Ask For Great Things!

2 Kings 13:18–19 (HCSB)

Then Elisha said, "Take the arrows!" So he took them, and he said to the king of Israel, "Strike the ground!" So he struck the ground three times and stopped. The man of God was angry with him and said, "You should have struck the ground five or six times. Then you would have struck down Aram until you had put an end to them, but now you will only strike down Aram three times."

Elisha the prophet was on his deathbed. Jehoash was king of Israel. Like most of the kings before him he was not a good man. The nation had been in deterioration for years. They were down to 50 horsemen and 10 chariots. A strong defense was a sign of a strong nation. Israel could no longer defend itself against it’s enemies—and this was not a good thing.

I don’t care what anyone says; the nature of mankind has not changed. It will always be the craving of governments and leaders for more. There will always be aggressors in the world who do not understand this concept of peace. The only peace they understand is the peace of domination—and they will not stop until they have it. Without a strong defense Israel was helpless against their neighbors—and their enemies took advantage.

Jehoash came to Elisha and said, “My father, my father, the chariots and horseman of Israel!” He was lamenting the fact they were so few. In response the prophet told him to take arrows from his quiver and strike them on the ground. He did so three times. He was timid and afraid. “He did not know what he was asking for.” He knew the prophet and he knew how prophets spoke—in such riddles. He should have worn the floor out!

Are we guilty of the same timidity when we pray? Are we afraid to ask God for big things? Do we think we are humble when we ask for a little? Are we not aware that God is great and it honors Him when we ask for big thing? Wear the floor out with your asking!

Prep for Death

2 Kings 8:10 (HCSB)

Elisha told him, "Go say to him, ‘You are sure to recover.’ But the LORD has shown me that he is sure to die."

Do not be so shortsighted when you are sick. Yes, you may recover from your sickness, but with certainty you are still going to die. Sooner or later, be it by sickness, accident, foul play, or natural causes, you are going to die.

What then? Have you made preparation for death? Not in terms of the funeral, but in terms of eternity?

Most everyone who reads this blog I’m sure has made that decision to trust Christ as their Savior from sin and eternal separation from God. But what if you haven’t? Then hear these words: “You are sure to die.” You have time to make preparation. That time is now. Make that decision while there is time.

I tell people “there are two things you must know and one thing you must do.” The first thing you must know is that you are a sinner and your sin separates you from God. You know the Scripture: the Bible says “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) and “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).

The second thing you must know is that God did something for you that you could never do for yourself: He gave His Son to pay the price for your sins. The Bible says, “but God demonstrated His own love for us in this, that even though we were sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). The Bible says “He was delivered over for our sins and raised for our justification” (Romans 4: 25).

But there is one thing we just do: we must turn from our sin and place our trust in Christ to save us. The Bible says, “repent of your sins and turn to God that your sins might be wiped away” (Acts 3:19) and “Call on the name of the Lord and you will be saved” (Romans 10:13).

You are going to die. You don’t know when. The only way to be ready then is to get ready now!