7/25/10 - Elisha 4 - 2 Kings 6:15-18

IT'S NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE

What would this look like to you? You notice two guys, who are obviously from out of town, turn into one of the legal brothels of the city you live in. They walk inside and stay the night. What would that look like to you? You’d probably assume that it was just another normal business transaction for that kind establishment, wouldn’t you? You’d have no reason to think otherwise. Or what about this situation: A self-proclaimed “Christian Killer” in the Middle East suddenly makes the claim that the Lord God himself appeared to him out of the blue and told him that he should be a Christian. And now he’s asking the Christian churches of that area to come out of hiding and invite him in so that he can speak to them about this miraculous turnaround. What would that look like to you? Wouldn’t it sound a little fishy? Would you really think this so-called recent convert to Christianity is who he says he is? These couple situations cause us to formulate conclusions rather quickly, don’t they? We perceive what is happening in each one of these instances and we immediately assume the worst. And why not? Our observations and experiences tell us that what we have already concluded is probably right. But the two stories I just summarized aren’t just made up stories - they really did happen. And what actually was going on behind the scenes in each of these stories was not what it looked like at first.
The self-proclaimed “Christian killer” in the Middle East was the apostle Paul. And although it didn’t look like it to those congregations at the time, God actually did appear to him; he actually did convert him on the spot; he actually did send him to Christian churches! The two out-of-town guests that stayed overnight at the city’s Main St. bordello were the two spies sent by Joshua into the city of Jericho. Rahab was the owner of that “house of ill repute” and the two men came in not to sleep but to hide. It must have looked like something that happened every day to the townspeople who saw them walk through her doors, but it was anything but. The Lord had in mind to save this prostitute and her family. And what it may have looked like from the outside was not the reality at all. The Lord is used to doing things contrary to what they look like from an outsider’s perspective. He is always doing things that we can’t see. He is always working things out in ways that we don’t understand. He is always managing things under his control when all we can see is chaos. And he did this very thing in our story of Elisha today in 2 Kings 6:
When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. "Oh, my lord, what shall we do?" the servant asked. "Don't be afraid," the prophet answered. "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them." And Elisha prayed, "O LORD, open his eyes so he may see." Then the LORD opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the LORD, "Strike these people with blindness." So he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked.
It looked like a hopeless situation to Elisha’s servant. It looked like they were going to be captured by the king of Aram and there was nothing they could do about it. It looked like there was no way to escape. It looked like they were outnumbered: two against tens of thousands. But it’s not what it looked like. It wasn’t a hopeless situation. They weren’t going to be captured. And they didn’t have to escape because they weren’t even close to being outnumbered. The thousands of horses and chariots that the king of Aram brought with him were surrounded by hundreds of thousands of heavenly horses and chariots that were actually on fire! The Lord had sent reinforcements! He had sent such a massive army of heavenly beings that they covered the hills as far as the servant could see. It wasn’t what it looked like at all! In fact, it was just the opposite! The Arameans were the ones who were actually surrounded; they should have been the ones looking for a way to escape; they should have realized it was a hopeless situation! Elisha and his servant had the upper hand. They were on the right side. And Elisha’s servant probably felt a little embarrassed for having panicked and worried so much after the Lord allowed him to see what was really happening behind the scenes.
But can we really blame this servant? I can’t imagine any of us thinking anything different! We would have panicked! We would have been at least a little bit worried and stressed out if we had been in the same situation! Because that’s what we do! We almost always assume the worst will happen when things don’t look so good. And we usually assume the worst because we figure that the problem at hand rests squarely on our own shoulders instead of on the Lord’s. “How am I ever going to fix this problem?” we might say to ourselves. And if we can’t figure out how to fix the problem then we just assume that the problem is probably never going to be fixed.
Let me ask you something: Based on what you know about your Lord, based on everything he has done for you and for the rest of his people in the past, is there any reason you should ever assume the worst will happen? Is there any reason to doubt that the Lord is fully in control, that he has everything planned out ahead of time, that he will take the situation at hand and turn it into a blessing for you? Is there any reason to assume anything less than that? But we do, don’t we? We constantly imagine that the end result will not be for our good, that it will hurt us, that it will harm us in some way. We seem to always be of the mindset that we will not benefit in any way from the bad things that are happening and, in fact, we will be worse off than we were before!
I sometimes wonder if the Lord just sighs and shakes his head in disappointment when we think that way. Because what more does he have to do for us before we start trusting his power? What more does he have to prove to us before we start relying on his love? What more does he have to show to us before we stop assuming the worst is going to happen? Does he really have to visually present to us the fiery horses and chariots that cover the hills in every single situation? Does he really have to give us a peek at the master plan so that we can somehow see how our life’s blueprint starts to fit together? Isn’t his Word enough? Aren’t his promises sufficient? Don’t his past actions prove that he will be the same God for us today as he was back then? We can be very skeptical Christians at times. Spiritual unstable. Very untrusting. Very unsure. Even though our Lord asks us to have an unwavering faith in him at all times.
