Get Back Your Spiritual Edge

Have you ever been in a Spiritual Slump?

“Stuck in a rut” activities:

your prayers seem to bounce off the ceiling

bitter with the pastor

go through the motions with your worship

not showing joy at home

fostering hate for other people

Crusty Bread

Psalm 71:12 (NLT) - O God, don’t stay away. My God, please hurry to help me.

But maybe some of you really feel that you are not up to what the Bible says. Have you ever felt like that? Have you ever felt that there are too many demands in the Bible? Have you ever felt that you have lost your spiritual edge? Have you ever felt like that the challenges that God has for our church may be too much?

READ 2 Kings 6:1-4 - these guys want to grow!

I believe that now is not the time to coast. Now is not the time to sit back and say I’ve given too much. God has put you here in this church for a reason. God has put this church here in this town for a reason. God has put you here for this time, this place, and this people so that you can live out the Scriptures and show people Jesus.

But then this guy loses his spiritual edge - READ 2 Kings 6:5

As one of the men were chopping down a tree to expand his church, his ax, his cutting edge, flew off the handle and went into the Jordan River and sunk. That was a really bad day for this guy for a couple reasons:

1. In Bible days iron was very rare. An iron tool was even more rare.

2. It was borrowed. So he was very upset that he had lost his ax. He couldn’t return it.

3. He couldn’t continue his job. Without such a tool, he’d be stuck in a rut.

So this guy has lost his ax, his edge. He has lost the very tool that he borrowed to make a difference in this world. Now here is where a miracle comes.

THREE RESTORATIVE STEPS:

1. ADMIT YOU LOST YOUR CUTTING EDGE.

The very first thing that this man, whose name was not given, does is run to his spiritual leader and tell him that he has lost the very tool that would help him bring glory to God.

This was embarrassing – here he was chopping away (working for God) and his ax goes flying off! He could have done several things: he could have made excuses, blamed others, or pretended like he still had it. We do that too, sometimes. When we lose our spiritual edge, we make excuses, blame others, or worse, pretend like everything is OK.

The way you face music in a thermometer of your edge:

1. Appreciate in joy

2. Bitterness grow

Some of us are kind of prison singers – behind a few bars and never have the right key. Maybe you’re that way.

Ephesians 5:19 - Speak to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music with your heart to the Lord.

They’re pretending like they’re close to God when they’re not. That’s tragic. In fact, I think the saddest verse in the Bible is the one about Samson where it says, he’d lost all his power but he didn’t know it.

Judges 16:19-20 (NIV) - Samson's strength left him while he slept. Then Delilah called, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” He awoke from his sleep and thought, “I’ll go out as before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him.

The saddest thing, the most tragic sight is a Christian who’s lost his/her cutting edge and still going through the motions. They’re pretending like they’re close to God when they’re not. That is just like this man pretending he still has his cutting edge as he was chopping wood! That’s tragic.

What do you do when your heart is not in it? You stop taking risks. Your vision shrinks. You stop taking risks. You start playing the safe side, being predictable, ho-hum, settling for second best, being an also ran. You’re not stretching, you’re not growing, you’re not reaching out in faith. No, you just kind of back off and live this comfortable little existence

It is tragic because when you lose your spiritual power several things and keep pretending everything is OK, you start to lose your love for God’s ways.

This was embarrassing – here he was chopping away (working for God) and his ax goes flying off! He could have done several things:

Excuses

Blamed Others

Pretended like he still had it

This man, however, realizes the dangers of pretending and goes to the very person he trusts. He tells a person he trusts his exact problem.

Admit it. That’s the first step. Find someone you trust that will help you say to God: I’m not as close to You as I used to be. My heart has grown cold. Things don’t move me like they used to. I need You to light the fire again in my hart. I need the passion back. I need to feel Your presence in my life. Admit it.

