August 13,
2000
Power of God
II Kings 6
By Ronald E.
George Jr. at the Fayetteville Baptist Church
When I
worked in the coalmines, one of my jobs was shooting the coal so that it could
be loaded and ran to the outside on the mine conveyor belts.
The power that was contained in those sticks of dynamite was all that
it took to smash the block of coal into pieces big enough to be loaded, but it
had to be released. The
power of this world is often fascinating, but it cannot compare with the power
that is available to those who join with the Lord in his work of salvation. The scripture text today shows us the accounts of a prophet
named Elisha. Elisha knew
first hand how that God’s power could work to accomplish his purpose and he
was willing to go with the Lord in his work?
Are you ready to blow up the world for the Lord?
If you’re not then you don’t need the power of the Lord.
How's your power source? Are
you plugged in? In his book
Spiritual Stamina, Stuart Briscoe tells the story of a man who bought a new
computer. Bringing his new prize
home, he carefully opened the box, gingerly took the machine out, studied its
manual, and connected the wires. Eagerly
he flipped on the power switch -- but nothing happened. Puzzled, the man switched the computer off and rechecked all
the connections. He rounded up a screwdriver and fastened the wires more
securely. He read again the
relevant portion of the manual. Satisfied
that he'd followed directions, he flipped the computer on -- and again nothing
happened. As his anger rose the
man's little girl walked into the room.
"Hi, Daddy!" her cheery voice rang out.
"What a pretty computer! Can I plug it in?"
-- Moody, 6-23-91
1.
Power to live with Him every day.
2Kin
6:5 (KJS) 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.
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.
How many of us would have
thought of asking the Lord to make the axe head to float?
The Lord can help us to overcome the everyday troubles of life so that
we may be prepared to handle the difficult situations we will face with Him in
this life. How many situations do
we encounter that immediately begin to devise our own plans to solve without
considering how that the Lord could work?
We need to consider today how
we may be able to invite the Lord to work in our lives each and every day.
2.
Power to overcome the enemy.
2Kin 6:8 (KJS) Then
the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants,
saying, In such and such a place [shall be] my camp. 9 And the man of God
sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a
place; for thither the Syrians are come down. 10 And the king of Israel sent
to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and saved
himself there, not once nor twice. 11 Therefore the heart of the king of
Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said
unto them, Will ye not shew me which of us [is] for the king of Israel? 12
And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king: but Elisha, the prophet
that [is] in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest
in thy bedchamber. {None: Heb. No}
Someone
was telling the Syrian King’s secrets and it was Elisha.
The Lord wants to use you to set the captives free. He is for those who are for him.
In this situation the king of Israel needed some help against the king
of Syria. Elisha had the
knowledge that the king of Israel needed to be set free from those who were
going to come against him. Elisha
had the power of God within him to help the king.
He had to be willing to take a chance to tell the king what he knew to
be the truth. The king of Syria
was going to be waiting for him. We
have the knowledge and the power that we need to use to help the people who
are going to be attacked by the death and the devil.
We are the prophets that the Lord wants to use to set the people free.
a.
We have been given the power of the knowledge of the salvation of God.
Will we tell it? People
will be saved if they trust the Lord. Will
you tell it?
b.
We have to take a chance and
allow the power of the Lord to work through our knowledge.
3.
Power to deliver.
2Kin 6:15 (KJS)
And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth,
behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his
servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? 16 And he answered,
Fear not: for they that [be] with us [are] more than they that [be] with
them. 17 And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that
he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and,
behold, the mountain [was] full of horses and chariots of fire round about
Elisha. 18 And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the LORD, and
said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with
blindness according to the word of Elisha. 19 And Elisha said unto them,
This [is] not the way, neither [is] this the city: follow me, and I will
bring you to the man whom ye seek. But he led them to Samaria.
Hudson
Taylor, the great missionary to China, said, "Many Christians estimate
difficulty in the light of their own resources, and thus they attempt very
little, and they always fail. All giants have been weak men who did great
things for God because they reckoned on His power and His presence to be with
them." Like David, who said, "The battle is the Lord's" (1 Sam
17:47), we also need to understand that Jesus is our source, and we can be
directly connected to Him.
--
John Maxwell, Be All You Can Be (Victor, 1987), p. 15.
Don’t
panic when you are between a rock and a hard place.
The Lord is about to show you the power of creation.
Too many times we panic we don’t realize the power that we have in
the Lord. Elsiha’s servant was
unaware of the powers of the spiritual world in which he lived;
- God
opened the servants eyes so that his faith would be strengthened.
- God
closed the eyes of the wicked so that the man of God would be spared.
- God
wants to open your eyes to the power that is available to those who
believe through eyes of faith.
Are you ready to storm the
gates of hell? We can’t imagine
the power that is available.
Matt 16:18 (KJS) And I say
also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my
church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Will
you begin today to trust in the unseen power of the only true living God?
He is more than you can imagine. He
is all that you will ever need to begin to go where He sends to do what he
wants you to do. He will be your living God.
Have you asked him to show you his power? Have we been the people that the Lord can use to storm the
gates of hell and set the captives free?
If we have never attempted anything other than what we can do ourselves
then we have never needed the power of God?
Are you ready?