Faith Doesn't Wait—It Prepares | Pastor Steve Poe

Good morning, Northview. It's so good to have all of you here today. I hope you're having a great summer. If you don't have a church, we'd be honored to have you come and be a part of all that God is doing. I'm Steve Poe. I'm one of the pastors around Northview, and again, we're just so glad you're here. Several people have asked what I'm doing in retirement. There's several things that I'm doing, but one of the things is that Sandy and I love to lead trips. We've led four trips to Israel this last spring. We led a trip to Turkey and Greece, and so we decided we're going to continue to do that. So next June, we're going to lead a riverboat cruise from Budapest to Prague. And so if it's something that you would be interested in, just email me at steve at stevepoe.org. Steve at stevepoe.org, and I'll send you the link and you can look it up for yourself and see if it's something you might be interested in. But we love doing riverboat cruises, and we said, you know, why not just take along some friends? Let me pray, and we're going to jump right into this. Father, thank you for your faithfulness. You are an amazing God. I thank you, Lord Jesus, for the way that you've moved during worship. I thank you, Lord God, for the way that you're moving in Northview just throughout the week. And Lord, I thank you, Lord, also for the way that you're moving in churches all throughout central Indiana. And I pray to God that your blessings and favor would be upon every church that teaches and preaches the gospel of Jesus Christ. And so now, God, as we get into your word today, I just pray, Lord, that you would open up our eyes and ears to see and hear all that you want to do in our life. Thanks God.

We love you and we praise you. We just ask it in Jesus' name, amen. So let me share with you some useless trivia. And that is, my parents came very close to naming me Elisha. Not because it was a common name back then, but because it was my father's name. My father's name is Elisha Hatton Poe III. His father was Elisha Hatton Poe II. My great-grandfather was Elisha Hatton Poe Sr. And so they thought I should be Elisha Hatton Poe IV. Not because they necessarily liked the name. In fact, my dad went by Sonny. My grandfather went by Elisha. But because it was tradition. Fortunately for me, my mother and grandmother won that battle. And they named me Steve. Now if your name is Elisha, there's nothing wrong with the name Elisha. I just prefer Steve. So I share that with you because today, we're gonna talk about the prophet Elisha. And there is so much, guys, there's so much in this guy's life that we can glean from. So many things we can cover. And so it's difficult to do in one single message. There's over 13 chapters that are dedicated to this hero of the faith. Some of you actually might remember that several years ago, I did a six-week series on the life of Elisha. And again, I wasn't really able to cover all of it, even in six weeks. Because again, there's so many great stories, and all of those stories are inspiring. But what I also find is that people oftentimes get Elijah and Elisha confused. Both prophets, two different people. In fact, we were having dinner with a couple this week, and that was the first thing he said to me.

He's like, I always get those two confused, Elijah and Elisha. Elijah is celebrated as one of the most powerful and significant prophets in the Bible for actually defending the worship of Yahweh against the cult of Baal. And that's who Mark talked about last week. But now Elisha comes on the scene. And he sees the faith of Elijah, and it inspired him to live his life by faith. Friends, listen, the way you live your life in front of other peoples can do more to encourage people to live for Christ than anything you can possibly say. I love what Albert Schweitzer said, example is not the main thing in influencing others, it's the only thing. It's the only thing. Friends, a person's faith is most convincing when it's seen before it's heard. And parents, listen to me, I hope you understand that your kids are watching how you live your life. They're gonna go, they're gonna do more by what you do than by what you say. It's important to take them to church. You know that. But at the same time, they need to see that this is real in your life. They need to see you pray. They need to see you read your Bible. They need to see you treat others with love and respect. Several times in Scripture, the Apostle Paul says, imitate me just as I imitate Christ. Paul being arrogant there, absolutely not. Paul was confident, listen, he was confident that he was living his life in a way that honored Christ. And all these new believers, he said, look, if you're not sure how to live a Christian life, just do what I'm doing. Just imitate me. I love the stories of Elisha because they remind me

