“Road Signs”
(from the book “One Month to Live” by Kerry and Chris Shook)
Sunday, January 4, 2009; 2 Kings 4:1-4; Mark 6:35-44
Introduction: C. S. Lewis once said: “Miracles are a retelling in small letters of the very same story which is written across the whole world in letters too large for some of us to see.” How often people have felt lost in life, thinking that it would take a miracle for things to get turned around. Whether it be the saving of a marriage, or the success of a business, or for them to get their kids out of trouble, they believe it would take a miracle for things to get better.
The truth is, that God is in the business of miracles. In fact, the existence of the world, and of you and me, are miracles in themselves. As we just heard C. S. Lewis say, the miracles that God does is a reminder of the miracles He’s already done. So we need to believe and understand that our lives are in God’s hands, and if we give over our lives to God, our priorities to God, God will do miracles.
This morning, on the first Sunday of a new year, as we think about what God might have for us in 2009, I want us to understand that God places “ROAD SIGNS” in front of us to guide us in His ways, and put us in a place where He can do miracles.
I. One Way Streets- (2 Kings 4:1-2)
When you are driving, if you come to a one-way street, obviously you only drive
one way; the way that all the traffic is going. If you drive the opposite way of everyone else, you will get a ticket, and possibly get in an accident. God uses one-way signs in our lives; not always, but sometimes when we really need guidance.
EXAMPLE- One example of this is the story of Elisha in the Old Testament. The
story begins with a plea for help from a widow to Elisha: “The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, ‘Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the LORD. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.’" This woman has lost her husband, and now she is in danger of losing her 2 sons. In her mind this is an impossible situation. Because of the loss of her husband, she is in financial straights as well, and because she can’t pay her creditors, they want to take her sons if she doesn’t pay!
a. Admit your need- Her situation teaches us a lesson of receiving a miracle
in our lives; first, we have to admit our need. If we want a miracle in our lives, we have to admit that we need God. Miracles don’t take place until we get to that place; until we get to the place of acknowledging that our situation is impossible without God. We have to be willing to get past our pride (thinking that we can do it on our own), and get past our independence (thinking that we don’t need anyone else), and admit that we can’t fix it ourselves.
The truth is, we try to hide our troubles from God and others and pretend that they don’t exist. We work so hard to try and manage everything ourselves. We might complain about them, but we don’t want to appear vulnerable in any way. So we give off this persona that we are in control. And yet, God cannot work in our lives until we acknowledge that His intervention is essential and invite Him into the situation. And by doing this God can take her to her desired destination.
But then something seems to go wrong as Elisha replies to her statement in 2 Kings 4:2- “Elisha replied to her, ‘How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?’" Elisha’s response comes across like he doesn’t care about her; or at least like he doesn’t want to help her. It’s as if she is bothering him. But if we look a little closer, it might just be that Elisha isn’t wanting her to count on him, to put her trust in him, but in God. Elisha is wanting to point her to the One who can help her, the One who can do a miracle in her life.
b. God will lead you- So the first one-way street is admitting we need God’s
help. This leads us to another one-way street, and that is letting God lead us in the right direction. Many times our problems come about because we are trying to determine which streets we are going to go down.
People try all kinds of things when they are in need. But there’s only one outside source who can provide the miracles we need. We can go directly to God, the only One with the power, wisdom, and love to focus on our best interests.
II. Stop, Look and Listen- (2 Kings 4:2)
a. What do you have?- The next “ROAD SIGN” on our journey is the
stop sign. This comes out in the story of Elisha and the widow as well. Elisha has asked the widow a strange question: “Tell me, what do you have in your house?” Why would Elisha ask this? Especially after insinuating that there is nothing he can do to help. Elisha asks this because God always asks this question before He works a miracle in our lives. This is so that we can get past this “woe is me” attitude, of how we don’t have anything, and can’t do anything. It is so that we might realize that there are possibilities with what God has already given us.
