Dig a Trench

March 23rd2025

Series: Days of Elisha

Sermon Title: Dig a Trench

Topic: Journey through the life of Elisah to learn how he became an incredible man of God.

Key Passages: 2 Kings 2: 19-25 & 2 Kings 3

Topic: Elisha, Faith

Sermon Blurb: In today’s message, we will learn the power of listening to God and doing what he says, even when it does not make sense.

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Sermon:

Hello Family Church!!!

Welcome to Family Church… whether you are in person or watching online…

Family Moment (Share something personal to help people get to know you and your family)

Celebrate salvations / re-dedications / baptisms last week.

Today, we continue the series, looking at the Old Testament prophet, Elisha.

If you are new to this series.

This guy, Elisha, was a follower of the most powerful prophet in the history of the world.

His mentor was a guy named Elijah…

And Elijah was a guy who did more miracles than anyone else in recorded history.

Last week, we saw Elisha officially take over the ministry because Elijah, his leader, was taken to heaven in a REALLY cool way!

If you missed it, you need to go to our website or app and listen to it!!

Then we saw Elisha take Elijah’s cloak and hit some water with it and divide a river…

Elisha had God do a miracle through him!

Then, on the heels of that, you get to 2 Kings 2, verses 19 through 22, and he does another miracle!

He takes some water that was making people sick and cures it permanently!

Then, in 2 Kings 2:23, we get to probably the craziest story in Elisha’s life…

And this is a story that will really connect with all the BALD men in the room!!!!

Let’s read that….

2 King 2: 23-25

23 From there Elisha went up to Bethel.

As he was walking along the road, some boys came out of the town and jeered at him.

“Get out of here, baldy!” they said. “Get out of here, baldy!”

Ok, bald guys, lean in….

Anyone who gets bullied at school lean in…

What does a Godly man do when he gets mad fun of?

24 He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the Lord.

Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys.

Now tell me that was unexpected!

Who would think a prophet…

A great man of God would curse someone with a BEAR ATTACK for being made fun of!

I will be honest…

I have no idea how to teach about that!

I want to laugh because it is hilarious…

But it seems like an overreaction and is kind of crazy as well…

But I am going to say this…

Moral to the story….

Don’t make fun of men of God or you might get mauled by bears….

SO be careful when Pastor Keith is here preaching…because he is bald…

And bald men of God….

Well, they are slightly unstable!!!

And then, after all, 42 boys are mauled by 2 bears, he just takes off, and it says…

25 And he went on to Mount Carmel and from there returned to Samaria.

You will see that Elisha has gone to Mount Carmel a lot.

This is the same place his mentor, Elijah, showed down 450 false prophets many years before in a really amazing miracle story!

PAUSE

That brings us to chapter 3, which we will focus on today.

Today, we're going to talk about the power of being a ditch digger!

It might sound odd….

But it will make sense in a few minutes!

PAUSE

As we jump into this passage today, I want to start by helping you ponder something….

I spend a lot of time with people from various walks of life.

One of the things I have found to be VERY common with people is their desire to always have better things…

Think about how often you say things like this….

If I only had "FILL IN THE BLANK” with you think need to have a better life.

If I had a better job.

If I had more money.

If I had more hair.

If God would only answer this one prayer.

If I had a spouse.

If I was just more athletic.

If I was just skinner or more attractive…

We all have things we think will make us happier.

PAUSE

So here is what I want you to do today.

I want to encourage you to listen to this message through the lens of your greatest need today.

Or your greatest desire.

What are you seeking today…

What do you need today…

Think about that as you open your Bible to 2 Kings 3.

And by the way…..

(New Person Bible Connection)

If you do not have a Bible, that is ok!

After service, we will give you an AMAZING leather-bound study Bible!

Or if you have a Bible stop by there anyway and we will give you a gift card to a local restaurant because we LOVE that you came today and we want to bless you!!!

Just go to (ADD YOUR CAMPUS PLACE) and get one for FREE!!!

PAUSE

Let me give you a little context to this story.

In this part of REAL human history, 3 kings joined forces to battle against the Moabites.