that God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary ministry. Okay, so the first time we're introduced to Elijah is found in 1 King chapter 19 verse 19. And it says, so Elijah went and found Elisha, son of Shophat, plowing a field. There were 12 teams of oxen in the field and Elisha was plowing with the 12th team. Elijah went over to him and threw his cloak across his shoulders and then he walked away. Now, guys, there's a whole lot we can glean and learn just from this first verse. For instance, we see that he was still living at home with his parents and he's built quite a business. We know that Elijah was successful because he's plowing with 12 pair of oxen. Now, think about it like automobiles. Every middle class family probably that you know has one or sometimes two cars. In those days, a middle class family might have one or sometimes two oxen, but to own 24, well, that means you are in a different class financially. Verse also tells us that he was out there driving the 12th pair, which means he had servants that were out there driving the other 11th pair. So we know that Elijah has wealth and his future seems pretty secure. And yet, guys, he wants more out of life. He wants more out of life than what he's doing and what he's experiencing. You know, a lot of people believe that money

or material possessions will buy you happiness. They view money as a sense of security or a fix for their everyday problems. But it doesn't take very long before a person discovers that money is not going to satisfy you. It will not manufacture love or joy or inner peace. In fact, there may be some of you today that are asking the same question. God, is this all there is? Is this all there is to life? I want more than this life. I want my life to matter. I want my life to count for something. It actually reminded me of a clip that I showed you several years ago. Some of you might remember. I'm just gonna show you a few seconds of the clip, but it was a 2005 interview that was done on the show 60 Minutes with Tom Brady. Watch this clip. Why do I have three Super Bowl rings and still think there's something greater out there for me? I mean, maybe a lot of people would say, man, this is what it is. I reached my goal, my dream, my life. Me, I thank God. It's gotta be more than this. I mean, this can't be what it's all cracked up to be. I mean, I've done it, I'm 27, and what else is there for me?

What's the answer? I wish I knew. I wish I knew. Oh, Tom Brady, I know. I know what the answer to that question is. I thank God it's gotta be more than this. There's a song entitled Crowns by Hillsong that I think answers this problem we're talking about. The chorus goes like this. My wealth is in the cross. There's nothing more I want than just to know his love. My heart is set on Christ, and I will count all else as loss. The greatest of my crowns means nothing to me now, for I counted up the cost, and all my wealth, and all my wealth is in the cross. Friends, listen to me, until these words ring true in your heart, you will never discover your purpose in life. You say, which is what? It's to be in a relationship with Jesus Christ, to walk in his plan and his purpose for your life. So then it says that Elijah walks up and he does an odd thing. He throws his cloak around Elisha. I know that seems extremely odd, but in those days, a cloak was your mantle, which was a symbol of your authority. So it's like Elijah is saying to Elisha, that which has covered me will now cover you.

That which is God's calling on my life is now a calling on your life. I want you to hear me, guys. This is important. Every one of us, every single one of us in this room has a mantle. Every one of us has a calling on our life. It's not, and that mantle is different from the person sitting next to you. It's not the same as the mantle in Elisha's life. It's not the same as the mantle on David's life or Joseph's life, or even Billy Graham's life. The mantle or calling. on your life is specific to you. The calling is specific to you. The Bible says that God knows you. He knew you before you were in your mother's womb and he has a purpose and he has a plan for your life. So then, what do you do about God's calling in your life? Do you even know? Do you even give it a thought? Because I'm afraid many Christians today don't ever even give that a thought. You know, they've invited Christ into their life and they really don't think much more about it. And yet, even though our calling is specific, there's also some things about our calling or our mantle that are common to every one of us. For instance, a big part of knowing God's plan for your life is just being faithful to God

day in and day out, loving the people that you rub shoulders with every single day and being obedient to the things that God asks you to do each and every day. Well, Elisha, he took his calling very seriously and so should you and me. Guys, do you make your decisions, think about this for just a second, do you make your decisions based on what you think God wants you to do or on what you wanna do? Are you trying to please an audience of one or are you trying to please your own selfish desires? When you pray, is it all about your wants and desires or is it about God directing your steps? Friends, our greatest prayer should not be, Lord, bless me today. Our greatest prayer should be, Lord, please use me today. Friends, do you want your life to be one of significance? Then please remember this simple principle, but important principle, the path to something greater in your life goes through the valley of surrender, sacrifice and service. That's what it meant, that's all what it meant when you surrendered your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's what we see here with Elijah as he walks away from being CEO of Elisha Farms to a life of service. Let's move on, verse 20. It says, Elisha left the oxen standing there. He ran after Elijah and he said to him,

