Speaker: Pastor James Melton

2 Kings 13: 14-19 Now when Elisha had fallen sick with the illness of which he was to die, 

Joash king of Israel went down to him and wept before him, crying, “My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” 

2 Kings 13: 15-16 And Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and arrows.” So he took a bow and arrows. 16 Then he said to the king of Israel, “Draw the bow,” and he drew it. And Elisha laid his hands on the king's hands. 

2 Kings 13: 17 And he said, “Open the window eastward,” and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot,” and he shot. And he said, “The Lord's arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Syria! For you shall fight the Syrians in Aphek until you have made an end of them.” 

2 Kings 13: 18 And he said, “Take the arrows,” and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground with them.” And he struck three times and stopped. 

2 Kings 13: 19 Then the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck down Syria until you had made an end of it, but now you will strike down Syria only three times.”

Back to verse 17

Joash would get as much victory as he wanted to spend in arrows.

Would you go into a fight holding something back? Or would you give everything you had in order to win?

What are you holding onto in life that reveals you have limited expectations of God? 

Do your motivations for your behavior reveal a belief in yourself or a belief in God? 

Luke 14:12-14

The Parable of the Great Banquet:

12 He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. 13 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”

Christ’s Story:

1 John 3:16-19 (NLT)

16 We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? 18 Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. 19 Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God.

Indeed, God gave you and I the resurrection of Jesus to prove that this promise is true. King Joash experienced exactly what he was willing to expect, but not what God was willing to give.

You have a full quiver - how many arrows will you fire? How badly do you want victory?