Hello everyone. God bless. Trevor and Helene

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3 Hello everyone Recently in our Sunday morning services we have been contemplating the Holy Spirit as our Comforter. We recognise that as we go through life He is our constant companion, One who will never leave us nor forsake and He is the one who will stand beside us in every situation in life. Our thesis for this week s devotion is simply based on the question: if the Holy Spirit is everything that we have said that He is then why is it that we play life so safe? One of the greatest principles of faith living is found in the fact that the blessing of God is found on the other side of the faith-line. We notice in Scripture that the Holy Spirit does not bring comfort to comfortable people. His comfort is reserved for those who choose to move into the land of the uncomfortable and it is there that they experience the wonder of His comforting presence. I am therefore convinced that as Christians we play it too safe. When we read some of the biographies of great Christian leaders we notice the incredible confidence that they have on the other side of the faith line knowing the fulfilment of God s purpose for their lives as they move outside of their comfort zones. It is here that the Holy Spirit is able to minister to us. I trust that as we speak about this, this week, in the context of Digging Ditches in 2 Kings 3 v 16, that God will inspire and encourage you to do what needs to be done in your own personal spiritual journey. God bless Trevor and Helene

4 M O N D A Y 2 Kings 3 In the passage that we have read today there are six things that I hope we can draw out that will be meaningful to you. The first one is: THE PROBLEM (verse 9-10) The three kings in alliance with one another in the passage were faced with a life or death problem. The problem was not found in the size of their army or the structure of the military establishment or even in the strategy that they had chosen: the problem was found in SUBSTANCE which, in the story, is water. The water here is a picture of the Holy Spirit who without Him, we can have all the best structures and strategies in the world, but we still have no life. A great lesson for us as individuals and also for us as a church is that we can spend a lot of time on training and equipping (these are all good and need to be done) but it is only God who can make it rain. We realise the enormous lesson here that there are some things only God can do. When Elijah stood on Mount Carmel he realised that only God can bring fire.at creation God created man out of the dust and the angels realised that only God can breathe life. In 1 Corinthians 3, the 1 st century church found themselves in a position, not uncommon with many churches today the two leaders of the church, Paul and Apollo each had individual followers where some were saying I am of Paul and others were saying I am of Apollo and dissension grew between these two groups. Paul boldly addressed this issue by reminding the church that although it was he that sowed the seed and it was Apollo who watered the seed, only God could give the increase. In a world that is obsessed with size, strategies and structures we need to realise that there is no substitute for God by his Holy Spirit. For many people and churches today the illustration of David with Saul s armour would be appropriate. It was inconceivable that David would face the might of Goliath without the right stuff. But David, however, was far more discerning in this and realised that Saul s armour alone would never be good enough. Forsaking the armour (which to us as churches is a picture of the emphasis on organisation, programs, training and teaching) is useless without the power of God s Holy Spirit. It is also true that, as in the story of Elisha, there needs to be a digging of ditches simply because that is our statement of faith and it is according to this statement of faith that God responds. Prayer Thought: could it be today as you consider what we have just said that the depth of your spirituality goes no deeper than the superficial level of doing church right. In your

5 own personal life the tendency towards legalism can create an unrealistic dependency upon structures and strategies. Remember that without the substance (the Holy Spirit) these things don t matter at all. T U E S D A Y 2 Kings 3 v 11 Today, we are introduced to THE PROPHET. In verse 11 of the passage we find the roleplayers ending where they should have begun. They had tried so hard to find a human solution to their problem but at the end, after all their other options had been tried, the king of Israel finallydeclared, as a last resort, is there not a prophet of God amongst us? I am glad that at this point in the story they saw the need for a prophet. They did not seek another strategy or another source of supply but eventually they turned to God. How true this is, not just of those in the story, but of people today who, when faced with a challenge, will always try every other option, possibility and strategy first and yet when those all fail, as a last resort they turn to God. I find it incredible in Scripture how this dilemma, as much as it must offend God,does not stop Him from intervening and responding to their cry. God s grace extends to the very end and His compassion knows no bounds and even when we treat Him as this last resort He still comes to the party. In Mark 5 we have the perfect story that illustrates this point.in this story there is a woman with a health issue, we are told that she tried every medical option that she could but they all failed. She spent all her money on human possibilities but they too had failed and then as her last resort she reached out, with the smallest amount of faith, and touched the hem of Jesus garment and she was healed. We notice Jesus wonderful response to this woman when He did not reprimand her for the fact that He was her last resort but He declared her to be a woman of faith and it was this faith that made her whole. The prophet in our story is the prophet Elisha. He has to be one of the most understated and yet most colourful prophets that we find in the Bible. His story is intriguing. He had asked for and received the double anointing of Elijah (2 Kings 2 v 1 18) and more miracles are attributed to this prophet in the Bible than any other. He was a man of great boldness and certainly would never fall into the category of being a people pleaser. He stood for righteousness and integrity and was totally unafraid of confrontation with the lethargy and wickedness of the world around him. In verse 14 his boldness is seen