Elisha wants the woman to understand that God has already given her the begin- nings of her miracle; she just doesn’t recognize it yet. And this is true for you and me, we have to stop sometimes and assess what we have to work with. God always begins to work from where we are and with what we have. He doesn’t just zap us and make everything go away, or make everything work out. God first asks: “What do you have to work with?” In other words, God wants us to be part of the miracle.
b. Surrender- Example: “God’s Wings,” A little something to put things
in perspective...After a forest fire in Yellowstone National Park , forest rangers began their trek up a mountain to assess the inferno's damage. One ranger found a bird literally petrified in ashes, perched statuesquely on the ground at the base of a tree. Somewhat sickened by the eerie sight, he knocked over the bird with a stick. When he gently struck it, three tiny chicks scurried from under their dead mother's wings. The loving mother, keenly aware of impending disaster, had carried her offspring to the base of the tree and had gathered them under her wings, instinctively knowing that the toxic smoke would rise…She could have flown to safety but had refused to abandon her babies. Then the blaze had arrived and the heat had scorched her small body, the mother had remained steadfast ....because she had been willing to die, so those under the cover of her wings would live. The mother bird surrendered herself for her offspring. She didn’t have much to use, but she used what she had.
God is willing to do a miracle, but we have to be willing to use WHATEVER we have available. Our time, talent, resources, and energy. Our willingness and surrender activates God’s intervention and blessings.
III. You-turns Allowed- (2 Kings 4:2; Mark 6:35-44)
a. A new perspective- The third sign we come to is the U-turn signs. If
we’re going to see God transform our circumstances into His destiny for our lives, then we need to follow this third sign. This sign helps us to turn from the wrong direction we are going in, the wrong choices we are making, and go in the right direction that God has for us.
So often in our lives, when problems arise, we tend to exaggerate the situation by talking about how bad it is. Our problems send us into a negative demeanor. We feel as if there is no hope. This was the widow’s first response in answering Elisha’s question; she says: “"Your servant has nothing there at all." She starts our very negative. Of course she is in a bad place, remember? She has lost her husband, can’t pay her bills, and is going to lose her two sons!
But then we see a glimmer of hope; a speck of positive thinking. At the end of 2 Kings 4:2 she says: “…except a little oil.” She acknowledges that she does have something; a little oil. This shift in direction is a spark of faith. She is realizing that there is one small resource; one possibility. This spark of faith will lead to hope. And this hope will overcome her denial that all is lost.
And so we see why God wants us to be part of the solution. Faith doesn’t deny that a problem exists, but rather believes that nothing is impossible with God. Faith gives us a new perspective; the perspective of seeing things through God’s eyes.
b. God can multiply- If you don’t look through eyes of faith, the small
blessings that God has given us will be overlooked. And when we overlook our blessings we speak as the woman first did: “There’s nothing in my house in which I can use to overcome my problem.” But when we have faith, and our perspective changes, our attitude changes as well. This attitude change provides room for God to work the miracle in our lives.
God loves to take the little bit that we have and multiply it. When this happens, God alone gets the credit. It’s like our scripture reading for the morning. There were thousands of people who were hungry. Jesus wanted the disciples to feed them. The disciples knew that they didn’t have enough resources to feed them as they argue in Mark 6:37, “… ‘That would take eight months of a man's wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?” Then Jesus asks them, just as Elisha asked the widow, what resources they had available. They had only found 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish from a child. With this, Jesus feeds more than 5,000 people!
God loves to take the ordinary and do the extraordinary, because in so doing He reveals more of who He is. Often we stifle God’s ability to provide the miracle even as we’re praying for it. We become fixated on negative words, blaming others and worrying. None of these are conducive to faith or a shift in perspective. We can’t recognize what God is doing in our lives if we’re wallowing in our own negativity. We have to make that U-turn and focus on God instead of the problem.
IV. Yield Ahead- (2 Kings 4:3-6)
a. Filling empty vessels- The fourth sign on the road to a miracle is the
most important one: the YIELD sign. If you follow the three other signs but don’t follow this one, you can’t expect a miracle. It’s essential that we begin serving others with the blessings God’s already given us.
In the widow’s situation, Elisha asks her to do something very unusual. He says: “Go around and borrow vessels from all your neighbors, empty vessels—and not a few…Then pour out the oil you have into all those vessels, setting aside each one when it is full.” Now this is a strange thing for the prophet to do, don’t you think? But this is apparently what God wanted her to do. And it is in fact what God asks us to do if we want a miracle in our lives. He asks, “What’s in your house?” AND “What do I have to work with?” And then “look for empty vessels to fill.”
