Untitled Sermon (9)

2 Kings 3:13–23 KJV 1900

13 And Elisha said unto the king of Israel, What have I to do with thee? get thee to the prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of thy mother. And the king of Israel said unto him, Nay: for the Lord hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab. 14 And Elisha said, As the Lord of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee. 15 But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him. 16 And he said, Thus saith the Lord, Make this valley full of ditches. 17 For thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, that ye may drink, both ye, and your cattle, and your beasts. 18 And this is but a light thing in the sight of the Lord: he will deliver the Moabites also into your hand. 19 And ye shall smite every fenced city, and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree, and stop all wells of water, and mar every good piece of land with stones. 20 And it came to pass in the morning, when the meat offering was offered, that, behold, there came water by the way of Edom, and the country was filled with water. 21 And when all the Moabites heard that the kings were come up to fight against them, they gathered all that were able to put on armour, and upward, and stood in the border. 22 And they rose up early in the morning, and the sun shone upon the water, and the Moabites saw the water on the other side as red as blood: 23 And they said, This is blood: the kings are surely slain, and they have smitten one another: now therefore, Moab, to the spoil.

This chapter might be most known for and most referenced for one particular phrase found in the 11th verse. It is here that the prophet Elisha is introduced, by a servant, to the Kings of Israel, Judah and Edom as the one “who poured water on the hands of Elijah”.

Here, the 3 kingdoms of Israel, Judah and Edom are advancing to attack the Moabite who have withdrawn on a peace agreement with Israel. Yet, now as the 3 armies advance through the Wilderness of Edom, they come upon a devastating discovery....their supplies of water have been depleted. Vs. 9 tells us “there was no water for the army, nor for the animals that followed them.”

As my wife so profoundly and prophetically preached last week…the presence of water in the Old Testament…is a proclamation of God’s blessing and favor. Droughts and prolonger periods without rain were antecedent of famine …the unmistakable fingerprint of God’s judgment upon a nation.

The presence of water would be interpreted as favor…or at least approval from God

The absence of water would be a sign…an omen…that God is against an endeavor.

And now as the allied armies proceed through the Wilderness of Edom…A difficult march to make even with water…a wilderness that was marked by pathways winding through steep and treacherous mountains and across the arid desert. Yet now…7 days into their March to Moab, they find that they have no water.

And when the news reaches Joram, The king of Israel…he immediately ascertains… “We are all going to die”!

Beware the “we are all going to die mentality…Only once thus far in the history of humanity did someone really have the ability to say we’re all going to die and be accurate…and that was Noah…and then God prepared an Ark...

Can I tell you today, don’t abide in the company of Joram…cut off association and silence the influence of those in your life are quick to agree with negativity and pledge their allegiance to the death angel!

Let me quickly just bring a little biblical backdrop to the 3 nations that have joined in alliance and the 3 kings representing them. the King of Edom…these are the descendents of Esau…The guy that sold his birthright for a bowl of soup. Romans 9:13 Jacob have i loved, but Esau have I hated.

2. Is Joram the king of israel, the decendent of Ahab. Ahab who married Jezebel and the Bible says that Ahab did more to provoke God to anger than any king before him. The son of Jezebel who was a preacher slayer and a prophet killer.

3. And then, there is Jehoshaphat, King of Judah. Descendant of David…5 generations removed from the Giant slaying Psalmist.

And I like the transition from vs. 10 to vs. 11....

Just as Joram, the King of Israel…Jezebel’s boy... is getting his “we’re all gonna die” paranoia whipped up into a good frenzy…the Bible says he say’s…Alas!!

Alas = a Cry of great alarm!

Just as he’s getting the tears running and the snot flowing…just as he is getting his sob session started, Jehoshaphat…descendent of David interrupts him!!!

Is there not a prophet of the Lord?

He interrupts the son of the prophet killer to announce the solution to their situation is the voice of a prophet!

Has anyone Heard from the Lord? Has anyone asked God?!? Let’s hear what God has to say about this!

Come on Joram!!!! Snap out of it!!!

I want to challenge you to let faith interrupt your fear! Stop letting fear be the loudest voice in the room…give faith a voice!!

What does the prophet have to say about this!? What does the man of God have to say about this!?!

listen…I know the last 3 months have been a dry season....My wife talked about it last Sunday....Bro. Roberts talked about it Wednesday…and I’m talking about it today....We’ve all been in the Wilderness of Edom together.

Mentally…Emotionally....Spiritually…IT has been a dry season...

and it would be easy in the middle of this dry season…when you realize that you’ve run out of water…when its been a while since you felt the rain fall…when its been a while since water has cooled your parched lips…it would be easy to speak death over your situation…to sow seeds of fear into your family that will reap generations of harvest…It would be easy to give Joram the platform....

But I wonder if there is a descendant of David…someone with the DNA of a giant killer in the room that would stand up today and say....

Joram…Shut yo’ mouth!!