They thought that 3 against 1 should be easy.

But often in life, things do not go as we planned.

Who knows what I'm talking about?

Anyone out there want to be honest and say there was once a time in your life when you thought you had it all figured out and, "whoops," things didn't turn out the way you thought they would.

Anyone beside me????

That's what happens with these three kings.

Instead of winning easily, they find their troops marching for seven days in the desert, and then they totally run out of water.

They're going to die of thirst.

Their animals are going to die of thirst.

They have a very significant need.

And this story is going to teach us this principle.

If you're taking notes, this will be GOOD NEWS!

Write this down…

Your GREATEST need can become a blessing when it drives you to depend on God.

Repeat

This will be good news for many of you.

Let me say it again.

Your greatest need can become a blessing when it drives you to depend on God.

PAUSE

Let's read the Bible and let this come to life.

2 Kings 3: 9-12 So the king of Israel set out with the king of Judah and the king of Edom;

There are the three kings.

After a roundabout march of seven days, the army had no more water for themselves or for their animals with them.

They're in trouble. Verse 10:

"What," exclaimed the king of Israel, "has the Lord called us three kings together only to deliver us into the hands of Moab?"

In other words, we thought we'd win easily but now it looks like we're going to be destroyed.

"But Jehoshaphat, one of the kings, asked, 'Is there no prophet of the Lord here, through whom we may inquire of the Lord?"

An officer of the king of Israel answered, "Elisha, son of Shaphat, is here.

He used to pour water on the hands of Elijah."

Now, if you missed the last few weeks, Elijah mentored Elisha.

If you missed the series on Elijah, we also know Elijah pronounced a drought in this nation, and it happened.

He also told them when it would rain, and it happened.

And so, I bet these guys are thinking, "If Elijah did that, maybe Elisha can help us as well."

Because Elisha was his servant boy…

Verse 12,

Jehoshaphat said, 'The word of the Lord is with Elisha.'

So the king of Israel, and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him."

Now, let's ensure we all know what's happening here.

The 3 kings are going to go to battle against the Moabites…

BUT….

They NEED water.

PAUSE

You may not know that these three kings were not serving God…

They were not seeking God.

And all of a sudden, when they're in trouble, they do what many of us do…

We remember God ONLY when we need him.

We ONLY pray to God when something in life is going wrong.

"Oh yeah, God, we're in trouble. Can you help us?"

Just like these ancient kings!!!!

PAUSE

So, they said, "Is there anybody who's like really in good with God?”

“Anybody who can do a little rain dance for us, pull some spiritual strings?"

And they said, "Oh yeah, there's Elisha, the prophet. Maybe he can help us out."

By this point, Elisha has already performed three miracles, so I am sure word is spreading about him.

And so, they're like, "Elisha, can you help us out?"

PAUSE

So let me pose a question…

What do you think he's going to do?

PAUSE

Let me tell you what he's going to do.

He gets an attitude with them.

He's like, "OHHHH, now you want God!!!”

Now, you're in trouble and you want God to help you.

And he is kind of a smart aleck to them.

Now….You may say," Where did he learn this from?"

He learned it from his mentor, who was the king of attitude.

Remember when Elijah, his mentor, showed down 450 false prophets who worshiped the false gods?

And he said, "Boys, let's have a little contest.

Let's see how big your god is.

We'll get two bulls; you kill one, and I'll kill one.

We'll make a couple of alters.

You call on your god to send fire from heaven.

If your god doesn't, and my God does, then you worship my God.

If your god does and my God doesn't, we'll worship your gods.

Let's go, boys; bring it on."

And so, these false prophets, they call on God, and nothing happened.

And he started taunting them!

Telling them, "Maybe you should shout louder.

That may be your god's deaf.

Maybe your god's on vacation."

He said, "Maybe your God's in the bathroom and can't hear you."

That's in the bible.

I'm not making this up.

You need to read your bible; there are so many EPIC stories in the Bible!!!!

PAUSE

Elisha does what Elijah did, he gets an attitude.

Here's what he says in verse 13…

Elisha said to the king of Israel, "Why do you want to involve me?"

