WE CAN’T MOVE AHEAD WITHOUT
THE AXEHEAD
We would all agree that we desperately need Revival.
Revival in the classroom & family room.
In the community & the church.
Hear what some have said about Revival:
Evangelism affects the other fellow; revival affects me.
Leonard Ravenhill (1867-1942)
Revival is the inrush of the Spirit into a body that threatens to become a corpse.
D. M. Panton
Some churches are so dead they don’t need revival--they need resurrection.
Croft pentz
One day a lady asked Billy Sunday: “Why do you keep having revivals when it doesn’t last?” He asked her, “Why do you keep taking baths?”
2 Kings 6:1 And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha, Behold now, the place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us.
2 Kings 6:2 Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan, and take thence every man a beam, and let us make us a place there, where we may dwell. And he answered, Go ye.
2 Kings 6:3 And one said, Be content, I pray thee, and go with thy servants. And he answered, I will go.
2 Kings 6:4 So he went with them. And when they came to Jordan, they cut down wood.
2 Kings 6:5 But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water: and he cried, and said, Alas, master! for it was borrowed.
2 Kings 6:6 And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he shewed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast [it] in thither; and the iron did swim.
2 Kings 6:7 Therefore said he, Take [it] up to thee. And he put out his hand, and took it.
If you want to find out what matters most to someone, read their last words.
As followers of Jesus Christ we need to know what matters most to him, for that which matters to him, must matter to us as well.
Before his ascension:
Acts 1:4 And, being assembled together with [them], commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, [saith he], ye have heard of me.
Acts 1:5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
Acts 1:6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
Acts 1:7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Acts 1:9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
The one reason the church at Jerusalem was so dynamic was that is got off to a great start.
Jesus told them in Acts 1:8--DON’T HAVE CHURCH UNTIL THE HOLY GHOST SHOW’S UP.
So it is today--Church ain’t Church until the Holy Ghost comes!!!!
The greatest need of this hour, for the church & Christians alike is to be filled, & full of the Holy Ghost:
It is the power that made the early church --THE CHURCH!
THE HOLY GHOST MADE THE DIFFERENCE!!
The Church he started was a Pentecostal Church -- you cannot change fact!
As we look at the portion of Scriptures—
We see one day the young students came to Elisha & said—
The place we are at is to small—
These young prophets were at a place, where they need to enlarge—
They saw the need for growth!
Can I tell you--Where you are at is to small-You & I need to grow--IN GOD!
When they arrived at the Jordan
They began cutting down trees, & as one was chopping the ax head fell off the handle into the water.
Look at the lessons they were taught.
Lesson 1.
Work comes to a halt -- WITHOUT THE AXE HEAD--
Here they are in a crucial moment--& the very thing they need to complete the work in Gone!
Child of God hear me--We are at a crucial moment in time—
If we the church of the living God, are going to make an impact in this hour it will
take more that softball, bean suppers, & trips to the six flags
IT IS GOING TO TAKE THE POWER OF THE HOLY GHOST!
There can be no doubt that the need above everything else in the A/G is the Power of the Holy Ghost---
IT IS NOT MORE EDUCATION, BETTER ORGANIZATION, FINER EQUIPT. OR ADVANCE METHODS--all of these are good in their place--BUT IT IS THE SPIRIT THAT GIVES LIFE
Ps. 62:11-POWER BELONGETH TO GOD
There is a difference in the way a Holy Ghost congregation ., sings, prays, works & worships & evangelizes
Not every church is a Holy Ghost church,
Not ever A/G is a Holy Ghost church
Its like the can of peaches of the shelve—
That label doesn’t mean one thing--unless you find peaches in the can when you open it.
When a church loses the touch of God in ceases to be the church,
it becomes a church
There is a big difference-
The church is working for God--a church is working for self--God’s work has stopped
The church is filled with excitement about God --a church has no excitement, it has ritual
The church is seeing souls saved---a church hasn’t seen a soul saved in years
The church is experiencing the power of God --a church is experience strive, contention among the people
The church is filled with people in love with Jesus--a church is love with the world
The church is looking for his return--a church can’t even get it members to return
If there was ever a time we need to be the church-it is now--they were at a crucial time—
It crucial now, --If there ever was a time we need a church that is producing miracles--it is this day.
When will all the ungodlyness stop –it wont’ Why? BECAUSE THE CHURCH HAS STOPPED
SHE HAS LOST SOMETHING--THE TOUCH OF GOD!!!!!
May God let us be THE CHURCH--full of PRAISE, POWER & GLORY OF GOD
This is no time for look- alikes, or make believe.
Give us The power of God, that still sets men free, that breaks the bands of hell.
LET’S BE THE CHURCH!!!!
The young man goes to Elisha & Say alias Master
sense the urgency---Why? –
IT WAS BORROWED!--It had been given to him to use, so he could complete the work.
