12/31/02 Watchnight Service
How Bad Do You Want It?
2 Kings 13:14-19
14Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face, and said, O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. 15And Elisha said unto him, Take bow and arrows. And he took unto him bow and arrows. 16And he said to the king of Israel, Put thine hand upon the bow. And he put his hand upon it: and Elisha put his hands upon the king’s hands. 17And he said, Open the window eastward. And he opened it. Then Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said, The arrow of the LORD’S deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria: for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou have consumed them. 18And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them. And he said unto the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice, and stayed. 19And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice.
Singapore, without a doubt, is one of the most beautiful cities of the world. The climate of this delightful city ranges from about 75 to 85 degrees year around. Architecturally speaking one cannot ask for more. Singapore is a very modern city. It is said that the people of this city are friendly and very accommodating.
If you were to visit the city of Singapore and take a tour of the city, as you neared the downtown area you would notice large illuminated signs that said: Restricted Zone. It is here that the business district of the city is located, inside the restricted zone. This is a place where important decisions are made and millions of dollars change hands every few minutes. Zoning for a restricted area was granted by the cities’ civil engineers to avoid congested traffic in this extremely vital section of Singapore. A daily pass is required in order to have access to the restricted zone. However, anyone is permitted to enter in if they are willing to pay the price for the pass. It becomes a question of how bad they want to enter the restricted zone.
I’m preaching tonight on the subject: How bad do you want it?
Spiritually speaking there is a restricted zone as well. But regardless of skin color, nationality, or status in society, all human beings are candidates for entering into the kingdom of God. Any doctrine that would suggest otherwise is not Biblically sound. The opportunity to become a son of God is available to all. The requisite does not involve money or earning theological degrees from acclaimed seminaries. Submitting blood samples, enduring physical examinations, and visiting a consulate to acquire a visa is not necessary. The only stipulation for entrance into the kingdom of God is you must be born again. The arms of the Lord are open to accept all who obey the gospel message.
Now, once we enter into the kingdom of God we have to decide how close we want to get to the King. Will we be content to live as subjects in a vast domain, never having viewed the inside of the throne room? Or, will we seek every opportunity to establish an intimate relationship with the Lord?
The kingdom of the Lord is different from any other. People whose pasts are blemished with infractions, regardless of how disreputable, are not prohibited from touching him, but are given total and complete access to God. In the Kingdom of God failure is not final, but failure can be used as a stepping-stone to get to God.
David committed adultery with Bathsheba. When they learned she was pregnant with his child he conspired to have her husband killed. But David did not go out and hire a team of attorneys to represent him before the courts of the land. David did not seek to defend himself. David did not compare his transgression with others in the land. Instead he paid his dues to God and after repenting and suffering the consequences for the sin he committed he still merited a status given to no other. He was called in scripture, “A man after God’s own heart.”
He said, “Create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit in me oh God. Against thee and thee only have I sinned. Cast me not away from thy presence.” David repented.
How can this be that an adulterer who committed murder would not be restricted from the kingdom? That is the unparalleled beauty of true contrition and true repentance. When we mess up, we can get up, if we refuse to give up. Our pasts cannot stop us; excuses will not exonerate us, nor can Satan keep us from finding our place in the kingdom. The ball lies in our court whether we will pursue our post in the kingdom or be pacified with the present. How bad do you want to live for God? How bad do you want to find your place in the kingdom? God did not give up on David because David would not let go of God. Herein is the secret of David’s restoration after his repentance:
Psalm 42:1-2
1 As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.
2 My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?
David reached for the Lord with great desire in his heart. One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.
How bad do you want it? How bad do you desire to be in his presence? How bad do you desire a better life than the life you had in the world?
Psalm 91:1-4
1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
How bad do you want it? How bad do you want to be in his presence? How bad do you desire to find that secret place with the Lord?
Unlike other sovereigns, Jesus is accessible to all who desire His company. There are no appointments required or time restrictions imposed. Frequently this king approaches us desiring our companionship.
Let me ask you again how far do you desire to go in God? How bad do you want his presence in your life?
The kingdom of God is not a horizontal plateau whereupon once we enter their remains no challenge to excel. The word consistently challenges us to go higher with God and deeper in our relationship with Him. The Bible often speaks of various places and dimensions that we can excel to:
But it is up to each individual to find that privileged position and enter in. Jesus bids us to follow, but we decide how far we will go.
The world does not lack for heroes in sports, movies, and music. But they are not making a positive difference (they are making a negative difference) in the condition of the world today. America is great today because of our heroes, the men and women, from yesterday who paid the ultimate price to ensure democracy in this country. But they are not even what we need today.
In Ezekiel 22 the Lord is speaking to his people and says:
Ezekiel 22:29-31
29 The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy: yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully.