READ 2 Kings 6:6a

2. ACKNOWLEDGE WHERE YOU LOST YOUR CUTTING EDGE.

When this man admitted to Elisha that he needed help, Elisha forced him to go to the very spot where he lost it. Elisha asked him, “Where did it fall?” and the man pointed out the exact spot.

He was honest and specific with Elisha. When we lost our cutting edge, we also need to go to the exact spot we lost it. We need to be honest and specific with where we lost our spiritual passion.

Maybe there is something that just “hurts too bad!” Your heart has been broken, a relationship is over, a disease has coursed through your body, or your burdened with too much debt. That’s where you lost your edge. Something hurts and your pride says, “I can make it on my own.”

Lost your spiritual edge:

Distractions - forest - squirrel

Dessertion - swamp

Disobedience - boulder

Disconnect - jungle

Disease - swamp

Where ever it is where you lost your spiritual edge, I want you to know that Jesus has been waiting patiently for you right there. He is waiting for you to come back to Him and reject the distractions, the disobedience, the independent spirit, the procrastination, and the pain. He wants you to come back to Him. Go back to the place where you lost your spiritual edge, and there you will find Him.

Why do you need your spiritual edge back? Because you are someone’s miracle. Miracles needed in East Moline, IL:

The biggest employer in this area is not allowing workers to go back to work -

Deere, UAW have reached a tentative six-year agreement.

Richard Rich, 56, of Moline

Depression, drug addiction, and father-less homes are on the rise

21,000 need a miracle!

In the Bible, when God gives someone a miracle, you should take notice. These are real events that helps us understand deeper truths that God wants to teach us. The ax is a symbol of spiritual power. This man has lost his ability to build where God wants him to build.

READ 2 Kings 6:6b

3. ACQUIRE YOUR SPIRITUAL EDGE.

2 Kings 6:6b - READ

That’s pretty bizarre. He does something very, very odd here. He cuts a stick and throws it in the water and the ax head floats to the top of the water miraculously.

Now the man was holding a stick that used to be an ax and came to Elisha. Elisha now uses another stick and shows this man God’s power.

So the very symbol that this man was probably holding on to – the very thing that used to hold his cutting edge – is the symbol that Elisha uses to do this miracle.

What is the spiritual power in that stick? None! The very thing that this man was still hold on to, however, is the thing that Elisha uses to demonstrate God’s power.

He could have thrown a quarter. He could have thrown a necklace. It was publicly saying, “I’m going to do something that shows I believe God will restore what this guy lost. In fact, I am going to use what he is still holding on to!”

Elisha was not Houdini. He’s not David Copperfield. Elisha is not David Blaine. Elisha is not Chris Angel. He’s not a magician saying, “Watch me pull a rabbit out of the hat! He is a prophet. He wanted to demonstrate real faith to a guy he was passing his faith on to and mentoring. He wanted this man to see that God can give back his cutting edge.

What seems impossible in your life?

“I’ll never be close to God again.” You’re wrong.

“I could never be blessed by God. You don’t know what’s happened in my past.” You’re wrong.

“I could never be used by God. I could never have His power in my life. I’m just one tiny person, insignificant.” You’re wrong.

“I could never see God pour out His grace, His strength, His mercy, His power, His presence in my life because I’ve really messed up my life. That can’t happen to me. It’s impossible.” You’re wrong.

Notice what this story doesn’t say:

This story doesn’t say that you need better music in your church to restore your spiritual passion.

God’s Word here doesn’t say that this man had to go out and have an “experience”. We don’t need a mountain top experience (even though they may be helpful.) Even though some local churches might teach it, we don’t even need a charismatic experience in order to restore our spiritual fervor.

The Scripture also does not say that this man had to add more to his schedule. In fact today, we probably need to reduce our busyness in order to stay spiritually strong.

The Bible does not say that this man needed to implement a program. We do not need another book on “7 Habits of Spiritual People”, or “7 Steps to a Better You”. They may be helpful, but real spiritual renewal happens when we anticipate God to do what He does best.