first, let me go and kiss my father and mother goodbye and then I will go with you. Elijah replied, go on back, but think about what I have done to you. So Elisha returned to his oxen and slaughtered them. He used the wood from the plow to build a fire to roast their flesh. He passed around the meat to the townspeople and they all ate. Then he went with Elijah as his assistant. So he decides that he's gonna leave it all behind to follow Elijah, to learn what it really means to serve the Lord. He then kills his oxen and he uses the wood from his plows to start the fire and to cook the meat and then he gives the meat to the poor. Guys, why would he destroy everything he has? Because he's not just changing jobs here. He's making a commitment to follow God with no chance of ever turning back. He's not just putting his toe in to test the water, to see if this is maybe something he might wanna do. No, he's made up his mind, I'm all in. I'm leaving everything behind. I'm surrendering my life completely and totally to serving the Lord. Now guys, I'm not saying that we've gotta destroy all of our material possessions to follow Christ. That's not what I'm saying at all, but I am saying we need to be willing

to let go of anything that's holding us back from being all in. Is there something in your life, when you're honest with yourself, is there something in your life that's holding you back from being sold out to the Lord Jesus Christ? What might that be? Is it a hobby? Is a hobby holding you back? Are there some material possessions that are holding you back? Is there a relationship that's holding you back? Maybe it's your job or the profession you're trying to build. What is it in your life that seems to be getting between you and God? And it's keeping you from being all in. It's keeping you from being sold out. Then can I encourage you, that's what you need to let go of. Because when you invited Jesus Christ into your life, what did you say? You said, God, I surrender all. And you need to be able to say no matter what, I'm gonna follow Jesus. Well, Elijah leaves the farm to be an intern or an assistant to the prophet Elijah. He went from calling the shots one day to making coffee and copies the next. But that's okay. Because, guys, to sacrifice is to what?

To sacrifice is to give up something you love for something you love even more. And just as God had a plan for Elisha, I promise you, he has a plan for you. the plan for you, and he has a plan for me. Okay, then we move forward about eight years over to 2 Kings 2, where Elijah's about to be taken up to heaven. And three times in this passage, Elijah told Elisha to stay behind. He keeps telling him, just stay back here. But Elisha says, no way. As the Lord lives, I will not leave you. And then he comes to this extremely bold request, one of my favorite passages in the Old Testament. And it says, when they came to the other side, Elijah said to Elisha, tell me what I can do for you before I'm taken away. And Elisha replied, please, let me inherit a double share of your spirit and become your successor. You've asked a difficult thing, Elijah replied. If you see me when I am taken from you, then you will get your request. But if not, then you won't. As they were walking along and talking, suddenly a chariot of fire appeared, drawn by horses of fire. It drove between the two men, separating them, and Elijah was carried by a whirlwind into heaven. Elisha saw it and cried out, my father, my father,

I see the chariots and charioteers of Israel. And as they disappeared from sight, Elijah tore his clothes in distress. He prays, or he didn't pray, he says to Elijah, let me inherit a double portion of your spirit. What is he saying there? He's just saying, I want more of God. What I've witnessed in you, Elijah, has been amazing. I've watched God work miracles through your life, and I just want more. I want God to use me. He wanted more of God. It was, I mean, shouldn't that be the prayer that you and I are praying every day? God, I just want more of you. I want more power in my life. He wasn't asking for wealth, he wasn't asking for power, he just wanted more of God. It's a similar prayer to what Paul prays in Philippians chapter three when he says, I want to know Christ. He has to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death. Paul is praying, he said, God, I just want more of you. Seriously, I think those are the kind of bold prayers that God is looking for from each one of us. You know, I've shared this with you before, but several, every year when I was still pastoring, or every seven years, I would take a sabbatical.

And during that sabbatical, it was an opportunity for me to look back over the past seven years and to reflect about what God had done and to thank him for that. And then the next part of my sabbatical, I would spend praying about, now, God, what do you want for the next seven years? You know, God, just help me to understand how you want me to lead the church, where you want us to go as a church, what things do you want us to reach for, how do you want us to be bold, all of those things. So in 2014, I was on the sabbatical, I'd been reflecting over what God had done the past seven years. I mean, we had seen, at the time, for over a decade, we'd seen 1,000 people every single year baptized and praying to receive Christ in their life. We had opened up campuses all over central Indiana. God was doing amazing things on the mission field. I mean, it was just a yay, God. I was just excited as I was thinking about all that God had done. And so then I started to pray, okay, now, God, what do you want for the next seven years? And I was getting nothing. And I mean, I just kept praying every day and I'm just getting nothing. Sandy's asking me, so you feel like the Lord showed you anything?