30 And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.
31 Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord GOD.
When we fail to develop a close relationship with God we rob ourselves as well as others. We are not our own entities, but rather each of us has an obligation to God and to our fellow man.
I’m preaching tonight: How bad do you want it?
In our scripture text we read about the time when the prophet Elisha was about to die. Prior to this there was a long line of evil kings in the Northern tribes of Israel beginning with Jeroboam until now Jehoahaz the eleventh king takes the throne at the beginning of 2 Kings 13. The scripture tells us that he also was an evil king in that he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam who led Israel astray. Under the seventeen year reign of Jehoahaz, Israel moved further and further away from the Lord in the worship of Baal and other false gods. Because of their idolatry the Bible says that the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel and He delivered them into the hands of the Syrian Kings Hazael and later his son Benhadad. The Syrians began to oppress Israel and move them out of their cities and homes. The oppression was so great that Israel began to call out to the Lord.
Isn’t it amazing that right in the middle of the worship of false Gods Israel knew right where to turn when things got bad enough? They didn’t turn to the golden calves of Baal but they called out to Almighty God. Isn’t it amazing that right in the middle of us doing our own thing apart from God when things get bad enough we know right where to turn to find help in the time of need. When we couldn’t find time on a Sunday to make it to church we suddenly when trouble arises find some time to be in God’s house and in His presence.
The Lord allowed this oppression to happen to get the attention of Israel. Often times God allows things into our lives to get our attention and to get our focus back where it should be and instead of pointing our fingers at everyone else we should examine our own hearts first.
The Lord got the attention of Jehoahaz and Jehoahaz besought the Lord that he would remove the oppression of the Syrians. He cried out for a deliverer and the scripture says that God did send a deliverer.
I’m glad that when we need a deliverer God will come through for us in the time of need. God always has been a deliverer, especially to his people. The scripture is full of examples of His deliverance.
God is our deliverer. There is no circumstance or crisis situation that he cannot bring you through. In fact, listen to these scriptures that speak about the Lord as our deliverer.
Job 5:19
19 He shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee.
Psalm 91:3
3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
1 Corinthians 10:13
13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
2 Timothy 4:18
18 And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
2 Peter 2:9
9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:
Our God is a delivering God. He knows just what to do when we have a problem in our life AND we call out to him. You see it all depends on how bad we want it. It all depends on just how much of ourselves we are willing to invest with God.
So God sends a deliverer, probably the nation of Assyria, who got the Syrian’s attention away from Israel for awhile and Israel goes back to living in their homes and cities again although there was still a measure of oppression there. The problem was that they didn’t depart from their sins. They kept on worshipping false gods until Jehoahaz dies and his son Joash begins to reign in his stead as King of Israel.
The Bible says something interesting about Joash in verse 11. It indicates that he too was an evil king – the twelfth such evil king of Israel. But there is something more here that I sense the writer is trying to convey. It doesn’t say that he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam like it says of all the other kings, but it says that he departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam. This suggests that he started moving in the right direction. Also it has been years since the prophet Elisha has been heard from. The prophet had nothing to do with any king since the beginning of Jehu’s reign. It is no accident that after not having anything to do with the past couple of kings Elisha now is talking with King Joash.
What am I saying? I’m not saying that Joash was a good king but that he had opportunity to be a good king. The fact remains that he really didn’t want to be a good king bad enough. He started doing good things. He moved away from some of the sins of his forefathers. But he never saw it through to its completion. He could have turned around the Northern Tribes of Israel but he didn’t want it bad enough.
Verse 14 begins the narrative of the final days of the prophet Elisha. By this time Elisha is a very old man. He is probably over eighty years of age now. King Joash comes to visit the aged prophet on his deathbed. He is apparently drawn to Elisha by a sense of sincere respect and reverence. No doubt Elisha had been a counselor to Joash in his youth and had guided him in his duties as King at the beginning of his reign. The king comes to Elisha and weeps over him and greets him by saying, “O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof.” You can feel the closeness and friendship that had once been there in the language of the king.
It is to be remembered that the oppression of the Syrians had not been completely taken away under the reign of his father Jehoahaz. The promised total deliverance had not yet come. Israel was still in a state of humiliation and distress by and large.
Elisha, old and sick, in a weakened condition, raises himself up from his bed with great effort. There is that old familiar prophetic fire burning in the eyes of Elisha as he begins to speak to young Joash and as the Spirit leads the prophet, the prophet leads the king in a symbolic act of deliverance. He tells Joash to pick a bow and arrows and further gives him instruction until now Joash stands before an open window with an arrow ready to shoot out the window. The prophet, no doubt with great difficulty, joins Joash at the window and places his hands over the hands of the king. He commands the king to shoot the arrow and at once he shoots it out of the window. Then, I believe, with a loud and strong voice Elisha proclaims, “That was the arrow of the LORD’S deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria: for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou have consumed them.” Elisha told Joash that the arrows represent not only deliverance but also victory. After all of the years of oppression and humiliation finally victory is in sight.