Do you remember what Elisha said when his servant was wavering in his faith, when he was a little untrusting and unsure? Elisha said to him calmly and confidently, “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” In other words, “Don’t worry about it. It’s going to be OK. We actually don’t have to do anything to fix the problem because the Lord is in complete control of the situation just like he always is.” And maybe that’s something that we need to be reminded about on occasion too: “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Every time. So don’t worry about it. It’s going to be OK. We actually don’t have to do anything to fix the problem because the Lord is in complete control of the situation just like he always is. He promises that everything will turn out well and so it would be wrong for us to assume the worst is going to happen. In fact, we should always assume that nothing but the best is going to happen. Because when it comes to the Lord, it’s almost never looks like what it really is.
Our entire salvation is based on that premise: It’s not what it looks like. A virgin girl who is not yet married suddenly becomes pregnant. She claims an angel appeared to her during the night and that the child in her womb is actually the Son of God on account some miraculous in vitro fertilization process by the Holy Spirit. That probably looked a little suspicious to the people of Mary’s hometown? But it wasn’t what it looked like. It really was Jesus in her womb. It really was the Holy Spirit who did what he did. Mary wasn’t lying after all! Years later Mary’s child, Jesus, comes into the capital city on the back of a donkey. His disciples, a group of his followers, and some children are singing his praises and waving palm branches in the air. He didn’t seem like a grand and glorious king. He didn’t look like anyone important. But it wasn’t what it looked like. It was our Almighty God riding into the city of his death. It was the one who created the heavens and earth. It was the Messiah whom everyone had been waiting for even if he didn’t look the part. Later that week our Lord is betrayed and all of his disciples run away from the mob that has come to arrest him. It looked like he is all alone. It looked like he didn’t have a choice but to give in. But it wasn’t what it looks like. Jesus himself said that he had thousands of angels at his disposal if he wanted their help. No, Jesus wasn’t forced to go; he wanted to go. And then the very next day we find him standing in front of the Jewish crowds in the custody of Pilate. He had been up all night, he had been beaten, he had been chained, he had been flogged, he had been dressed in a purple robe and had a crown of thorns pressed into his head. He was bleeding all over the place. He was haggard and worn out. He looked like a criminal; he looked like a hopeless human being, a waste of space. But it wasn’t what it looked like. He was the only human being who wasn’t a criminal, who wasn’t hopeless, who wasn’t just a waste of space because he was the only human being there who was also true God!
A couple hours later this man dies while hanging on a cross of execution. It looked like he wasn’t God after all. A couple men lay him in a tomb and there his corpse remained. It looked like all those great things he promised weren’t going to happen. On Sunday morning the stone is no longer in front of the grave and there is nothing left in the tomb but burial clothes. It looked like some bandits or a group of religious zealots had broken into the tomb over the weekend and had stolen his body for some morbid reason. But it wasn’t what it looked like. His body hadn’t been stolen! His promises hadn’t been broken! His death hadn’t stopped him from being God! On the contrary, God had to die! It wasn’t just an unfortunate side effect that he didn’t foresee; it was the pinnacle of his plan! That’s what he had set out to do from the very beginning: he had set out to die and to rise. And it didn’t seem like it would work. It didn’t look like it was going to fix the problem of sin even to his own chosen disciples. But it did! The most unlikely thing did work for our forgiveness because it wasn’t what it looked like. Instead, it was exactly what God wanted it to be.
The entire Aramean army surrounding Elisha and his servant is exactly how God wanted it to be too. He wanted to prove to everyone that Elisha was his prophet. He wanted to prove to this worried servant that there was nothing to worry about. He wanted to prove to the King of Aram that he shouldn’t contend with the one true God. God had it all planned out. And things happened just like he wanted them to. But do you know my favorite part of this story? The hundreds of thousands of fiery angelic horses and chariots that covered the hills around the Lord’s prophet… never even had to be used. The heavenly reinforcements that Elisha and his servant were privileged enough to see weren’t needed. They just sat there, watching. Instead, God himself blinded the entire army and led them by the hand of Elisha away to another town. There was an incredible spiritual force at the Lord’s disposal, but he decided to take care of it himself. Because that’s how powerful our Lord is: he can snap his fingers and change the entire situation. He can say a single word and everything must stop. He can step in at any time and when he does, what looked like what was going to happen doesn’t happen at all.
A lot of times it’s just not what it looks like. We don’t know all of the details. We can’t see all of the avenues and reasons and connections that the Lord has right in front of him. Yes, the problem may seem unfixable, but it’s not. Yes, the situation may seem hopeless, but it’s not. Yes, the outcome and the after effects of any given difficulty may seem like they will be damaging to you and those you love, but they won’t be. It’s not what it looks like. The Lord is out front fighting the battle whether we see him or not. And he is also behind the scenes doing all of the little things necessary to make sure that everything works out according to his plan. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Every time. Trust the Lord in this. You will never be outnumbered. You will never be overwhelmed. You are on the side of the Lord. And he will always give you the victory.
Amen.

