETES THE JOURNEY BY RENTING HIS OWN CLOTHES.
2 Kings 2:12 And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and
he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces.
MY PRECIOUS FRIEND, WILL WE TEAR THE OLD CLOTHES AND TAKE ON GOD’S MANTLE?
Come with God’s mantle and break the barren trap and set forth freedom and new life.
2 Kings 2:15 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.
Wow, tear the old coat and take on the new!
His servant, Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com
You could easily help double the reach of my hands?
Will you pass this on to another and help the message advance?