This is usually the opposite of what we would normally do. When we have a problem, we can’t focus on other people, because we are so consumed with our own problem. We are concerned with our own needs, so much so, that we can’t think about taking care of others until we first take care of ourselves. So we hoard our time, our resources, our energy, our money, our emotions, and our love.
Because of this we are unaware of the needs of others around us. Our problems cause us to worry, which blinds us to most everything around. But if we were to take the time to look, empty vessels turn up everywhere: at work, in our family, in our neighborhood, in our church. These empty vessels need our time, attention, energy, and love. EX. I see this happen a lot at Christmas. There are many “secret Santas” who give to those with needs. But what about during the rest of the year? This needs to happen on a regular basis.
b. Take the focus off yourself- Here’s a paradox that we may never
understand. When we move the focus off ourselves and onto God and start pouring our life into others and yielding to His direction, then God starts pouring His miracles into us! The best advice we can listen to is this: when you are going through a problem, look for empty vessels around you and pour yourself into them. Seek to bless someone who needs to be blessed, especially when you are struggling. When we do this, then God moves to take care of us all the more. God waits to see if you have the faith to step out and start meeting someone else’s needs, and trust Him to meet your own. It’s so unnatural that it’s supernatural.
If you want to see miracles in your life, then find some empty vessels to pour your life into. Elisha tells this woman she has to take some action to get her miracle. She has to go out and get all the empty vessels she can find and bring them home. But look what happens when she does: (2 Kings 4:6)- “When the vessels were all full, she said to her son, ‘Bring me another vessel.’ And he said to her, ‘There is not a one left.’ Then the oil stopped multiplying.” By her obedience, we see God blessing her. She saw God abundantly provide for her!
Conclusion: Obedience brings blessing. The miracle God provides may not look like what we asked for, but ultimately we recognize how He has given us more than what we could have even imagined. Somehow, some way, god works through our expectations. He works in our lives about as much as we expect Him to work in our lives. So what are you expecting God to do in your life in 2009? As we are told in Mark 10:27: “If you will give Me the little bit you have, I can do great things through you.” Whatever you are facing, admit you need help, go to God, make a U-turn away from the negative expectations, and start looking to God. Yield to Him, and pour your life into others. In the end, God will provide for you. Receive this day a life filled with miracles. Amen.
(from the book “One Month to Live” by Kerry and Chris Shook)
Sunday, January 4, 2009; 2 Kings 4:1-4; Mark 6:35-44
Introduction: C. S. Lewis once said: “Miracles are a retelling in small letters of the very same story which is written across the whole world in letters too large for some of us to see.” How often people have felt lost in life, thinking that it would take a miracle for things to get turned around. Whether it be the saving of a marriage, or the success of a business, or for them to get their kids out of trouble, they believe it would take a miracle for things to get better.
The truth is, that God is in the business of miracles. In fact, the existence of the world, and of you and me, are miracles in themselves. As we just heard C. S. Lewis say, the miracles that God does is a reminder of the miracles He’s already done. So we need to believe and understand that our lives are in God’s hands, and if we give over our lives to God, our priorities to God, God will do miracles.
This morning, on the first Sunday of a new year, as we think about what God might have for us in 2009, I want us to understand that God places “ROAD SIGNS” in front of us to guide us in His ways, and put us in a place where He can do miracles.
I. One Way Streets- (2 Kings 4:1-2)
When you are driving, if you come to a one-way street, obviously you only drive
one way; the way that all the traffic is going. If you drive the opposite way of everyone else, you will get a ticket, and possibly get in an accident. God uses one-way signs in our lives; not always, but sometimes when we really need guidance.
EXAMPLE- One example of this is the story of Elisha in the Old Testament. The
story begins with a plea for help from a widow to Elisha: “The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, ‘Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the LORD. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.’" This woman has lost her husband, and now she is in danger of losing her 2 sons. In her mind this is an impossible situation. Because of the loss of her husband, she is in financial straights as well, and because she can’t pay her creditors, they want to take her sons if she doesn’t pay!
a. Admit your need- Her situation teaches us a lesson of receiving a miracle
in our lives; first, we have to admit our need. If we want a miracle in our lives, we have to admit that we need God. Miracles don’t take place until we get to that place; until we get to the place of acknowledging that our situation is impossible without God. We have to be willing to get past our pride (thinking that we can do it on our own), and get past our independence (thinking that we don’t need anyone else), and admit that we can’t fix it ourselves.