“Oh the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.” – Rom. 11:33, 36

7/18/10 - Elisha 3 - 2 Kings 6:1-7

HE CARES ABOUT THE SMALL STUFF

Our God is a God of power and might and majesty. The wonders he performs are incomparable and they cannot be reproduced. From the crafting of this entire universe with a few simple words to the construction of a heavenly perfection that will never end and everything else in between, what our God does is awe-inspiring; it is breathtaking. And the Scriptures are filled with stories of his strength: both the terrifying and the glorious. Our Lord wiped out entire armies in a single night without a sword being drawn from its sheath; he sent such a tremendous flood on this world that it destroyed every living thing on the surface of this sinful earth; he threw fire down from heaven as punishment on evildoers. But our Lord also healed countless invalids by just saying the word; he revealed his majesty on the mountain in front of three of his disciples; he actually raised people from the grave who had been dead for days. Even through the prophet Elisha our Lord did some visibly extraordinary things: splitting the Jordan in half, giving life back to a little boy, striking every single Aramean soldier with blindness so that they were at the mercy of Elisha and the king of Israel… There are some impressive stories in Scripture that demonstrate the Lord’s power and authority. And he does these impressive things because he is an impressive God. He does big things because he is a big God. And it is almost overwhelming to think how utterly insignificant we are compared to such an awesome God and his indescribable glory.
But then we run into a story like the one at the beginning of 2 Kings 6. And although it’s a story that demonstrates the Lord’s ability to do anything at any time no matter how impossible it may seem; it’s also a story that doesn’t seem all that impressive. It’s a miracle, but it’s a small miracle when compared to all of the other grand things that the Lord has done. Because what the Lord deals with in this story seems so irrelevant, so trivial and minor that it’s strange to us that the Almighty Lord would even bother with it, that he would even waste his time. But he does. The Lord does bother with this seemingly unimportant matter. He does take time to make it right. Because our grand and glorious Lord cares even about the small stuff.
The company of the prophets said to Elisha, "Look, the place where we meet with you is too small for us. Let us go to the Jordan, where each of us can get a pole; and let us build a place there for us to live." And he said, "Go." Then one of them said, "Won't you please come with your servants?" "I will," Elisha replied. And he went with them. They went to the Jordan and began to cut down trees. As one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron axhead fell into the water. "Oh, my lord," he cried out, "it was borrowed!" The man of God asked, "Where did it fall?" When he showed him the place, Elisha cut a stick and threw it there, and made the iron float. "Lift it out," he said. Then the man reached out his hand and took it.
That’s it! There are no more details after this last verse. And a story like this makes me smile a little bit and shake my head. No one’s life was on the line here; there was no disease that was asked to be cured; there was no extreme hunger that needed to be satisfied or an enemy that had to be stopped. It was a borrowed ax that accidentally fell into the water! It was a mistake; a little unfortunate maybe, but nothing too serious. The man who borrowed it could have bought another one or the lender himself could have passed it off as no big deal and decided not to require any reimbursement. Whatever the case, both individuals could have relatively easily gotten past this little episode and continued on with their lives. And so why would the Lord bother with it? Why would he give his prophet Elisha the ability to make this ax head float to the top of the water when Elisha certainly had more pressing needs to attend to? The Lord took care of this minor problem because he cares! He cares about his children and so he cares about the small stuff in their lives; he cares about the little things! Even about a borrowed ax that falls into the water! He is concerned with every little thing that happens in the lives of his children. There is nothing too small for him to be bothered with.
Which is a lot different than what we’re used to, isn’t it? In this life most people don’t want to be bothered with every little thing. An employer expects his employees to handle certain things without his supervision or micromanagement. A leader of any government or the head of an organization delegates responsibilities to various people and only wants a summary report when it’s all said and done. Our church council is made up of different positions so that the daily tasks of this congregation can be carried out apart from the constant oversight by one individual. Parents want their children to learn how to do things on their own as quickly as possible so they don’t have to do it for them. There are plenty of little things in this life that most people don’t want to be bothered with because they don’t have the patience or because they simply don’t have the time.
But not the Lord. He doesn’t mind being bothered with the little things because there is nothing that he considers as being “underneath” him. There is nothing that he doesn’t have time to take care of. He even wants to deal with those small problems. He wants to lend a hand when his help is needed. Like a doting grandmother over her only grandchild, he is just waiting to help. He is watching for any opportunity in which he can give some sort of assistance to the ones he loves. And if that means performing a spectacular miracle so mind boggling that it makes knees tremble, then so be it. And if that means helping one of his own with something as simple as finding an ax head in a river, then so be it. Our Lord cares about the small stuff because he cares about you.