AKA you guys have been ignoring God all this time now you want to come talk with God’s guy….

Then he says…

Go to the prophets of your father and the prophets of your mother."

Can you hear his attitude?

He brings the Yo Momma Jokes in!

"Go to Yo momma's a prophet!"

And the king says…

"No," the King of Israel answered, "because it was the Lord who called us three kings together to deliver us into the hands of Moab.

Elisha said, and he's going to be a smart aleck again.

As surely as the Lord All Mighty lives, whom I serve,

In other words, "boys, you're not serving him, but I am."

As surely the Lord Almighty lives, whom I serve,

if I didn't have respect for the presence of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, I would not pay any attention to you."

Which means he said to TWO kings…

Only one of you is worth anything to me.

I wouldn't have even time to pay any attention to you or the other two without him being here.

But because Jehoshophat's here, I've decided to help you out.

PAUSE

Then in verse 15, he says,

"But now bring me a harpist.”

He says, “If you want me to prophesy, I need some mood music.”

Give me a harpist.

AKA, go get me the biggest and most difficult instrument to move, bring it in here, and get me somebody who's good and play me some music if I'm going to prophesy!"

Sounds a little demanding, doesn’t it?

But….Elisha wants it, so they make it happen!

And they must think…. Okay, he's going to give us a word of encouragement.

He's going to tell us GOOD NEWS!

He is going to bring the rains…

Let’s see what he does….

And I am going to use the NASB translation for verse 15 because the NIV translation does not translate this how most other translations do…

And I don’t want you to miss this…

But now bring me a minstrel.”

And it came about, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him.

16 He said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Make this valley full of trenches.’

What did he say, church????

He said, fill the valley with trenches…

Go dig a bunch of ditches….

Huh?

Why would he say that?

The soldiers are about to die of thirst, and you want them to do manual labor under the hot desert sun?

PAUSE

That is exactly what Elisha is saying.

I want them to dig trenches.

Even though there is NO sign of rain.

Even though we are in a drought.

I want you to dig trenches.

PAUSE

We will see that sometimes your greatest need can become your greatest blessing when it drives you to depend on God.

Let’s keep reading….Verse 17…

"For this is what the Lord says.

'You will see neither wind nor rain yet this valley will be filled with water and you, your cattle, and your other animals will drink.

This is an easy thing in the eyes of the Lord; he will also deliver Moab into your hands."

In other words, you have no idea how powerful, strong, or mighty our God is.

At the snap of the finger, our God can do this.

This is a piece of cake for him.

And oh, by the way, you know that thing you wanted, that other thing, yeah, he's going to do that as well.

He will also deliver Moab into your hands…

BUT FIRST, God wants you to dig some ditches.

PAUSE

I want to help you all come to understand to the whole concept of faith and works…

A HOT topic in Christian circles.

How does our faith and God’s works intersect….

Have you ever wondered… should my faith lead to me doing something?

Should FAITH lead me to ACT in some way?

PAUSE

Let me show you two principles from this passage that might expand your view…

The first one comes directly for what we are seeing in the Bible…

Write this down.

ONLY God can send a miracle, but sometimes God wants to see you dig first.

Let me repeat it because I didn’t hear any amens….

ONLY God can send a miracle, but sometimes God wants to see you digfirst.

Here's what James says in

James 2:26: As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds.

Faith is dead without deeds.

Only God can send the water, but sometimes he wants to see your faith…

He wants to see you dig a ditch.

He wants to see your works BEFORE he sends what you’re looking for!

Do you think the universe's God needed these soldiers to dig a trench?

Nope!!!!

God can do anything.

A trench is NOTHING to God….

He didn't NEED them to do that.

But he wanted them to do that!

He wanted them to have some skin in the game.

He wanted to see them make a step of faith…

God loves to see our faith in ACTION.

Think about this…

When the Bible says, “Jesus saw their faith…how did he see it?”

Think about it…

Did he see people praying and like some special smoke rising from their heads?

Nope…

He saw ACTIONS….

Like when Peter was on the boat and said, "Jesus, if that's you, tell me to come and I'll come."

And Jesus said, "Come," what did Peter do?