6 intheconversation that he had with the three kings. Where he says if it weren t for Jehoshaphat I would not even look at you (the two other kings). WOW!!!! Imagine if this guy were to preach in church on Sunday! He would, I guarantee, offend you all and I m not sure if he would be asked back! I say this with a smile, but what a breath of fresh air his truth could bring to churches sitting happy with the state of mediocrity. Prayer Thought: could it be that the boldness of Elisha s words and teachings might just be what you and I need today. Think about it and talk to God about it. W E D N E S D A Y 2 Kings 3 v 15 Today we are focused on what I ve called THE PRAISE. How intriguing it is that in the midst of all the drama and turmoil going on in this pending battle scene the prophet, when requested to find out what God would have them do, stopped all the action and called for a harpist to play music. People must have been confused at this and I m sure there would have been many that would have belittled Elisha s request, that in the midst of troops dying of thirst, he calls for music. I think there is something significant for us to pick up on here and that is simply the power of the atmosphere to create a moment into which God can speak. How many of us living our lives cannot identify with the desperate situation at hand and yet we continue to blunder on, thinking that more man made energy and effort would be the answer to the situation. How wrong we are! If we could just do as Elisha did and stop everything dead in its tracks and take some time to create a moment through whatever means it may take (music being a great one) to hear the voice of God. On a practical note (excuse the pun) music has always been used by God to bring focus and direction. These moments of musical inspiration can lead us into a deeper understanding of who God is and what He would have to say to us. This concept is not just used in the context of God. We see the evidence of this in the movies or amongst sportsmen who will always, prior to the game, have their earphones on playing mood music creating the inspiration to do what they need to do. Worship music playing in your car or in your home creates a wonderful atmosphere. Satan hates it and finds it difficult to operate in an atmosphere of worship. So many times we see the children of Israel going into battle or into situations that would seem impossible with the musicians leading the way. I think of Jehoshaphat in (2

7 Chronicles 20 v 1-29) going into battle against great odds and that God s instruction was to send the worship leaders in the front to lead the army into the battle that had already been won. Prayer Thought: Why don t you try this: Find some great worship music, play it as often as you can, learn the words of the songs, sing them in the shower, sing them at work and let the words of worship fill your mind and into this worshipful mind God will find it much easier to speak to you. T H U R S D A Y 2 Kings 3 v The fourth aspect of the story that I would like for you to see is found in THE PLAN. The key aspect to the plan is thatit is God s plan. Twice the passage says: Thus sayeth the Lord. He does not say Thus says common sense or Thus says prevailing wisdom or Thus says the strategist but it says THUS SAYETH THE LORD. God s plan is always the best plan. The interesting thing, however, about God splans is that they don t always make sense. That is because there is always a faith element to the plan. It is this faith element that requires of us a faith step of obedience to be undertaken before God does what only God can do. Verse 18 says this is an easy thing (for God), this gives us a great assurance that our simple act of obedience moves the hand of God into action. There are so many examples in Scripture of this principle. I think of Moses standing on the edge of the Red Sea and with the simple act of faith by lifting his stick God moved into supernatural mode (Exodus 14). A few chapters later we find that through the simple act of throwing a stick into bitter water God turned the bitter water sweet (Exodus 15). In the story we ve been focusing on, the act of obedience and the step of faith that didn t make sense was found in the instruction to fill the valley full of ditches. Notice that God did not say dig a ditch, He said fill the valley full of ditches. This means that it s ok to ask big of God because as He says, is there anything too difficult for Him [God]? I love the statement that someone once made, that says, If your vision for God isn t intimidating to you, it s possibly irritating and even insulting to God. I look back on the past few years of our church and believe that we have dug some ditches and we can celebrate together the truth of this story that God has been faithful to, supernaturally, fill the ditches we have dug as our acts of obedience. We will continue as a church to dig ditches (we have a big one in the form of our new sanctuary) and I know