Isn’t it amazing that such an imposing God who reigns in unparalleled glory would care about someone like you? And that he would care about every little inconsequential thing that happens to you in your life? The Maker of the majesty of the mountains watches you as you make your bed every morning. The Leader of the mighty angels walks silently along with you as you lead your child across the street. The Holy One of the heavens who sits on his magnificent throne with everything at his feet pays close attention when you fall to your knees in your evening prayers. Our Lord is not only the director of the laws of nature and the stars and the planets and the innumerable galaxies that we have yet to find; he is also the caretaker of your everyday life. He is not just a “big picture” God. He is not just a “visionary” of some kind who is only concerned about the final outcome and lets the minor details work themselves out. No, our Almighty Lord cares about the small stuff too. Every detail, every joy, every worry, every hurt, every smile, every minute of every day. Our Lord cares; our Lord pays attention and watches over; our Lord takes a special interest in every little thing about you.
Do you return the favor? Do you always care about what he wants? Do you always pay attention to and watch out for his happiness? Do you take a special interest in every little thing he says and every little thing he does and every little thing he promises? Or do you get too caught up in your own life to notice anything else? Do you get so involved with the various problems and joys and the general craziness that your life is made up of that you forget about the Lord sometimes? If you do, that makes at least two of us! I set the Lord and his will aside sometimes when things get busy. Even as someone who is blessed to have an occupation that forces me into God’s Word on a daily basis, my thoughts and my attitudes are not always focused on the directions and the encouragements of his Word. I don’t always care about what our Lord wants because there are plenty of things I want for myself. I don’t always pay attention to or watch out for his happiness because there are plenty of things that I want to make myself happy. I don’t always pay attention to every little thing he says or does or promises because there are so many other little things (and big things!) that I think I have to take care of every day. And so there are times when I get so caught up with the little things that I have to do that I lose focus of even the big things that the Lord has already done for me.
And isn’t that typical of any sinful human being on this earth? We are so absorbed in ourselves; we are so concerned about what we want and about how we feel and about what we think should happen, that what the Lord has done for us and what the Lord is doing for us right now and what the Lord promises to do for us in the future doesn’t even cross our minds half the time. Our Lord doesn’t even enter into the equation on many of the decisions we make because we are so thoroughly selfish. He dedicates all of his time to us but we can barely find any time to spend on him. He never sleeps just so that he can watch over us but he only enters our minds if we actually remember to say our prayers that night. Our Lord does nothing but work everything out in this world for the good of our eternal welfare but we hardly do anything that is only and completely for him without some sort of selfish motive attached to it. We do not return the favor. We do not fully commit ourselves to our Lord as he has committed himself to us. We do not deserve his attention or his kindness or his never-failing love.
And so why does he do it? Why does he bother with people like us? Why does he spend so much time not only preserving us in this world but also taking care of even the small stuff in our lives? Our Lord cares even about the small stuff in our lives because he made such a big sacrifice to win our lives back. Don’t forget that our Lord underwent a tremendous amount of physical pain and emotional torment and psychological agony just to make you one of his own. He fought for you! He battled for you! He forfeited his very life for you! He gave up everything he had on so that he could give it all to you. And so you better believe that he cares about you now! After everything he went through to secure your salvation, after all of the blood that poured out of his body to heal your self-inflicted wounds, after all of the rejections he suffered from his own people and his own disciples and even his own heavenly Father, you can be sure that he will concern himself with even the small stuff in your life now. He earned you, after all! You are his! You are the most precious thing he owns. He does not want anything bad to happen to you in any way and so he is more than happy to help you out regardless of how little the problem might seem to be. He did not just die on the cross to leave you to fend for yourself. He died on the cross and rose from the grave so that he could forever hold you in his nail-ridden hands.
And so when something happens in your life, no matter how trivial, remember the cross and take it to the Lord in prayer. When you run into a problem, no matter how simple a fix it might seem to be, remember the cross and carry it to the Lord for his help. When you become aware of how selfish you have acted once again, so selfish that it’s even embarrassing to admit, remember the cross and throw your sins at the feet of your Lord to be drenched in his blood. Because when you think about the cross you will be reminded of all the big things he has already done for you. You will be reminded about the forgiveness and the salvation and the eternal life that are already yours. You will be reminded about the reason why the Lord cares about the small stuff in the first place. Your eternal life is important to the Lord. And so your everyday life is important to him too.
The man who had lost that borrowed ax in the Jordan River must have understood that to some extent. Notice that didn’t try to wade in after it. He didn’t try to fish it out in some other way or go to someone else for assistance. He went straight to Elisha, the man of God. This man didn’t think it too trivial a matter for the Lord to handle. He didn’t assume that the Lord would just say, “Tough luck, deal with it yourself.” This man acted as if knew that the Lord cared at least a little bit about his life and was hoping that the Lord might help him solve this problem in some way.
You will lose a few ax heads in the water throughout your life too – borrowed or otherwise. You will face some troubles; you will have to deal with some difficulties; you will be presented with various problems of varying degrees. But no matter how big or how small they may be: bring everyone of them to your Lord. He wants to be bothered with it all. He wants to be the one you can always count on. He wants to be the one you can always go to. Go to him. He will not turn you away. He will not let you down.
Amen.

“Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.” - Psalm 68:19

7/11/10 - Elisha 2 - 2 Kings 4:1-7

THERE AREN'T ENOUGH JARS

During the time of Elisha the country of Aram was a major threat to the northern kingdom of Israel. In fact, at one point the king of Aram brought down his entire army and surrounded the capital city of Samaria. The siege that followed became so bad and lasted so long that the people of the city actually began to eat their own children because they were on the verge of starvation. The king of Israel was so enraged at the Lord’s lack of help that he wanted to have the Lord’s prophet, Elisha, killed. But Elisha said to the king, “There will be food at the gate of Samaria at this time tomorrow, and it will sell for next to nothing.” One of the officers next to the king said, “Even if the LORD should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen” (2 Kings 7:2)? Well, long story short: it did happen. The Lord caused the Aramean army to run away in terror that very night from the sound of chariots and horsemen that weren’t even there, and the Israelites were inundated with so much food and clothing and money the next morning from the Aramean’s abandoned camp that they couldn’t collect it all at once. In fact, the officer who had doubted the Lord’s Word through Elisha was trampled in the gate by the crowds of people rushing out of the city. This story is a wonderful account about God’s overabundant blessings given to his children in a seemingly hopeless situation. But this isn’t the story of Elisha that we will concentrate on today.
At another time in another place a man brought Elisha 20 loaves of bread out of thanks to the Lord. “Give it to the people to eat” Elisha told the man. “How can I set this before a hundred men?” his servant asked. But Elisha answered, “Give it to the people to eat. For this is what the LORD says, ‘They will eat and have some left over’” (2 Kings 4:42-43). And that is exactly what happened. Just like the story of Jesus feeding the 4000 in our gospel reading this morning, the one hundred men around Elisha could not eat enough to finish off the loaves he set before them. The Lord once again supplied his children with overabundant blessings in such a way that it didn’t seem possible. But this isn’t the story of Elisha we will concentrate on today either.
This next story is. And the reason we looked at these two other accounts in the book of 2 Kings first is because this next story is also a situation in which the Lord’s overabundant blessings are given to his children in an extraordinary way. It is a story that shows that the Lord does the impossible for his people. It is a story that demonstrates that the Lord doesn’t just bless his people; he blesses them with so many gifts all at once that they cannot handle them all.
“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.’ Elisha replied to her, ‘How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?’ ‘Your servant has nothing there at all,’ she said, ‘except a little oil.’ Elisha said, ‘Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don't ask for just a few. Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.’ She left him and afterward shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. When all the jars were full, she said to her son, ‘Bring me another one.’ But he replied, ‘There is not a jar left.’ Then the oil stopped flowing. She went and told the man of God, and he said, ‘Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.’”
It’s hard to say what this woman wanted Elisha to do - or what she expected him to accomplish. Maybe she wanted him to speak to the creditor himself and try to convince him not to take away her two sons. Elisha was the Lord’s prophet after all! If the creditor would listen to anyone, it would be a man of God! Or maybe this widow wanted Elisha to use some of the connections he had made as the Lord’s prophet and find a well-to-do Christian who might help her out in this rough time. Or maybe she didn’t know what to ask Elisha for at all. Maybe she just needed help and went to Elisha not knowing what could be done but hoping that something would. In any case, she most certainly didn’t anticipate what actually happened. She could have never guessed that the Lord will help her through the prophet Elisha in the way that he did. Who would have ever thought of requesting that the Lord miraculously supply enough oil in one jar to fill as many empty containers as someone could find? It was over and above anything she could have expected or even asked for!
But that is how the Lord decided to fix this widow’s particular problem: in a miraculous way, in an immediate way, in an overabundant way. And you can be sure that the widow learned three important lessons from that afternoon: 1) The Lord is loving. 2) The Lord is powerful. And 3) She should have collected more jars! She didn’t have enough! She did not bring in nearly enough jars to hold all of the Lord’s blessings! And maybe she had a lot of them. Maybe she had collected so many it was to the point of embarrassment. But however many jars she had brought into her house, it wasn’t enough. Elisha had specifically told her, “Don’t ask for just a few,” and boy was he ever right! If she had collected more jars, more jars would have been filled. If she had obtained every empty jar in the entire city then every empty jar in the entire city would have been filled. The oil didn’t stop until each and every jar was full. And she must have realized after it was all said and done: the Lord’s blessings would have kept pouring out as long as she had enough containers to hold them…
I imagine that you have plenty of needs in your own life for which you go to the Lord in prayer just like the widow did. There are things you ask for, troubles you need help with, problems you need to be fixed. But in those prayers that you pray to your Lord do you anticipate that you’ll need to gather up a whole bunch of jars because the Lord’s blessing are going to rain down on you in torrents or do you plan to have just one small jar in your hand and hope it’ll be at least half way filled? Do you pray for overabundant blessings - so much so that you cannot possibly use them all - or do you pray for the bare minimum: just enough so that you can get by, just enough so that the Lord doesn’t get too annoyed with your extravagant requests?