I'm like, no, it just crickets. And so we just kept praying. And so one morning, I remember as I was praying and I just felt like the Lord just said, Steve, I just want you to be bold. I'm like, yeah, yeah, I get that. What else? And the next day, it was the same thing. And finally, I'm like, God, I feel like we have been bold. I mean, look what's gone on the last seven years. Every day, I just want you to be bold. Finally, I'm getting frustrated and I'm like, God, I don't understand what that even means. And he says, Steve, I want you to be bold to the point of failure. Now, that got my attention. I'm like, nope, because I can tell you, no pastor wants to fail in front of his people. And so I'm like, I don't understand. He said, I want you to trust me. I want you to be bold that even if you fail, you're gonna trust me. And so that was hard. But the more I prayed about it, the more he kept reassuring me of that, the more I got excited about it. I came back and I shared that with the staff and then I shared it with the elders and then I shared it with the congregation. I just said, guys, you think that God's done a lot

in the last seven years. I believe what he's gonna do in the next seven years are gonna be even greater. But by the way, you need to know we may fail in some of it, but we're gonna take our chances. We're gonna trust God and we're gonna step out in faith. You say, well, why, Steve, do you think that's such a big deal? Because I believe that bold faith. There's God and God honors bold faith. That's why it's important. Boldness is a big deal. I could spend a lot of time talking about this one conversation because I'm just telling you I think that's the one thing lacking in most churches in America today. They're afraid to be bold. They're afraid to step out and trust God. They're afraid of failure. But bold faith honors God. Let's move along to just real quick story I just wanna read to you in verse 23. Elijah left Jericho and he went up to Bethel as he was walking along the road, a group of boys from the town began mocking and making fun of him. Go away, baldy, they chanted. Go away, baldy. Elijah turned around and looked at them

and he cursed them in the name of the Lord. Then the two bears came out of the woods and mauled 42 of them. I don't think you need any commentary on that. I think it's, I'm just saying. Let's move on to chapter four. Here we see the miracle with the widow. And again, friends, most of the miracles, listen to me on this, most of the miracles God worked through Elijah, they take place in ordinary homes with ordinary people facing ordinary struggles just like you and me. You see, so many times when we think about miracles, we think about it only happens in the big areas, the big things. But the fact of the matter is, is God is working miracles day in and day out. And sometimes we miss it, but God's working miracles day in and day out. And there are so many times I hear people say, I'll hear Christians say, you know, I don't think this matters to God, it's not a big deal. I'm gonna push back because I believe it does. I believe it does. I don't think anything is insignificant to God. I think God cares about the things that you care about. God cares about the things that you're concerned about. He cares about the insignificant things in our life. So listen to me, this woman is struggling because her husband who is also, was also a prophet,

he's just died. And she's left with a whole lot of debt, a whole lot of bills. Now in those days, you gotta understand, there was no bankruptcy court and there was no welfare system. And back then, the creditor, he literally had the legal right to even take her sons as servants to pay her debts. So you can imagine the kind of fear that this woman is feeling. She's lost everything. And now she could lose her sons. She comes to Elisha and she pleads with him for his help. Second Kings chapter four, one day the widow of a member of the group of prophets came to Elisha and cried out, "'My husband who served you is dead, "'and you know how he feared the Lord. "'But now a creditor has come "'threatening to take my two sons as slaves. "'What can I do to help you?' Elisha asked. "'Tell me, what do you have in the house?' "'Nothing at all except a flask of olive oil,' she replied. "'And Elisha said, "'Borrow as many empty jars as you can "'from your friends and neighbors. "'Then go into your house with your sons "'and shut the door behind you. "'Pour olive oil from your flask into the jars, "'setting each one aside when it's filled.'

