Surround Me Oh, Lord

Surround Me Oh, Lord

March 7, 2010

II Kings 6:11 - 14

In the bible study on Wednesday night we were talking about how the circumstances of this life have the potential to shake your faith to the point that you take your eyes off of the Lord. In trials and tribulations most people begin to focus on the circumstances that are before them for the moment. When you look at circumstances, the same thing will happen to you that happened to Elisha: “Oh my Lord, what shall we do?” Oh, my God, how am I going to get out of this mess? Fretting and worrying will consume your thoughts, eat up your spiritual energy, and redirect your thoughts from faith to doom and gloom.

Satan’s strategy at every level is the same. He wants to shatter the faith connection and move it from from faith to fear. II Timothy 1:7 clearly tells us that “God has not given us the Spirit of Fear. God responds to faith, and “without faith it is impossible to please God”. AND when you are pleasing God, He will move on your behalf.

This morning I want to spend my time on what you should do when the trials of this life surround you and try to swallow you up. Before we get started into the meat, let me tell you that your success is all about bearing fruit. SO, you have to become a serious fruit inspector – of your own fruit.

· Phillippians 3:13 – 14 “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” OK, let’s break it down:

o I do not count myself to have apprehended (attained) Paul was saying, “regardless of what I go through, I don’t allow myself to get lifted up in pride and think that I have “attained” to anything. The moment that you get lifted up in pride, you disable God’s from working in your behalf. You have to operate through the fruit of quiet confidence and humility.

o Forgetting those things which are behind: Oh, Lord, this is a biggie. Most of us are either living in the past or hoping for something in the future. But,God operates in the NOW! You have to leave the past to the past, and trust God for the future. What is happening NOW? Whatever God’s plan, it will heal the past and pave the way for a prosperous future, but you have to live it in the NOW!

o I press. When you got ready to buy your first home, you started saving money, looking at the newspaper, driving around. Then, when you found the one that seemed to be within your reach, you may have sold anything you did not need, talk to parents or grandparents to help you with the down payment, and watched everything you were doing. Your efforts produced the ability to purchase that home. The woman with the issue of blood had to press through the crowd, AND she had to deny Jewish law BY FAITH, because she was ceremonially unclean because of the blood. She pressed her faith even further and touched the Rabbi in that unclean state. The fringes at the bottom of his prayer shawl were called “wings”. She realized her healing, because she pressed. When you press in the Spirit, you seek, then, find the answer. Your next step is to remove any spiritual clutter in your life through fasting and prayer, and compliance to God’s Word. You “push” your understanding of God and your relationship to Him, to new depths, and He will respond to your press.

o Toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. What you are pressing for, makes all the difference in the world. Those who are in the world can press toward material things. We who are in Christ Jesus must press toward fulfilling the call in our life. When we press toward the right goal, He rewards us with everything else that we need.

So, when you are surrounded by the enemy like Elijah and Elisha were surrounded, work through these steps. II Kings 6:15 – 18. If you walk in faith during those times that you are surrounded, you can be assured that God has sent more to watch over, and protect you, than Satan has sent to destroy you. In those moments when your focus is not operating in faith, ask God to open your eyes, and let you see the support that He has sent.

Speak the results that you need by faith, strong, positive words that fly through the spirit world like an arrow sent straight to the throne of God, directed by the Holy Ghost. Speak those things that are not, as though they were.

· My husband or wife is saved -- not “will” be. See it in the future and pull it into the NOW. Treat them like they are a man or woman of God.a

· Even though there is a recession, God is taking care of me. You may have to follow his command to the Brook, where He will sustain you, but HE WILL sustain you.

· When everyone around me is getting laid off or down=sized, God already has a plan in place to take care of me. Regardless of what happens, I will be OK.

When the enemy comes in, keep your eye on the prize. Be diligent to take care of your responsibilities, and God will take care of the rest. When you have done all you can do to stand, keep standing, but step out of the way because, “LIKE A FLOOD the Spirit of the Lord is going to raise up a standard against the enemy!”

You are His child, and He will raise up or tear down kingdoms and rulers for you. You have to trust that what He is doing is for a good result. He will not lead you anywhere He cannot keep you. So if you are holding on to the side of the mountain, and it seems as though you are losing your grip, look around, He has prepared a place for your foot to rest. He will bring strength and the help of angels to pull you into the glory of that mountain-top experience with Him.

He will never leave you, nor forsake you, but he will go all the way with you, even to the end of the world. You are surrounded – by the presence of the Lord.

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