Courage – 4

Courage – 4

Subject – Lion Chasers Trust the Infinite God

By Rick Welborne

2 Samuel 23:20-23 (NLT2)
²⁰  There was also Benaiah son of Jehoiada, a valiant warrior from Kabzeel. He did many heroic deeds, which included killing two champions of Moab. Another time, on a snowy day, he chased a lion down into a pit and killed it.
²¹  Once, armed only with a club, he killed a great Egyptian warrior who was armed with a spear. Benaiah wrenched the spear from the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with it.
²²  Deeds like these made Benaiah as famous as the Three mightiest warriors.
²³  He was more honored than the other members of the Thirty, though he was not one of the Three. And David made him captain of his bodyguard.

1. A Ridiculous Prayer

--As we read through Scriptures we see an infinite God Who can do anything but who is also concerned about everything in our lives.

--I have heard people say ridiculous things about situations in their lives. “Well, this problem I am having is too insignificant to bother God with it.” He loves you…bother Him! In 2 Kings 6 a ridiculous prayer.

2 Kings 6:1-7 (NKJV)
¹  And the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, "See now, the place where we dwell with you is too small for us.
²  Please, let us go to the Jordan, and let every man take a beam from there, and let us make there a place where we may dwell." So he answered, "Go."
³  Then one said, "Please consent to go with your servants." And he answered, "I will go."
⁴  So he went with them. And when they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees.
⁵  But as one was cutting down a tree, the iron ax head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, "Alas, master! For it was borrowed."
⁶  So the man of God said, "Where did it fall?" And he showed him the place. So he cut off a stick, and threw it in there; and he made the iron float.
⁷  Therefore he said, "Pick it up for yourself." So he reached out his hand and took it. 

--The verb tense the apprentice uses tells you that as far as he was concerned the ax head was gone. He figured it was gone and he had no expectation that it would ever be retrieved. 

--Sometimes we want a little sympathy or mercy about a situation but we don’t expect a miracle. We all know with the density of iron that ax heads don’t float or do they? Maybe pray a ridiculous prayer.

--If I am Elisha, I feel bad for the guy who lost the borrowed ax head. Maybe let him borrow mine or run down to Ace and buy another one. We would never think to pray that the ax head would float.

--Remember this series is about courage…courage to face a lion in a snowy pit and maybe even the courage to pray a prayer that seems to be absolutely ridiculous.

--I am sure Elisha’s wheels are turning in his mind so he says to the apprentice, “Where did ax head fall?” What difference does it make? It’s gone but it fell at this spot.

--Though it is not recorded I am sure Elisha prayed a crazy prayer, received wisdom from God, cut a stick, and then throws it in the water. Something happens…iron floats. A miracle.

--When I was youth pastor here I must have lost my mind and decided to have a couple’s outing (adults) and take them down the Ichnetuckne river. We caravanned in several vehicles. A disaster.

--Everything that could go wrong went wrong. About half the cars went the wrong direction on the way to the river. It seemed like everyone forgot something. Couples were arguing. Why did I do this?

--Lennie Moser gets sick and throws up, two couples locked their keys in their cars, and when I thought it couldn’t get any worse…Pastor, my keys fell out of my pocket coming down the river. What?

--I am not sure how far our tubing trip was (about 5 miles I think) but the river was pretty deep and the chances of finding the keys…nope. We prayed a ridiculous prayer. Help someone find the keys!

--A few minutes after we had prayed the prayer a man walks up to us who just got out of the river and asked, “Did anyone in your group lose their keys? I have them!” Yes, yes, yes!

--I couldn’t wait for this wonderful outing to be over but we did learn something about God. Even though this situation and the ax head were not life or death, God is concerned about everything.

--God wants us to have the courage to pray a ridiculous prayer even if the lion is a kitten. So what does these two stories reveal to us about God?

Batterson – God is great not just because nothing is too big for Him. God is great because nothing is too small for Him either.

2. We Tend to Rank Prayers and Miracles

--Similar to the way a judge at a gymnastic competition ranks a routine based on the degree of difficulty, we rank our prayer requests the same way. 

--We have big requests and little requests. We have easy requests and difficult requests. But our thinking is all messed up. Why? To the infinite God all finites are equal.

--With God there is no big or small, easy or difficult, possible or impossible. When it comes to God, there are no degrees of difficulty. There are no odds with God. All bets are off. 

--What were the odds of Jesus feeding 5000 people with five loaves and two fish. Even if each piece of bread and each fish equaled a meal, the odds would be 5000 to 7. Insurmountable to the disciples.

John 6:7 (NIV) ⁷  Philip answered him, "Eight months' wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!" 

--The disciples are trying to crunch the numbers and they still come up short by about 4,993 meals. Not possible as far as they are concerned. This is too difficult.

John 6:11-13 (NIV)
¹¹  Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.
¹²  When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, "Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted."
¹³  So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten. 

In God’s economy. 5 + 2 = 5000 with a remainder of 12.

--They actually end up with more than they started with after feeding 5000 people. God is glorified because He defied impossible odds and because there is no degree of difficulty for Him.

--It really does not matter like with Benaiah how many Moabites you are facing, how tall your Egyptian giant is, and the size of your lion is not your issue. The issue is this: How big is your God.

3. God, our Father.

--You may be thinking, even if God is great enough to do absolutely anything, why would He answer my prayer? Why would He do a miraculous thing through me?

--Well, when you come right down to it God is more than just a powerful miracle worker, more than the absolute infinite God, He is our Father. Pastor Mark…our good good Father!

--When my kids were younger I loved watching them when they didn’t know I was. I loved watching them play, I loved watching them playing sports. I loved watching them as they slept.

--I would watch them because I was concerned about them, I watched them to make sure they were doing what I told them to do, sometimes I watched them because I was just so proud of them.

--Like a loving parent, our Heavenly Father loves watching over His children. He’s even scrapbooking.

 Malachi 3:16-18 (NIV)
¹⁶  Then those who feared the LORD talked with each other, and the LORD listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the LORD and honored his name.
¹⁷  "They will be mine," says the LORD Almighty, "in the day when I make up my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him.
¹⁸  And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not. 

--Please do not dismiss this simple truth…God is a proud parent and you are the “Apple of His eye!” I believe He celebrates our accomplishments.

--I really believe our Heavenly Father celebrates when we are willing to allow Him to defy the odds in our lives. No matter the giant or giants, the lions, or what enemy attacks us. 

--He celebrates when we trust Him and when we believe He is the infinite God who can do anything in our lives that needs to be done. 

Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV)
¹⁷  The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." 

--Please trust me on this, God was a lot more excited about Benaiah chasing and killing the lion than Benaiah was.

--Can’t you just see God up in heaven elbowing one of His angels and saying, “Did you see what my boy Benaiah just did?

--Lion chasers defy the odds and make their Father proud.

Matthew 6:9-10 (NKJV)
⁹  In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
¹⁰  Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.