8 that we can have great confidence that as we make the valley full of ditches and ask big of God that we will find the fulfilment of our vision for God to be for Him, an easy thing. Prayer Thought: Won t you read a great story of faith that illustrates all these points in (2 Kings 13 v 14-19) where Elisha on his death bed gives a faith lesson to Jehoash. Just read this story and allow it to speak faith to your soul. F R I D A Y 2 Kings 3 v The fifth aspect worth noting in our story is simply found in the statement: AND THERE IT WAS. This statement was not a statement of surprise, as if a magician had pulled a rabbit out of a hat, it was not even a statement of exclamation, but it was a statement of satisfaction and a statement of fact. Indeed it was an easy thing for God to do and Elisha knew this to be true. Many times we see great men of faith experiencing similar things as Moses when he lifted his stick and suddenly there it was: a highway through the Red Sea (Exodus 14). As Jesus who when wanting to feed the five thousand people took a few loaves and a few fish and there it was - enough food for the multitude (John 6 v 1 15).As Peter who threw a line into the sea and caught a fish and when he opened the mouth of the fish found the money to pay their taxes, he too would have said there it was (Matthew 17 v 24 27). These illustrations of the faithfulness of God to fulfil what He said He would do illustrate to us the wonder of the Power of God. But here s the point I would like to make, before the power of God can be seen someone has to dig some ditches. Before the Red Sea could be opened Moses did some digging. Before Jesus could feed the five thousand a little boy did some digging. Before Peter could pay their tax he too had to dig some trenches. If this is true of these great men, it would surely be true of us as well. We all pray to see the power of God but there are not many who are willing to pay the price and dig the ditch. Many have prayed and been disappointed when God has not responded and evidenced His power but the reason for their disappointment is not because there is a power failure with God but because there is an obedience failure with them. If you forget everything else from this story remember this: without the digging of ditches there can be no rain. Prayer Thought: could it be today that you have become so comfortable in your life? Remember that comfort is always the enemy and that God is not at all concerned with your

9 comfort but He is incredibly concerned with your character. We all know that character is not formed in comfortable times but is formed as we move into the land of the uncomfortable and experience God at His comforting best. S A T U R D A Y 2 Kings 3 v 24 Today we focus on one of the most glorious aspects of the nature of God: THE PURSUIT. There is one aspect of who God is that never ceases to intrigue me and that is the extravagant nature of God s goodness. We all know that God does not do things in halfmeasures but this principle teaches us that even full measure is not good enough for God, He does things in abundant measure. David spoke of this measure inpsalm 23 where he says, my cup overflows God does not just fill the cup but our cup is overflowing. We see this in the story where God did not just give to the kings water or a great victory but we read that those three kings chased and destroyed the enemy far and wide. It s almost like when God sees the obedience of men and women in taking their steps of faith and digging ditches that He gets excited. And as He looks upon us His excitement leads to an abundance of victory. Romans 8 v 37 says that we are more than conquerors I don t know about you but I d be happy to just be a conqueror. But God in His willingness to give over and abundantly makes us more than conquerors. In Ephesians 3 v Paul picks up on this theme when he says to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine. Isn t it incredible that God does not just give us pardon but He gives us pleasure as well. He does not just give us salvation but He gives us sanctification too. He does not just give us forgiveness but He gives us Heaven as well. Our God is a God of abundance and of excess. I am always intrigued when I hear personal testimonies from people who have lived lives of digging ditches and to hear the stories of God s exceeding abundance, it tells us something about God. It tells us that God responds with great passion to our digging and to our obedience. It tells us that God s ear is always open to hear our cry for His presence in the land of the uncomfortable. It tells us of God s amazing abundant and all-consuming grace that knows no measure and no bounds.

10 Prayer Thought: as you focus on this glorious thought today, I pray for you that it will extend your faith; grow your vision; and encourage you to make the valley full of ditches, because for God, no matter how many ditches you dig, for Him this is an easy thing. S U N D A Y John 3 v 1-17 Today, I would like to close this week of devotions by focusing on the greatest ditch digger of all time: JESUS. In our situation of hopelessness and the condition that sin has created for mankind and amidst all the degradation of a fallen people, Jesus dug ditches and God filled them with His love. Digging ditches is a dirty job and is reserved for those of robust nature. Not many people are wanting to get their hands dirty nowadays. The most extreme example of somebody willing to become immersed in the worst kind of dirt was when Jesus came to earth.i cannot overstate the greatness of His action on our behalf, that God is able and willing to meet us through Jesus in the most degrading of situations. As the song says, How marvellous, how wonderful is my Saviour s love for me. Not only did Jesus dig ditches on our behalf but He leaves for us the example to do the same. Jesus came to a world that was dreadfully uncomfortable to demonstrate His love for us. Could it be that we would need to do the same? And when we, like Him, move out of our comfortable lives into areas that would require us to dig ditches, we know that not only are we fulfilling the same mandate as Jesus by modelling ourselves on His life but we too, like Him, will experience the sustaining power of the Comforter. The Holy Spirit is the theme of our recent sermons and in order to be filled with the Holy Spirit it requires from us a step of faith and an act of obedience to experience the reality of His presence. Please note that the Holy Spirit is not given to make us feel good and get goose-bumps but is given to us to fulfil the mandate of Christ to extend His kingdom. I know that as you move into the land of the uncomfortable that you will move into a more dynamic relationship with God, the Holy spirit as you experience Him to be all that we have said this last week. NOW ALL THAT REMAINS TO BE SAID AND DONE IS: LET S DIG SOME DITCHES!! SEE YOU IN CHURCH!