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.
A tool is lost, God steps in and it is recovered. So with very little digging we can learn that God will help you in your everyday stuff. Pray while working.
That is a good lesson, but as we peel back the layers we will find there is so much more to this story. And we are going to apply the main lesson of this story and tie it in to our current series, which is becoming God's best version of You.
The main lesson of this story is getting your cutting edge back, and that ties into our current series in this way: God's best version of You is moving forward, but it is also making sure you don't lose what He already gave you. In this case it is ax axe head, and what is an axe?
An axe is a tool that gives a mechanical advantage for felling trees and splitting wood.
Recently in a message we pointed out this passage of scripture:
PPT 5 text
Ec 10:10 If the axe is dull and he does not sharpen [its] edge, then he must exert more strength. Wisdom has the advantage of giving success.
A sharp axe cuts more wood, in the story before us it wasn't a simple case of the axe head getting dull, it was completely lost, and it was lost beyond the user's ability to regain it. Otherwise he probably would have dove in the water and recovered it himself. The story implies the place where it sunk was deep and muddy.
PPT 6 Ax and handle
So it isn't simply a case of him trying to cut trees with a dull axe, but of the complete loss of ability to cut trees down. Imagine the folly of trying to chop a tree down with just an axe handle. But that is exactly what many are doing in the kingdom today. In contrast Paul said:
PPT 7 text
1Co 9:26 Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air;
Swinging an axe without a cutting edge is shadow boxing, you never hit a thing.
In the world of sales your cutting edge is keeping up with and getting new contacts, closing the deal. In managment it is sucessfully motivating your workers to new levels of productivity.
But in the realm of grace if you lose your cutting edge you will be: praying without unction, preaching without fire, serving without compassion, that is what happens when you lose your cutting edge.
Your cutting edge is the power of Holy Spirit being active in your life, without it you axe head is gone, and the insanity of some is that they keep swinging the axe handle and complain nothing is happening. May God help us to get our cutting edge back, because God's best version of you is that you are empowered by the Holy Spirit to do the work of God.
As we delve deeper into this story I have a lot of good things to say about this man, and a very important part of this story is that the one who lost his axe head was one who was busy in the work of God. While serving the Lord he lost his axe head!
While busy for the Lord he lost his cutting edge, and his response was immediate and dramatic:
PPT 8
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."
As soon as it was lost, he was instantly aware of it, and he was pained deeply the Hebrew word translated cried is sawak and it means to make an outcry, to clamour, to cry aloud in grief. The duller you are spiritually the less you notice or are concerned about the loss of your cutting edge
The axe head represents the power to get the job done! No man can chop down tress by flailing at them with an axe handle! It takes the sharp, biting power of the axe head to eat through the wood and fell the tree. In the church, we need to realize that without our cutting edge, that is the power of the Holy Spirit, we will never be able to serve the Lord properly, nor will we be able to make a dent in this world. Jesus said many things in harmony with this thought: Flesh and blood cannot see the kingdom of heaven, without Me you can do nothing. Paul said we the lost are dead in trespass and sins, and the natural man receiveth not the things of God for he cannot! Without the quickening power of the Holy Spirit, and the love of Christ flowing through us (1 Cor 13) it profits nothing.
The man also cried out, alas for it was borrowed. The literal Hebrew is, it was begged. I asked, and I pleaded, and finally my neighbor loaned it to me.
"Don't let the river take what you once pleaded to God for!"
We need to be cut to the quick like this man whenever we lose our cutting edge. Cut to the quick is found in the NAS version of the bible in two places in the book of Acts and in both of those places the KJV translates the phrase: cut to the heart. You get the sense that it means deeply wounded, if you lose your cutting edge, we need to be deeply wounded by it like this man was. Because until you are deeply wounded by its loss, you will only half heartedly seek its return.
I want wrap up this weeks message by looking at some examples from scripture of things and events that will either remove your cutting edge or cause you to lay down your axe. In each of these examples you will find someone getting weak or faint or losing heart.
The first is hunger: When your caloric outtake is greater than your intake you lose strength.
PPT 9
Isa 44:12 The man shapes iron into a cutting tool, and does his work over the coals, fashioning it with hammers, and working it with his strong arm. He also gets hungry and his strength fails; he drinks no water and becomes weary.
The second is seeing others struggle.
PPT 10
Eph 3:13 Therefore I ask you not to lose heart at my tribulations on your behalf, for they are your glory.
I have seen more peoples faith shaken to the core by this than by almost any other thing. Paul says don't lose heart because of my suffering. I cannot understand why children get cancer, but I do know Whom I have believed in and I can trust Him about the things I don't undrestand.
The next is sorrow:
PPT 1
Jer 8:18 O my Comforter in sorrow, my heart is faint within me. (NIV)
Sorrow reduced Jeremiahs available strength. If you don't have strength you will not be swinging an axe.
Next is fear:
PPT 12
De 20:3 "... 'Hear, O Israel, you are approaching the battle against your enemies today. Do not be fainthearted. Do not be afraid, or panic, or tremble before them,
De 20:4 for the LORD your God is the one who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.'
Lastly weariness in well doing:
PPT 13
2Co 4:1 Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not;
There are a lot of things that can loosen your grip on your axe, next week I will talk more about how the man in our story probably did.
But for this week I wanted to do several things, and I think we have.
First was to show the importance of a cutting edge.
Second to stir you up to regain it if you have lost it.
Third to remind you of the dangers and struggles you will face to keep your hands on your axe, and to keep swinging your axe.
God's best version of you, is for you to be swinging away, not with just an axe handle, but with a blade that can chop wood like no other.
Close: Do you feel like you have lost your cutting edge?
