The Big Challenge

January 10, 2016         NOTES NOT EDITED

Series: The Big Idea

The Big Challenge

1Samuel 17, esp. v. 40

SIS—God has a solution to every problem and an answer to every question.

There will always be challenges to face and problems to solve, even more so as we get older.  I remember reading the story about an elderly woman, 84 years young.  She started to feel she was getting out of shape (whatever that means for an 84 year old woman), and needed to get some exercise.  So, she joined an aerobics class for seniors at the local YMCA.  She said this, “On the first day I bent, twisted, gyrated back and forth, jumped up and down, and perspired for over an hour.  Sadly, by the time I got my leotards on, the class was over!”

Such is life—one challenge after another.

As we continue this series on “The Big Idea,” we can mark this truth down as a certainty:  “The bigger our ideas are for serving God, the more we can expect challenges.”  There are too many challenges to address all of them this morning.  Whatever “Big Challenge” you are facing today, someone else is facing a different, but just as big challenge somewhere else.  And, when you get done with the present Big Challenge you are facing, another one is waiting around the corner.

Max Lucado in his book, “Facing Your Giants,” points out that “the giants we face today may be unemployment, abandonment, sexual abuse, depression, bills, grades, whiskey, pornography, a career, a mistake or a future.”  You can add to these, “rejection, anger, resentment, stress, self-esteem issues, frustration, apathy, poor values, isolation, discouragement, and loneliness,” and you are just scratching the surface of the challenges we face in life.  When you consider the “spiritual giants” we will face when we get a “Big Idea” for God, the list gets even larger. 

The greatest giant killing story in all history is the Biblical story of David and Goliath.  Here’s how one well-respected source describes this story:  “Easily the most beloved story in 1, 2 Samuel—indeed, in all the Former Prophets—is the account of David killing Goliath. So compelling and well-known is the drama that it has become the primary historical metaphor in Western culture for describing any individual or group who overcomes seemingly insurmountable odds to defeat an oppressor” (NAC).

However, this story is much more than just a “motivational speech” about overcoming tough situations.  It is more than a story of “heroic courage.”  It is that, but much more.  Once again, a well-respected scholar points out, “the biblical narrative is not primarily a story about human courage and effort; instead, it is about the awesome power of a life built around bold faith in the Lord” (NAC).   The hero in the story is not David; it is God.  The weapon of victory is not a stone hurled from a skilled shepherd’s sling; the weapon of victory is faith.

You will recall the background of the story.  The arch enemy of Israel, the Philistines, (some believe the modern day Palestinians), had camped on one side of a wide valley and Israel had camped directly opposite the Philistines on the other side of the Valley of Elah.  A wadi, or a usually dry river bed, separated them.  Even worse for the Israelites is that that they were separated psychologically from the Philistines by “a deep chasm of fear” (NAC).  The Philistines sent their battle representative, a massive spectacle of humanity by the name of Goliath, to challenge the Israelites. Goliath is a soldier describe by the term, “champion.”  Literally, this word translates the phrase, “the man of the space between the two.”  This represents a practice common among pagan groups like the Philistines, but probably not practiced by semitic people like the Jews.  In pagan societies of the Middle East, one-on-one combat would often substitute for combat between two entire armies.  It was a fight to the death with the army of the losing combatant surrendering to the army of the winner.

The most remarkable feature of Goliath is his height—“six cubits and a span”—or. nine feet, nine inches.  He was not only tall, but stout, being able to carry a spear the size of a weaver’s beam and an iron tip weighing sixteen pounds and wearing armor weight over 200 pounds.  There have been “giants” recorded throughout history so, though his size is massive, it is not mythical.  David in comparison was at least three feet shorter and even the armor of a normal sized man like Saul was loose fitting. David was not even old enough for military service (20 years old), and was simply on an errand bringing food to his brothers.  He eventually made his way to King Saul and requested to be Israel’s representative in battle. The King, like David’s brothers moments before, thought the idea was absurd.  The King finally granted David’s request.  We’ll pick up reading the story as David stumbles out to meet Goliath in King Saul’s armor. 1Sam. 17:37-54.

As I said a moment ago, the challenges—will call them, “giants—we must face in life are myriad:  unemployment, abandonment, sexual abuse, depression, bills, grades, whiskey, pornography, a career, a mistake or a failure, rejection, anger, resentment, stress, self-esteem issues, frustration, apathy, poor values, isolation, discouragement, and loneliness.”  Each giant must be dealt with in somewhat unique ways, but there are three aspects of “giant-killing” that apply to every challenge we might face.

1.  The Odds Will Be Against Us (v33)

³³ But Saul replied, “You can’t go fight this Philistine. You’re just a youth, and he’s been a warrior since he was young.”