"'So she did as she was told. "'Her sons kept bringing jars to her "'and she filled one after another. "'Soon every container was full to the brim. "'Bring me another jar,' she said to the one of her sons. "'There aren't any more,' he told her. "'And then the olive oil stopped flowing. "'When she told the man of God what had happened, "'he said to her now, "'Sell the olive oil "'and pay your debts, and you and your sons "'can live on what is left over.'" So with compassion, Elisha asked this woman two questions. Number one, how can I help you? And then what do you have in your house? And I think she answers him the way that most of us would answer him as well. She basically says, I don't have anything. I'm broke. I don't have any gifts, I don't have any talents, I don't have any friends, there's nothing left. You see guys, I think it's common for us to focus on what we don't have. But Elisha didn't ask her what she didn't have. He asked her, what do you have in the house? And God says the same thing I believe to us. I know it's difficult, but what do you have in the house? You see friends, God wants to know if you're gonna trust him with what he has entrusted you with. This woman, she only had a small jar of oil.

It wasn't much, but guys, in the hands of God, it was all she would need. Friends, what you have might not seem like much, but in the hands of God, he can do great and mighty things. Do you remember what he said to Moses? As Moses stood before the Lord, he says, Moses, what do you have in your hand? Moses said, I have a staff. And he said, Moses, throw it down. In other words, give it to me to see what I can do with it. He says, what's in your hand to David? He's got a slingshot. David trusts the Lord with it and he defeated Goliath. The little boy, he was asked to give up his lunch. I mean, all he had was five loaves of bread and two. fish, but when he gave it to the Lord, God fed over 5,000 individuals that day. Friends, that's why it's so important that we put God first with everything we have. Giving God first priority in every area of our life. You say, yeah, but Steve, I just don't have a large income. Well, even more reason to trust God with your finances. When you put God first, it demonstrates, listen, it demonstrates your commitment to him. When you put God first, it shows that you love him and that you trust him. Guys, instead of complaining about what you don't have, figure out what God has blessed you with and give it back to him. So Elijah tells the woman to borrow as many empty jars

as she possibly can. In other words, God's telling her to prepare for what he's about to do. Faith, listen to me on this, faith doesn't just believe that God can work. Let me say it again. Faith doesn't just believe God can work. Faith prepares as though he will. A quick story, I'm told it's true, I don't know. Down in West Texas, they were having a drought, a serious drought, and the farmers were hurting as you might imagine. And so the pastor said, why don't we all come back to church tonight? We're gonna go out here in the field beside the church and we're gonna pray for rain. We're gonna believe that God's gonna bring us rain. So everybody come back here tonight. So they all show up that evening and they're all standing on the field and the pastor walks back up and he says, you all can go home. And one of them said, well, why pastor? We haven't even prayed. And he said, because not a one of you brought an umbrella. So her boys, they go on knocking on doors, borrowing as many jars as they possibly can, five jars, 20 jars, 30 jars. Every empty container represented, listen to me, every empty container represented another opportunity

for God to work. And then Elisha says, go inside and shut the door. I think that's important. Go inside and shut the door. The reason I think that's significant is because some miracles happen behind the scenes. You see, we often think that a miracle only happens in a big dramatic event. We wanna describe it. It's like, oh my gosh, it was amazing. God performed this amazing miracle. But a miracle is simply, listen to me, a miracle is simply when you're at the end of your rope and you don't know what to do. A miracle is simply when you hit a wall and you feel like it's all over and then God steps in. That's a miracle. It may be some mighty event. It may just be something simple in your life that only means something to you. It may, you may this morning need a miracle in your health. You may need a miracle in a relationship. You may, whatever it may be in your finances, you need God to step into your situation. And I can tell you, my friends, I don't know about you, but I still believe in a miracle-working God and I still believe that I see God's miracles day in and day out. Sometimes we're aware of those miracles. Sometimes it's like, oh my gosh,

did you see what God did there? Who would have believed that? And sometimes I think we completely miss them. Sometimes I think a miracle takes place and it goes right over our head. Sometimes as Christians, we're even praying, oh God, please help me, and then it happens and we're like, boy, wasn't that a coincidence. That's wild, did you see what happened there? I'm sure glad that happened. Not even giving it a thought, you just prayed for God to step in and he did. Sometimes we give him praise and sometimes they go right over our head. So she's filling these jars and she thought for sure she's gonna run out of oil, but it just keeps on flowing. And then finally she says to her son, bring me another jar, and he says, that's it. That's all we've got. And at that moment, the oil stopped flowing. Now don't miss this, guys. The miracle didn't stop because God ran out of power. The miracle stopped because the woman ran out of empty jars. Friends, God's resources never run out. His grace never runs dry. His mercy is new every morning. The limitation, listen, the limitation is never God. The limitation is our willingness to bring him an empty vessel.