The truth is, we try to hide our troubles from God and others and pretend that they don’t exist. We work so hard to try and manage everything ourselves. We might complain about them, but we don’t want to appear vulnerable in any way. So we give off this persona that we are in control. And yet, God cannot work in our lives until we acknowledge that His intervention is essential and invite Him into the situation. And by doing this God can take her to her desired destination.
But then something seems to go wrong as Elisha replies to her statement in 2 Kings 4:2- “Elisha replied to her, ‘How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?’" Elisha’s response comes across like he doesn’t care about her; or at least like he doesn’t want to help her. It’s as if she is bothering him. But if we look a little closer, it might just be that Elisha isn’t wanting her to count on him, to put her trust in him, but in God. Elisha is wanting to point her to the One who can help her, the One who can do a miracle in her life.
b. God will lead you- So the first one-way street is admitting we need God’s
help. This leads us to another one-way street, and that is letting God lead us in the right direction. Many times our problems come about because we are trying to determine which streets we are going to go down.
People try all kinds of things when they are in need. But there’s only one outside source who can provide the miracles we need. We can go directly to God, the only One with the power, wisdom, and love to focus on our best interests.
II. Stop, Look and Listen- (2 Kings 4:2)
a. What do you have?- The next “ROAD SIGN” on our journey is the
stop sign. This comes out in the story of Elisha and the widow as well. Elisha has asked the widow a strange question: “Tell me, what do you have in your house?” Why would Elisha ask this? Especially after insinuating that there is nothing he can do to help. Elisha asks this because God always asks this question before He works a miracle in our lives. This is so that we can get past this “woe is me” attitude, of how we don’t have anything, and can’t do anything. It is so that we might realize that there are possibilities with what God has already given us.
Elisha wants the woman to understand that God has already given her the begin- nings of her miracle; she just doesn’t recognize it yet. And this is true for you and me, we have to stop sometimes and assess what we have to work with. God always begins to work from where we are and with what we have. He doesn’t just zap us and make everything go away, or make everything work out. God first asks: “What do you have to work with?” In other words, God wants us to be part of the miracle.
b. Surrender- Example: “God’s Wings,” A little something to put things
in perspective...After a forest fire in Yellowstone National Park , forest rangers began their trek up a mountain to assess the inferno's damage. One ranger found a bird literally petrified in ashes, perched statuesquely on the ground at the base of a tree. Somewhat sickened by the eerie sight, he knocked over the bird with a stick. When he gently struck it, three tiny chicks scurried from under their dead mother's wings. The loving mother, keenly aware of impending disaster, had carried her offspring to the base of the tree and had gathered them under her wings, instinctively knowing that the toxic smoke would rise…She could have flown to safety but had refused to abandon her babies. Then the blaze had arrived and the heat had scorched her small body, the mother had remained steadfast ....because she had been willing to die, so those under the cover of her wings would live. The mother bird surrendered herself for her offspring. She didn’t have much to use, but she used what she had.
God is willing to do a miracle, but we have to be willing to use WHATEVER we have available. Our time, talent, resources, and energy. Our willingness and surrender activates God’s intervention and blessings.
III. You-turns Allowed- (2 Kings 4:2; Mark 6:35-44)
a. A new perspective- The third sign we come to is the U-turn signs. If
we’re going to see God transform our circumstances into His destiny for our lives, then we need to follow this third sign. This sign helps us to turn from the wrong direction we are going in, the wrong choices we are making, and go in the right direction that God has for us.
So often in our lives, when problems arise, we tend to exaggerate the situation by talking about how bad it is. Our problems send us into a negative demeanor. We feel as if there is no hope. This was the widow’s first response in answering Elisha’s question; she says: “"Your servant has nothing there at all." She starts our very negative. Of course she is in a bad place, remember? She has lost her husband, can’t pay her bills, and is going to lose her two sons!
But then we see a glimmer of hope; a speck of positive thinking. At the end of 2 Kings 4:2 she says: “…except a little oil.” She acknowledges that she does have something; a little oil. This shift in direction is a spark of faith. She is realizing that there is one small resource; one possibility. This spark of faith will lead to hope. And this hope will overcome her denial that all is lost.