The man needed to face exactly what happened and go to the spot where he exactly lost things. He needed to come out of denial.

Right there in that spot, he had to reach out and grab his miracle - READ 2 Kings 6:7

The man in this story had to grab the ax head out of the water. Do not miss this important point. The God who did this miracle could have placed the ax in the guy’s hand. Instead, the prophet had to acquire it.

In other words: we each have to do our part. You have to do your part in coming back to God. You’ve got to reach out and receive it.

In fact, Jesus told us in Revelation chapter 2 how we acquire our spiritual edge:

Revelation 2:4-5 (ESV) - But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and return to the works you did at first.

Jesus tells us to: Remember how far you’ve fallen, Repent – turn back to God, and Repeat what you did at first. If you’ve been distracted and disconnected from God do these three things.

First you Remember. What was it like when I was close to God? You think about how good that felt and how great it was to be in the center of God's will with a clear conscious and knowing the joy of being connected to God. You remember those good times. You remember how far you’ve fallen.

Repent. Take the steps back to Jesus. Cut out the sin & bitterness. Get back to your devotion and life with Jesus.

Return. Do the things you did at first.

Did you know that these three steps work in any relationship? It’s not just a relationship to God but it’s the key to restoring love in any relationship. People have come to me and said, “I just don’t love him/her any more.” So what! Big deal! So you don’t love them. Love comes and goes.

You see, love is a choice. Love left, because you’re choosing not to love. It’s not something that’s uncontrollable in your life. You’ve chosen not to. He was an idiot or she was an idiot or you both were and you’ve stopped loving each other! Love is always a choice. If you choose to not love you can also choose to love again.

How do you restore a dead marriage? You do the exact three same things here.

You remember what it was like when you first got married, when you first started dating. Why did you fall in love with them in the first place? What attracted you in the first place? What excited you and what was it that you found so appealing and attractive? You remember those good times when you had the good times.

And then you repent of the bad actions in your relationship. You don’t wait for the person to get right or come back to you. You go back to them. You take the steps to move forward.

Then you return to the things you did at first. You know why you lost your love for that person? You’re not doing the things you use to do. You don’t send flowers any more. You don’t make the phone calls. You don’t spend time together. Instead you sit around and make bodily sounds you would never have done in the early days! And if you want to restore the love in a relationship you need to do the things you did at first. Buy little presents and say lovey-dovey words and do loving things. That’s what brings the love back.

This is what brings the love back to Jesus Christ too. You need to do those things you use to do when you were so in love with God, when you were close to Him.

But you’ve got to want it!

People who are connected to God, people who are blessed by God, people who have God's power in their life, people who are used by God, do you know why they have that? It’s because they want it! They desire it! They crave it! They long for it! They want it more than anything else in the world.

In fact, God did the same for us. He reached from heaven and grabbed us!

[SPREAD ARMS AS IF REACHING BOTH SIDES]

The cross proves how much He loves you! Jesus allowed the soldiers to stick a sphere in His side; put nails in His hands and His feet; put a crown of thorns on His head, and let people spit on Him. Why? He wanted to be close to you. He made sure to take your sins away so that there was nothing standing in the way between you and Him!

If you’ve been blessed by Christ, then you cannot be complacent anymore. Christ has come and He is your Miracle. So let me ask you church: Do you want Jesus? WHO IS JESUS CHRIST?

He is the Maker of heaven and earth

He is the Alpha & Omega, the beginning & the end

He is the Son of God

He is the God man

He is the Humble Servant

He is the Man of Sorrows

He is the Good Shepherd

He is the Prince of Peace

He is the Wonderful Counselor

He is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah

He is the Stone Mover

He is the Dragon Slayer

He is the Resurrection and the Life

He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world

He is the sinner’s friend

He is the Great High Priest

He is the King of Kings

He is the Lord of Lords

He is the Way, the Truth, & the Life

He is the sinless Savior