So friends, that's what I'm asking you today. Are you an empty vessel? Because an empty vessel says, God, I can't do this without you. God, I need you. I'm empty. I need you. I can't make it without you. Please fill me. Many time the greatest obstacle, listen, many times the greatest obstacle to God's work is not our weakness, but it's our self-sufficiency. Proud people won't ask God for help. They think they can take care of it on their own. I don't need God. I don't need anybody's help. I can do this on my own. If you read my book, Creatures of Habit, the first in the introduction, I start the book out with a. a story, and the story is a true story about a girl in East Los Angeles, and she was coming home from work, and she fell asleep just as she's going over a bridge, and as she does and falls asleep, the car rams the side of the rail and pops up over the rail, and it's dangling over the edge, only being held by the tire, and she's only being held in the car by a seatbelt.

And so all the rescue team arrives, firemen and police and everybody, and they're trying to get this girl out, and it took about 2 1⁄2 hours, but they were able to get her out unhurt, unharmed, but later the fireman said to one of the reporters, he said the entire time, for 2 1⁄2 hours, the entire time we were trying to help this girl out, she just kept yelling at us saying, I can do this myself. I don't need your help. Leave me alone. I can do this myself, and you hear that, and they just ignored her, of course, and kept trying to get her out, and you hear that and you think, gosh, that was irrational. I mean, that was irrational to think she could get out of this situation on her own. I don't know what was wrong with her, and yet I think it's irrational to think that we can do life without God, and yet there's a lot of people that believe that. It's just irrational. We cannot do this on our own. We need God's help, and every jar, or after every jar was full, Elisha told the widow, now, I want you to go sell the oil to pay your debts,

and you and your sons can live on what's left. You see, God didn't merely provide enough to survive. He provided enough to erase her past and to sustain her for the future. You see, guys, that is exactly how God works. Any story you wanna use, but that's exactly how God works. He tells us, Paul says it in Ephesians chapter three, now to him who is able to do immeasurably more, now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we could ask or imagine according to his power that is at work within us. Guys, please don't spend your life, please don't spend your life focusing on what you don't have. Instead, place what you have into God's hands and just trust him. There's one last story that I really wanna share, another favorite story I have of Elisha. It's found in chapter six when Aram or Syria, it's the same place, they're in war with Israel. But Israel always seems to be one step ahead of the king of Syria. You see, God keeps telling Elijah what the king of Syria is planning and what he's going to do. And Elijah then goes and warns the king of Israel. Well, as you might imagine, it's so angered the king of Syria, he says, I wanna know who the mole is. Who is the one telling our strategy?

And they say, it's Elijah. He just seems to know every word you speak, even knows what you're saying in your bedroom. Well, the king is livid. And he said, I want you to go find him and I want you to bring him to me. So they go find Elijah and they literally surround the city so he can't escape. And Elijah's servant is the first to wake up in the morning and he looks out the window and what does he see? He sees horses and chariots and the armies surrounding him. Well, he's terrified. So he runs to Elijah and he says, what are we gonna do? What are we gonna do? Verse 16, it says, don't be afraid, Elijah told him, for there are more on our side than on theirs. Guys, no matter what you're going through today, and I know there are people going through stuff in this room, I want you to hear me say this. The God who is with us is greater than anything you will ever experience. The God who is with us is greater than the most difficult circumstance you find yourself in. But Satan will try to put a spirit of fear in your life. He'll try to keep you from trusting God, he'll try to keep you from moving forward, he'll whisper in your ear, it's all over, you are finished. Guys, Satan is a liar. I've said this to you many times before, but let me just say it again.