Why would we ever ask God for just the bare minimum? Why wouldn’t we want to ask him to bless us with an array of gifts beyond our wildest imagination? He certainly is capable: I think we would all admit that. But in our minds we think: “Is his willing? Does he really want to bless me over abundantly?” That’s a question we struggle with sometimes because he doesn’t seem as if he has done that kind of thing for us before. “Why would he overload me with blessings from his hand? Why would he suddenly give me so many gifts in this one area of my life that I would have a hard time keeping up? Maybe I should pray for less. Maybe I shouldn’t expect quite so much. Maybe if I lower my expectations then I won’t be so disappointed when I don’t get what I really hoped for. Maybe if I pray for a little he’s more likely to give it to me than if I would pray for a lot.”
Is that any way to pray? Is that any way to present a request to the Lord? Is that any way to address a God who not only gave Abraham a son when he was 100 years old, but who gave him so many millions of descendants that no one can even come close to counting them all? Is that any way to approach your Savior who not only gave Solomon the wisdom that he had asked for, but who also gave David’s son unprecedented honor during his lifetime among the people of this world and more wealth and material blessings and gold than any other king in any other country? Is asking your Lord for the table scraps an appropriate way to come before the one who not only gave Job his health back but then gave him twice as many blessings as he had done before. Or who not only supplied Peter and his companions with a nice catch of fish but with such a great catch of fish that their nets started to break and they could barely carry it to shore? Or who not only stopped by the house of Mary and Martha on multiple occasions and taught them the Word and visited them when their brother died and reminded them about the resurrection and comforted them with eternal life, but also raised their brother from the dead without them asking him to? The Lord does not just hand out table scraps! He delivers a 5 course meal - and then some! He doesn’t just give us the bare minimum; he gives us gifts beyond our capacity to enjoy every aspect of every one of them! Our Lord isn’t cheap; he isn’t stingy; he is generous and openhanded to a point that he never closes his hand! And there aren’t enough jars to catch it all! There aren’t enough jars in this world to hold all of the blessings the Lord wants to give us. And if you are unsure about whether he has ever done that for you before, just consider your spiritual condition from start to finish. And take a look at all of the blessings that the Lord has poured out on you in this most important aspect of your life.
Before God created the world, he chose you to be his own. But not only that, he also decided to come down to this earth to live in your place before you ever lived. But not only that, he also suffered a punishment on the cross and in hell itself before you even knew what pain was. But no only that, he also rose from the grave to secure your resurrection from the dead before you ever existed. But not only that, he also ascended into heaven to rule at his Father’s right hand over a world that you would one day be born into. But not only that, he also loved you even though you were conceived in sin and were automatically an unbeliever and an enemy of his Name. But not only that, he also brought you into contact with his Word after you were born. But not only that, he also baptized you and convinced your heart through his gospel that his sacrifice on the cross was for you and strengthens your faith every day through that same powerful Word of God and protects your from physical evil and rescues you from Satan’s attacks and supplies you with every necessity and pours out on you countless other enjoyable things in this life. But not only that, he also promises to take you home; he guarantees you a spot in heaven; he reassures you that everything is under his control. Are there enough jars to hold all of those blessings? Are there jars big enough to contain the enormous blessings of salvation from death and forgiveness from sins and eternal life that, by definition, will not end? You can pour and pour and pour your spiritual blessings out and try to measure them all, but you’ll never get to the end of them. They just keep coming from every direction. In fact, your biggest problem will be keeping track of them all! And that’s a pretty good problem to have. The Lord has blessed you over abundantly. And you are in the middle of those overabundant blessings right now.
I’ve always wondered how many jars that widow actually collected at Elisha’s command. Did she really exhaust every option, finding every empty container available to her? Or was she embarrassed to ask for too many? Did she stop at a certain point and say to herself, “This must be more than enough. I can’t possibly see how all of these jars can be filled with the little oil I have.”? Did she kick herself when the oil was still miraculously flowing but she didn’t have a single jar left to catch it? Was she ready for this incredible act of grace or did she underestimate the Lord?
Be ready for the blessings, my fellow children of our heavenly Father. Don’t underestimate his love. Just as he has in the past, he is able to pour out his gifts on us at an unimaginable rate. They might not be the gifts we ask for; and they might not come in the ways we expect; but they will come. And when they come they will come in droves. Because that’s what a perfect Father does for his precious children: he pours out on them everything good as often as he can. And so ask your Father to open his hand wide. Request overabundant blessings. And be ready for what he gives you. Because there aren’t enough jars in this world for what the Lord has in mind for his children.
Amen.