This symbolic act that the prophet led Joash in declared several things. Firstly, it declared that deliverance comes only from God. It was the arrow of the Lord’s deliverance. We should seek our deliverance only from the Lord and not in the things of this world. Secondly, it declares that God uses people to accomplish his will. The bow and arrows were symbols of human instrumentality. Further, Joash had to put his hands on the bow and shoot the arrow. God uses people. Thirdly, it declares that we can only succeed as God strengthens us. Elisha put his hands on the hands of the king signifying that the power to win the victory comes only from God. His hands were to be made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob. It is on God’s power that we must always rely on for victory. The psalmist said in Psalm 115: Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake.
But it didn’t end there. The symbol was not yet complete. King Joash still had a quiver full of arrows and the prophet commanded him to take the arrows, the arrows of the Lord’s deliverance and victory, and smite them upon the ground.
We learn three things from this:
1. Very trivial actions often reveal a great deal of character.
The Bible tells us that God’s way are above our ways and his thoughts are above our thoughts. Who can say why God chooses to do things the way that he does.
Who knows why God does things the way He does. But we do know that it reveals our character when we obey even when we don’t understand.
2. We often have not from God because we ask not.
The arrows were pledges of deliverance and victory from God. Joash stopped short of complete victory. He only asked for three victories and that’s all he received.
3. It displeases God that we do not ask more from Him.
God’s controversy with us is not that we ask too much or expect too much, but that we do not ask enough and we do not expect enough. Our God is a big God and he can do big things. Joash missed a blessing because he stopped short.
Now let’s turn the tables a little bit. Let’s talk about us. How bad do you desire to be in God’s presence? How bad do you desire to find your place in the body of Christ?
There are probably things that you desire in your life that you have not attained because you don’t want them bad enough. Maybe you’d like to hit a golf ball 300 yards but you never have because it would take a lot of practice and effort and really it’s not that big of a deal.
There are also probably some spiritual desires that you might have. Spiritual things that you have not attained yet and those are a big deal.
What would you do and how would you conduct yourself if I told you that the next prayer you prayed would bring the answer to your need. The next prayer you prayed would bring an end to the crisis situation that you have been facing. The next prayer you prayed would bring a lasting effect upon the salvation of a son or daughter. Would you like Joash just hit the ground a couple of times or would you hit the ground until…until the answer came? Would you just pray a little prayer like you always had or would you pray until…until the answer came?
How about this church, have we done everything that God has for us to do? Have we reached the place that God has for this church? Have we reached our potential? Have we reached the lost like God wants us to reach the lost? Have we experienced the revival that God has for us? How bad do we want it?
We have seen some tremendous growth this year. We have baptized over thirty people this year. More than we ever have in one year. But where are they now? How many still remain? How many are on fire for God? How many are doing the Lord’s will in their life? Growth is good but it must be growth that lasts. It’s been some time now since we have baptized anyone. It’s been some weeks since anyone has received the Holy Ghost.
I feel somewhat like Elijah on the mountaintop, as I peer into the sky, off in the distance, I see a cloud brewing. It’s a cloud the size of a man’s hand but it’s coming in this direction. There has been a spiritual drought for too long. We’ve been praying and fasting for some time now. We’ve been meeting in homes across the city giving Bible Studies. We’ve been praying together on Mondays and Saturdays. We’ve been seeking the face of God. I believe these are the days that we will see the heavens rolled back and the glory of God revealed in ways we can’t even fathom. This cloud is not just any cloud, but a divine cloud representing God’s glory. I came to say this evening, “get ready for I hear the sound of an abundance of rain.
But it all depends on us. How bad do you want it?
I feel like Joshua this evening who stood in front of the children of Israel as they prepared to posses the Promised Land. He said, “Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.” This is what I’ve come to declare this evening, if we will sanctify ourselves, which means to set ourselves aside for the work of the Lord. If we will set aside ourselves and consecrate our lives to God; if we will “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness…” God will do wonders among us.
But it all depends on us. How bad do you want it?
Matthew 14:24-33
24But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. 25And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. 26And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. 27But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. 28And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. 29And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. 30But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. 31And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? 32And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. 33 Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.
Peter wanted so bad to get into the presence of Jesus that he climbed out of the boat in the middle of a storm just to be near Him. The other eleven were content to wait for Jesus to come to them.
My question again tonight is: How bad do you want it?