You're gonna hear three voices in your life, you're gonna hear your own consciousness, you, you're gonna hear the Holy Spirit whispering, and you're gonna hear the lies of Satan whispering in your consciousness. Now, if you're hearing any other voices, you need to get help, but you're gonna all hear those three voices, and what's important is that you recognize which voice am I listening to. So when you hear a voice telling you, you might as well quit, you might as well give up, it is all over, that's not the Holy Spirit, that is Satan lying to you. The scripture says, he who is in us is greater than he who is in the world, and then my favorite part, the reason I couldn't let this story go by is, my favorite part is verse seven. Then Elijah prayed, oh Lord, open his eyes. So Elijah reaches over, puts his hands on the guy's eyes, and he says, oh Lord, open his eyes and let him see. The Lord opened the young man's eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire. Elijah said, God, open this man's spiritual eyes so that he can see what's going on in the upper story, so that he can see what's going on in the spirit realm, so he can see what's going on in the invisible realm. Guys, God is always at work in the upper story. Listen to me, friends. I hope every time you go through a crisis or a difficult time in your life,

you will think about this story. We might not be able to see what God's doing, we may not be able to understand what God's doing in the upper story, but by faith, we know that he has our back. There are many, many, many times in my life where I've said, God, I don't understand what you're doing right now, but I'm gonna trust you. I can't see it, it feels like I'm about to fail here, God, but I trust you. You might feel like God has abandoned you, you might feel like God has forgotten you, but please, don't let your feelings deceive you because your feelings will lie to you. And that's why it has to be trust in God, faith in God, that he is working in the upper story. Oftentimes, when we have miracle prayer, and we're gonna have miracle prayer today, by the way, and I wish, I wish I could come up to every one of you, and as I'm praying for you, I wish I could put my hands on your eyes and say, God, just open their spiritual eyes so that they could see. Open the spiritual eyes so they can see what you're actually doing. Guys, there's some times I wish I could put my hands on my own eyes. Dear God, open my spiritual eyes so that I can see. So God, he opens the servant's eyes, and he sees this hillside covered with horses and chariots of fire surrounding the Syrian army.

And Elijah then asks God to strike them with blindness, and he literally leads all of them into captivity where God then opens their eyes. Oh, friends, there's just so many more stories in Elijah's life. I wish I had time to tell them all. There's so many more miracles, so many more miracles that God works through the prophet Elisha. Elisha is remembered. Think about this. Elisha is remembered as a hero of faith, not because there's just one big event that we always point to, but he's remembered as a hero of faith because he was faithful for a lifetime. That's why this should inspire you, because that's exactly what God's looking for from you and from me. He's looking for us to be faithful to him for a lifetime. He wants us to live a life of faithful obedience. Let me close with a couple of questions real quickly. Number one, what mantle has God placed on your life? What mantle, what calling has God placed on your life? Do you really wanna be in God's will? You're the only one that can answer this question. Do you really wanna be in God's will, or do you even care? Do you daily pray and ask God, God, please guide my steps?

This is the day you have made. I'm gonna rejoice and be glad in it, because I will promise you that God knows you, and he has a purpose and plan for your life. Number two, what is your jar of oil? What's your jar of oil? What is it that God has placed in your life that you've been holding onto? What is it that God's placed in your life that you're, you know, so many times when we feel like we lose everything, what we have left, we wanna, we're afraid we're gonna lose that, and so we cling to it. What is it that you're holding back from God, you're not trusting with? Maybe it's a gift, maybe it's a talent, financial resource, maybe it's your time. What area of your life is God asking you to trust him with right now? Guys, don't underestimate what God can do with what you have in your hands. Number three, do you believe that God has your back? I don't know what you're going through right now, but I'll promise you, the same God who empowered Elisha is still at work in the upper story. He's still at work in your life, whether you can see it or not. And then finally, let me just say this.

Just like that widow, just like that little lady, we're all bankrupt. Every one of us in this room are bankrupt. We can't make it without God. The Bible says that we owe a debt we can't repay. Romans says for all of sin and falls short of the glory of God. And Romans six says the wages of the penalty of that death, the penalty of that sin is death. You and I deserve to die. There's absolutely nothing we can do. But Romans five says, but God, but God, he demonstrates his love toward us that while we were yet sinners, Jesus got up from his throne in heaven. came to this earth and he lived as a man, he never sinned and then he willingly went to the cross and he died, not for his own sins, he didn't sin. He died for you and for me, to pay our price so that we could be forgiven, declared not guilty. And Corinthians says, but as many as receive him, to them he gives the right to become sons and daughters of God. So if you're here today and maybe you've never invited Christ into your life, maybe you've never surrendered your life to the Lord Jesus Christ, I just wanna give you an opportunity, I'd really like to pray for you. I don't wanna embarrass anybody, I don't wanna call you out, so I'm gonna ask everybody

to bow your heads with me for just a moment. I'm gonna turn this over to the campus pastors and they're gonna do the same there.