Lesson 2
THE AXE WAS GIVEN FOR A PURPOSE
What is begun in the Spirit cannot be fulfilled by the flesh!
That man would have looked mighty silly out there chopping on a tree without the axehead , and many a church is wasting there time trying to function without the power of Christ.
We are the handle, Christ is the head!!
We are told:
Ephesians 5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
Colossians 1:18 And he is the head of the body, the church:
Without the head we are hopeless, but remember it is the head that is to tell the body what to do & not the other way around.
Philippians 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Illist The mind of another ----If I take the mind of our piano player & place it in my ead – I can play like her –Why? – I have her mind
If the church takes on the mind of Christ, it will start acting, working, thinking as the one whose mind they have.
Because he is the head of the church--we have a purpose!
Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
We are his witnesses
If we are going to claim to be the body of Christ--then Christ had better be seen in this body!!!!!
1 John 3:8 For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
John 14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater [works] than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
It is Jesus purpose & desire that his followers do greater works, than he did.
This includes both converting people to Christ, & miracles;
Illus. greater works--greater in scope & in number--Because he has gone to the father.
Zechariah 4:6 Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.
notice Elisha asked him Where did it fall?
Many are not what they once were in God, Many church are not what they used to be.
If we are going to return, & become what we once were we are going to have to 2 things
1. Admit we have lost something
2. Go back to where we lost it.
If neglecting prayer lost it---return back to prayer
by neglecting the Word --Get back into the word
not being obedient--get back to obedience
stopped being faithful--get faithful
The word tells us:
Ecclesiastes 10:10 If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge, then must he put to more strength:
The axehead was lost by not paying attention
Simply put if a person doesn’t have the desire for God, the things of God--your about to lose something.
Notice the Prophet made him take him to where he lost it,
Eljisha cut a limb from a tree ( why not a dead stick)---only one with life will see the supernatural
God will not use a dead church, Christian--but one that is alive.
He through it in the water, & the axe head did swim.
That which was lost is found
that which was borrowed is restored
2 Kings 6:7 Therefore said he, Take [it] up to thee. And he put out his hand, and took it.
He lost it, he had to retrieve it
Lesson 3
YOU MUST REACH FOR IT
Once recovered, The work could be completed
The Job could be finished
Acts 1:15 And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,)
1 Corinthians 15:6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
It is believed that when Jesus gave the great commission as In Math 28:16-20
Luke 24:47-53
Some 500 were present--but on the day of Pentecost. 0nly 120 we present why?
We can only speculate--perhaps some got tired of tarring, the word tells us some doubted, to others , various things were more important--what ever the reason-- 380 missed the outpouring on that day.
My point is this --whatever we need from God- it will be obtained, only as we first put forth an effort
God will not force himself upon you ---but he did say.
Matthew 7:7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
Matthew 7:8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
We must first ask, before we receive
We must first seek, before we find
We must first knock, before it will opened
God commands us to be filled with the Spirit, and if we are not filled, it is because we are living beneath our privileges.
Dwight Lyman Moody (1837-1899)
When Christ Jesus ascended into heaven He didn’t leave us alone.
Everything we would ever need in life is provided for us through the Holy Spirit.
If you feel that you are going through the motions let the Holy Spirit break both you and your will.
If you need forgiveness of sins, this is the day - let the Holy Spirit set you free for it is by his conviction -for by responding to his conviction you can be free from the bondage of sin and it’s habits.
If you feel alone, call on the Holy Spirit to come to be by your side.
If you do not understand the circumstances that have hit you lately, let the Holy Spirit be your Comforter.
If you are seeking direction, let the Holy Spirit provide you with a vision.
If things have not been going all that well, let the Holy Spirit provide direction - let Him rebuild and restore and renew.
Let me close this with this challenge tonight:
How hungry are you after God and all that he has for you?
Psalm 107:9 For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.
Saints if you have a real gunine hunger & thirst for the things of God, press in with out delay—
FOR ALL GOD HAS FOR YOU!!---FOR HE IS NOT RESPECTOR OF PERSONS!!
LETS FINISH THE WORK!
With an outpouring of the Holy Spirit there will be an outpouring of people getting saved!
Without the Axehead the work stops
The axe had a purpose
The one that lost it, has to reach for it
I challenge you to ask the Lord to empower you once again.
We need His presence every day.
We need His provision every day.
We need His power every day.
The disciples turned their world ’right side up.’
It didn’t take four years of Bible College.
It didn’t take a week at summer camp.
It happened because they gave the Holy Spirit full control of their lives.
And that same power is available to you today.
Disclaimer:
These sermons are not copyrighted and may be used or preached freely, I trust these sermons will be a blessing to all who read them. Please note that due to the large amount of material on the Internet concerning sermons, illustrations & ideals. Any similarities in wording, or titles of other preachers sermons are simply coincidental. May God Bless You is my Prayer!