“God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever.” - Phil. 4:19-20

7/4/10 - Elisha 1 - 2 Kings 2:23-25

RESPECT IS NOT OPTIONAL

Elisha had been the assistant to Elijah the prophet for years. He had followed him from place to place. He had seen his miracles. He had learned from his words. And when Elijah was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind, it was Elisha who had been separated from him by the fiery chariot and horses from heaven. It was Elisha who had been left there holding the former prophet’s cloak in his hands. It was Elisha who then parted the Jordan River with that cloak and crossed over on dry ground. And it was Elisha who took over the enormous responsibility of being God’s main prophet for the entire land of Israel and the leader of the company of prophets who were being trained during that time. If anyone was “worthy” of honor, if anyone had earned a little bit of respect among the people, it was Elisha. He was, perhaps, the most well-respected person in the entire land of Israel. But as he was traveling to the city of Bethel one day, Elisha was treated as an object of harsh and irreverent ridicule by a group of children who should have known better. “Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some youths came out of the town and jeered at him. ‘Go on up, you baldhead!’ they said. ‘Go on up, you baldhead!’ 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 youths. And he went on to Mount Carmel and from there returned to Samaria.”
Was this punishment too harsh? It was certainly swift and irrevocable; there’s no doubt about that! But was it cruel? Was it cold? Was Elisha just getting revenge in the heat of the moment? Was he on a power trip and wanted to prove to these disrespectful little boys that you don’t mess with God’s prophet? Or was the punishment just? Was it right? Was it exactly what Jesus himself would have done in the same situation?
We know from Scripture that God is undeniably a merciful God. He is a compassionate and a patient and a loving God. Even to disobedient children. But the Lord is also a God who does not tolerate insubordination. He is a God who has always taken it personally when one of his representatives on earth is disrespected. Consider the story of Aaron and Miriam that we heard earlier this morning. These two leaders of the Israelite nation were bad-mouthing their brother Moses. And the Lord did not take kindly to their words. Because Moses was his prophet! Moses was his chosen instrument to lead his people out of Egypt, through the desert, and up to the border of the Promised Land. And the Lord didn’t want his chosen one to be spoken against. And so because of their defiance, Miriam was struck with leprosy until Moses interceded for her and she was healed.
But of course that is not the only instance in which the Bible speaks about the respect and the honor our God wants for those he has placed in authority. Listen to his command to the Old Testament Israelites in Exodus 21:17: “Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.” That punishment might sound a little too severe to fit the crime, but God wanted to make it clear: even the parental authorities he has placed in a home deserve the same kind of honorable treatment he demands for himself. And that respect is not just due to those who are Christians, those who are believers. It is supposed to be given to unbelievers in those positions as well. When the people of Israel were going into exile to the heathen land of Babylon, these were the instructions that the Lord had for his nation: “Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper” (Jer. 29:7). Pray to the Lord for the government that would take them into exile? Seek the success of a foreign nation that would destroy their city and burn God’s temple to the ground? Yes! The Babylonians would be their new governmental authorities. And the Lord expected the Israelites to live under that ungodly king just as if they were living under the rule of some of the godly kings of Judah.
And so the punishment that resulted from Elisha’s curse on the boys was not too harsh. It was keeping right in line with the Lord’s words and the Lord’s actions throughout Scripture; he demands respect from his people for those who represent him in this world: civil leaders, spiritual leaders, and leaders of the home. Respect is not optional. God insists that we respect those in any kind of authority just as we would respect God himself.
In the Japanese culture, respect for one’s superiors is a big part of their every day life. When a person takes a new job or enrolls in a school or is accepted into an organization of any kind, the unwritten social system of sempai and kohai comes into effect. The sempai is the elder or more experienced person in the relationship. The new employee or the new student or the new member is the kohai. The kohai honors, respects, and obeys the sempai. And the sempai in turn teaches and mentors the younger or less experienced individual. Even the language that the kohai uses with his/her sempai is different that the language used with others. It is purposely formal and polite and respectful in every way. And although that relationship within the Japanese culture is interwoven into different aspects of their lives, it is hardly analogous with anything we have in our country today.
It’s true that there are mentors and advisors and others who have gained our respect. But rarely do we treat someone like the kohai treats their respective sempai. There is an independent spirit within an American’s heart. A free, self-sufficient, almost rebellious attitude that is nurtured in this country. “No one is worthy of my respect automatically! No one is going to demand anything from me no matter who they are or where they went to school or what title they hold or how old they may be! I don’t have to listen to anyone if I don’t want to! And I am equal to or even better than anyone I meet!” Isn’t that the typical American thought process, especially among the younger generations? Especially on a day like today?