You don’t have the final say! Jehovah has the final say! My God has the final say! The King of Kings has the final say!

In vs. 12 the 3 kings go down to visit the man of God!

Elisah says to Joram…What do I have to do with you?! I’ve got no word for you! If you are in alliance with the message that “we are all gonna die”…the man of God has no value in your life.

He says…for the sake of Jehoshaphat I’m going to speak what thus sayeth the Lord!

1. Now bring me a musuician

When its been a while since there has been water…when its been a while since there has been a river in the desert…rain in the wilderness...

never underestimate the power of a song when water is what you need!

it was David who sang....

Psalm 42:1–2 NKJV

1 As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?

It was the song that drove the evil spirits off of king Saul

- The power of your song:

Psalm 137:1–2 KJV 1900

1 By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, When we remembered Zion. 2 We hanged our harps Upon the willows in the midst thereof.

Here, the Israelites are portrayed as sitting down near a river in Babylon reminiscing of home and the memories that seemed forever gone.  They got so discouraged that the very instruments they used to praise God were hung on a weeping willow tree.

The Governor of California has made an executive order that churches can’t sing!

We will not lose our song!

Hear me…I will not silence the song of the church!

Conclusion of vs. 15....

King James Version Chapter 3

And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him.

2. Make this valley full of ditches

Ditches…not digging little holes in the ground…the original Hebrew is the word for cisterns…it was a trench dug for the purpose of holding water.

vs. 17....Ye shall not see win, neither shall ye see rain; yet that valley SHALL BE FILLED WITH WATER, THAT YE MAY DRINK!

God says…I’ll take care of the water…the water is coming…I know you’ve been dry…I know this nation is dry…I know this land is barren…I know Joram is jabbering!!

But don’t you worry…vs. 18 says…supplying water is but a light thing in the sight of the Lord.

Don’t forget, I’m the God who spoke in the beginning and the waters were formed!

Don’t forget, I’m the God who opened up the heavens and it rained 40 days and 40 nights...

Supplying water is but a light thing for God!

the difficult part of this equation isn’t water…the difficult part of the equation is your faith and your expectation!

Do you believe that I can provide the water?

You’ve got a Joram telling you everyone is going to die...

But you’ve got a man of God telling you to dig ditches...

Here is the deal…if you don’t dig cisterns…if you don’t provide wells…the water will be a waste…

But if you will dig the ditches…there will be enough water for you and for the castle and your beasts...

Not only that…but if you will dig ditches…if you will provide a demonstration of your expectation…if you will supply an expression of your faith…Then, not only will I overwhelm you with water, but I will overthrow your enemies!

Alright…now…its time to dig some ditches...

We’ve been singing about faith for 34 years…This building is the manifestation of a campaign that we called forward in faith…

Faith is one of those things that its easy to talk the talk...

Now its time to walk the walk...

Shut up Joram!! Shut your mouth descendent of Jezebel! Hold your tongue you paranoia prognosticator!!!

It’s time to start digging ditches...

Water is coming!

its been a dry season....But water is coming

I’ve been dry in my spirit…but water is coming!

I’ve been weary in my soul....but water is coming!

Closing

2 Kings 3:20–24 KJV 1900

20 And it came to pass in the morning, when the meat offering was offered, that, behold, there came water by the way of Edom, and the country was filled with water. 21 And when all the Moabites heard that the kings were come up to fight against them, they gathered all that were able to put on armour, and upward, and stood in the border. 22 And they rose up early in the morning, and the sun shone upon the water, and the Moabites saw the water on the other side as red as blood: 23 And they said, This is blood: the kings are surely slain, and they have smitten one another: now therefore, Moab, to the spoil. 24 And when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and smote the Moabites, so that they fled before them: but they went forward smiting the Moabites, even in their country.

they dig the ditches and God sends the water...

The result is what is water to them appears to be blood to the enemy!

What is refreshing for them…is confusion for their enemies.

And when the enemy sees blood, they wrongfully deduct that the three armies must have turned and slaughtered one another…And instead of running in for battle, they run in without their weapons drawn to gather spoil…the alliance rises up and defeats them.

Water is coming!

the outpouring of the spirit of God is coming!

Miracles, signs and wonders are coming!

There is refreshing coming to the church and confusion coming to the world.

I believe that the enemy once again has misjudged his opponent…I believe he things the enemy is mistaken…He things the church is defeated....that all of the mess that is going on has eliminated faith and destroyed the Kingdom of God…The enemy has holstered his weapons as it appears that the church is finished and done for...

But…what you thought was blood…was really just water…you thought we were destroyed…but we’ve been refreshed...

And upon this rock I will build my church....and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it!!

I know the enemy thinks that he has the church worn down…defeated…but I’m here to tell you that the church isn’t going out of here in retreat…we aren’t going out weak and worn down!!!

Come on church!!

Shut your mouth Joram!

Bring me a minstrel!!

Lets dig some ditches