He got out of the boat.

That's when you see faith.

I believe there are many times when God wants to see us participate in HIS miracle…

It is still his miracle, but he wants us to participate.

Or like the time when Jesus met a guy with a withered hand.

What does Jesus say to him?

"Stretch out your hand."

In other words, I can heal you, but I want to see you believe it.

Jesus could have just healed him, but he wanted to see ACTION first….

Or another time in the bible, there was a guy who couldn't walk since birth.

Jesus looks at him and says, "Get up, pick up your mat, and walk.”

I'm going to heal you, but I'm not going to pick up your mat OR help you stand up.

I want to see you have the faith to believe me.

Get up.

Only God can send the miracle, but sometimes he wants you to dig in!!!

PAUSE

Maybe today that is what you need to do…

You take a step of faith.

Do you want to quit smoking?

Maybe you throw your cigarettes in the garbage on the way out and say, "By faith, I AM DONE!”

Do you want to heal a relationship that's gone bad?

Today, YOU make the call and forgive them; NO STRINGS ATTACHED!

Do you want to save your marriage?

Today, right now… give your spouse a BIG KISS and start SELFLESSLY serving them NO matter how they respond!

Dig in….

PAUSE

I know a lot of people who are like, "I want my kids to serve Jesus and be strong Christians.”

But they rarely put their kids in kids' ministry.

When they become teens, do make their teens go to youth groups.

Those same parents will not invest in their kids by sending them on a missions trip...but they will spend just as much money on taking them on a spring break trip to who knows where…

Don’t teach their kids how to pray…

And then they wonder why their kid's spiritual life is dry, and they do not care about God…

It is because you didn’t teach them how to DIG into God!!!

People say, "I want more money; I want more money,"

I don’t tithe, but I want God to bless my career so I can make more money…

Understand….God gives us a ridiculous principle...

It sounds absurd.

But God says if we give him our first 10% of our income, he will bless us in ways we cannot imagine.

I know it sounds crazy, but it is true.

What is tithing???

It is digging a trench that DOES NOT MAKE SENSE!!!

How can my 90% go further than if I had 100%?

God says DIG IT and watch me!!!

And yet so few of us trust God and tithe…

Only God can send the miracle, but he wants you to dig in and trust Him!

PAUSE

The second principle, if you're taking notes, is this…

Real faith believes without seeing.

Repeat

Honestly, this is the HARDEST part of faith!

Believing without seeing!

But let’s be real….

We do this ALL the time!

Why do we go to the gym?

Because we have FAITH it will make us stronger in the future!

Why do we go on a diet?

Because we have FAITH it will make us fit into our skinny jeans again!

Why do you go to a job?

Because we have FAITH that we will get a pay-check in the future!

Why do we go to college?

Because we have FAITH it will lead to a better job!

Let’s wrap this up today….

Verse 20 of 2nd Kings, chapter 3 says this:

"The next morning, about the time for the offering of the sacrifice,"

You won't believe this!!!

After they faithfully dug the ditches, the bible says,

"there is was, water flowing from the direction of Edom! And the land was filled with water."

Only God can send the water, but sometimes he wants you to dig a trench.

Some of you, right now, have a significant need in your life, and you think, "If only, if only God would meet that."

If only God would answer that prayer."

Don't ever forget that your biggest need can become your biggest blessing when it drives you to depend on God!

But never forget ONLY God can send the water, but sometimes he wants you to dig a ditch.

Real faith believes EVEN when it does not SEE.

So, church, here is our life application for this week.

Life Application: How could you put your faith into action? What trench could you start digging this week? As a result of today’s message, I will _________________________.

Prayer:

Make sure to do salvation call!

Offering:

Thank you all for being here today!

If you would like to continue your worship through giving, there are offering boxes by the doors as you exit or behind me on the screens you can see other ways to give here at Family Church.

You can also place any connection cards you filled out in there.

Week #4 –

If you did not know you can donate stocks, bonds, retirement minimum distributions, gains on investments and so forth to avoid all the taxes on those!

If you want to do that just email [e-mail] and she will help you out!

Have a great week!!!