Today, of course, happens to be the Fourth of July: Independence Day. A great day, an exciting historical event, a patriotic festival of red, white, and blue; parades, fireworks, and apple pie. It is a date we celebrate every year to commemorate our autonomy from British rule in 1776. But our Independence Day is an event that is largely due to the breaking of this command from our Lord about respecting authorities. Whether the British rule was fair or not, whether the people in this country were treated well or not, the government of England was still in the position of authority. And many of our national forefathers rebelled, they revolted - it is called the American Revolution, after all. Now God certainly used that event for the good of his people; there are many benefits that the Lord has given us through the past actions of those first colonies. But the situation itself did not come about in the most God-pleasing of ways.
And so it is fitting for us to talk about the scriptural principle of respecting our leaders on a day like today. We look back with disappointment on the way things were handled in and around 1776, but we also take the opportunity on this holiday to show respect to the government we are currently under because of it. We are filled with pride for the country we are a part of and we show proper reverence for those who lead our country - even and especially the president himself.
Yes, even and especially the President of these United States. And those who we have elected to the other ruling bodies of our government. And those on the state and city levels. And those we would call “employers” and those who are our parents. God has placed all these people into positions of leadership and we are to give them respect, without exception. Because when it comes right down to it: it doesn’t matter who they are; it doesn’t matter what they say; it doesn’t even matter what they do. Whether you like them or not, whether you agree with them or not, whether you voted for them or not, whether they are Christians or not… the Lord asks that you give them honor and respect. Because “He who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.” (Romans 13:2)
When we make fun of those in authority, we are making fun of God’s chosen representatives. When we deride their character to others, we are deriding the wisdom
of the Lord’s decision. When we mock their demeanor, their words, their abilities, we are placing ourselves among the 42 children who are mocked one of God’s own, “Go on up, you bald head! Go on up!” The Lord doesn’t think the degrading jokes are funny. The Lord doesn’t consider defiant actions as bold or noble. The Lord does not look with favor on those kinds of words or attitudes - done in public or behind closed doors. He demands that we respect those he has chosen to lead and, as Romans says, those who do not “will bring judgment on themselves.”
It was during the time of the Passover and, as always, Jesus traveled to Jerusalem with his parents for the event. But this time, as his parents started to head back to Nazareth after the Feast was over, Jesus, unbeknownst to them, stayed behind in the temple courts. He was only 12 years old. And when his mother and father finally found him after three days of searching, Scripture says that Jesus was “sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.” Jesus, of course, was the Son of God even at the age of 12. He didn’t have to sit at the feet of instructors who were sinful human beings. He didn’t have to listen to their misguided wisdom and clouded reasoning. But Jesus gave them respect anyway; he honored those who were “above” him. And then in verse 49 of the same story we see him giving his heavenly Father the respect he was due as well: “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” Jesus told his parents. But our young Savior also honored and obeyed his earthly mother and father at the same time: Luke says that “He went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them” (Luke 2:46,49,51). This is a great story that encapsulates Jesus’ obedience to his Father’s commands and the respect he gave to those in leadership positions.
Throughout Jesus’ life he respected those in authority because he knew we wouldn’t; he knew we couldn’t even if we wanted to. And not only did he respect those in authority, he willingly suffered disrespect by those same people! He stood before the high priest on Good Friday morning and did not condemn him or rebuke him even when the high priest ordered that Jesus’ be struck in the face. Our Lord then stood before King Herod and silently took his mockery and derision without a word of protest. Christ stood before Pilate, and although Jesus patiently displayed to the Roman ruler the honor he was due, Pilate condemned the King of kings and the Lord of lords! Pilate used the authority given to him by God to murder God! Pilate made the decision to crucify the one who deserved nothing but honor and thanks and glory and praise! If there was anyone who deserved respect, it was Jesus. But he never demanded it. He never eve expected it. And instead he took on humiliation and disgrace and shame. Because you deserved it. You were supposed to be dishonored and disrespected. You were supposed to be disgraced. We all should have been shamed and condemned, but instead we will all be glorified. We will be given honor in heaven because Christ was dishonored here. We will be the recipients of respect and glory in Paradise because Christ kept that command while he lived here. We will end up receiving all of the benefits although Christ did all of the work.
And so how do we thank him for that? How can we praise our Lord for the eternal life he has secured for us? Well, we’ve been talking about one of the ones this entire time: “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men” (1 Peter 2:13). “For the Lord’s sake” obey the leaders of this world. Listen to them. Honor them. Respect them. They are God’s representatives even if they don’t act like it sometimes. And when you do honor and obey them, when you do give them the respect that the Lord demands - especially when they don’t deserve it - the Lord is pleased. He is praised. His name is glorified through the ways you treat those on this earth. And we have so many opportunities to glorify his name, don’t we? Thousands of government officials, employers, those who outrank us in age, our spiritual leaders, our advisors, our parents… What a blessing it is to have so many ways to thank our God. What a blessing it is to be able to show respect to our Lord himself through the respect we show to others every day. And on this day, especially on this day, thank the Lord for what he has given us through this country, but also praise the Lord by respecting those who lead us in it.
Amen.

“May the name of our Lord Jesus Christ be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” - 2 Thess. 1:12