And so we see why God wants us to be part of the solution. Faith doesn’t deny that a problem exists, but rather believes that nothing is impossible with God. Faith gives us a new perspective; the perspective of seeing things through God’s eyes.
b. God can multiply- If you don’t look through eyes of faith, the small
blessings that God has given us will be overlooked. And when we overlook our blessings we speak as the woman first did: “There’s nothing in my house in which I can use to overcome my problem.” But when we have faith, and our perspective changes, our attitude changes as well. This attitude change provides room for God to work the miracle in our lives.
God loves to take the little bit that we have and multiply it. When this happens, God alone gets the credit. It’s like our scripture reading for the morning. There were thousands of people who were hungry. Jesus wanted the disciples to feed them. The disciples knew that they didn’t have enough resources to feed them as they argue in Mark 6:37, “… ‘That would take eight months of a man's wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?” Then Jesus asks them, just as Elisha asked the widow, what resources they had available. They had only found 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish from a child. With this, Jesus feeds more than 5,000 people!
God loves to take the ordinary and do the extraordinary, because in so doing He reveals more of who He is. Often we stifle God’s ability to provide the miracle even as we’re praying for it. We become fixated on negative words, blaming others and worrying. None of these are conducive to faith or a shift in perspective. We can’t recognize what God is doing in our lives if we’re wallowing in our own negativity. We have to make that U-turn and focus on God instead of the problem.
IV. Yield Ahead- (2 Kings 4:3-6)
a. Filling empty vessels- The fourth sign on the road to a miracle is the
most important one: the YIELD sign. If you follow the three other signs but don’t follow this one, you can’t expect a miracle. It’s essential that we begin serving others with the blessings God’s already given us.
In the widow’s situation, Elisha asks her to do something very unusual. He says: “Go around and borrow vessels from all your neighbors, empty vessels—and not a few…Then pour out the oil you have into all those vessels, setting aside each one when it is full.” Now this is a strange thing for the prophet to do, don’t you think? But this is apparently what God wanted her to do. And it is in fact what God asks us to do if we want a miracle in our lives. He asks, “What’s in your house?” AND “What do I have to work with?” And then “look for empty vessels to fill.”
This is usually the opposite of what we would normally do. When we have a problem, we can’t focus on other people, because we are so consumed with our own problem. We are concerned with our own needs, so much so, that we can’t think about taking care of others until we first take care of ourselves. So we hoard our time, our resources, our energy, our money, our emotions, and our love.
Because of this we are unaware of the needs of others around us. Our problems cause us to worry, which blinds us to most everything around. But if we were to take the time to look, empty vessels turn up everywhere: at work, in our family, in our neighborhood, in our church. These empty vessels need our time, attention, energy, and love. EX. I see this happen a lot at Christmas. There are many “secret Santas” who give to those with needs. But what about during the rest of the year? This needs to happen on a regular basis.
b. Take the focus off yourself- Here’s a paradox that we may never
understand. When we move the focus off ourselves and onto God and start pouring our life into others and yielding to His direction, then God starts pouring His miracles into us! The best advice we can listen to is this: when you are going through a problem, look for empty vessels around you and pour yourself into them. Seek to bless someone who needs to be blessed, especially when you are struggling. When we do this, then God moves to take care of us all the more. God waits to see if you have the faith to step out and start meeting someone else’s needs, and trust Him to meet your own. It’s so unnatural that it’s supernatural.
If you want to see miracles in your life, then find some empty vessels to pour your life into. Elisha tells this woman she has to take some action to get her miracle. She has to go out and get all the empty vessels she can find and bring them home. But look what happens when she does: (2 Kings 4:6)- “When the vessels were all full, she said to her son, ‘Bring me another vessel.’ And he said to her, ‘There is not a one left.’ Then the oil stopped multiplying.” By her obedience, we see God blessing her. She saw God abundantly provide for her!
Conclusion: Obedience brings blessing. The miracle God provides may not look like what we asked for, but ultimately we recognize how He has given us more than what we could have even imagined. Somehow, some way, god works through our expectations. He works in our lives about as much as we expect Him to work in our lives. So what are you expecting God to do in your life in 2009? As we are told in Mark 10:27: “If you will give Me the little bit you have, I can do great things through you.” Whatever you are facing, admit you need help, go to God, make a U-turn away from the negative expectations, and start looking to God. Yield to Him, and pour your life into others. In the end, God will provide for you. Receive this day a life filled with miracles. Amen.
posted by Logan's Blog at 2:47 PM
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