We’ve already examined the difference in size between David and Goliath.  We don’t know Goliath’s exact weight, but only that he wore over 200 pounds of armor.  However, through the miracle of mathematics I can make an educated guess.  I’ll get to that in a minute.

Many people in their 50’s or older grew up during the heyday of Professional Wrestling.  Folks our age can remember legendary names like: Bruno Samartino, Dominic Denucci, Johnny Valiant, Killer Kawaski, Haystack Calhoun, and a host of other “larger-than-life kings of the square circle.  A somewhat younger crowd might remember the likes of Hulk Hogan and Jesse The Body Ventura. 

The largest of these “larger-than-life theatrical wrestlers”—literally the largest—was a man called, “Andre the Giant.”  [PIC].  Andre The Giant stood seven feet, four inches and weighed over 520 pounds.  His hands were so big he could put a golf ball through his ring, and completely cover a coke can (usually it was beer, though) [PIC].  So, doing the math comparing this modern day giant who was 7 foot, 4 inches tall weighing 520 pounds, to Goliath who was 9 feet, 9 inches tall, Goliath probably weighed nearly 700 pounds!  David was probably six feet tall or less weighing maybe 150 to 170 pounds.  David was like an insect to Goliath whom Goliath planned to squash easily.

If we paraphrase Saul’s assessment of David’s chances we might say, “David, the odds are so incredibly against you that you don’t even have a remote chance of defeating Goliath.”  That’s how Saul might say it today, and do you know what—by all human standards and calculations, Saul would be right.  I may not need a lot of help getting out of bed in the morning, and thanks to McDonald’s, I don’t need a lot of help getting my breakfast.  But . . . when God calls upon me to represent Him in a wrestling match with a man who ways four times what I way and is 4 feet taller than I am, then I have to admit I’m overmatched.  The odds are definitely against me!

In all the challenges we face in life that actually matter, it will always be the case that the “odds will be against us,”  This is especially true when we get a “Big Idea” for a grand plan to serve God with enthusiastic abandon.  If we are facing an issue where the odds are NOT against us, then we are probably thinking “little thoughts” and you won’t need this message.  This message is for those with “Big Ideas” looking to take on really “Big Challenges” for the Lord.

Saul knew the odds were against David.  Every man in Saul’s army knew that the odds were against anyone that dared challenge Goliath.  Verse 24 makes this painfully clear:

When all the Israelite men saw Goliath,
they retreated from him terrified.

Really, who could blame these men?  Fighting Goliath was a bad bet with horrible odds for winning—actually, it was a sure bet to lose!  That’s how the game of “Big Ideas” works.  “Big Ideas” lead to “Big Challenges” where the odds are always against you.  All great accomplishments in the history of mankind have been by men and women who defied the odds. 

Have you ever noticed those rubber hoses that are sometimes stretched across a road.  The hoses are attached to boxes sitting on the sidewalk or somewhere near the edge of the road.  These are traffic counters.  Each time someone runs over the hose it generates a signal.  Well, a young man and his partner came up with an ingenious system to collect all that data and generate different types of reports for traffic engineers.  The invention was called, “Traf-O-Data.”  It wasn’t a huge success.  In fact, it was a failure.  The two men had set out in business and there first product failed miserably.  Most people do not know the name of the “junior partner” in this fledgling business, but Mr. Allen said this as the odds for success stacked up against them:  "Even though Traf-O-Data wasn’t a roaring success, it was seminal in preparing us to make Microsoft’s first product a couple of years later."  Paul Allen, against the odds, persevered with his partner and their eventual business became a smashing success, though a few years later.  Paul Allen’s partner’s name was Bill Gates, and their business eventually became Microsoft.  Against all odds Bill Gates became one of the richest men in the world, perhaps the richest.

That’s just one example of people who overcame great challenges against all odds.  Helen Keller was struck deaf and blind at age two and did not speak for many years until meeting Ann Sullivan.  She went on to graduate from a university and become a world-renown writer and advocate for person’s with disabilities.  Leonardo Davinci excelled in many disciplines from art to physics, but he had a severe learning disability.  Albert Einstein did not speak until he was three years old and was considered “retarded.”  The list of persons who have overcome great challenges to make great contributions to humanity, against all odds, would fill a bookshelf of books.

If you are going to overcome “Big Challenges” to see the fruit of your “Big Ideas,” then you need to know, the odds will be against you!

2.  However, God is For You (34-37)

³⁴ David answered Saul: “Your servant has been tending his father’s sheep. Whenever a lion or a bear came and carried off a lamb from the flock, ³⁵ I went after it, struck it down, and rescued the lamb from its mouth.  If it reared up against me, I would grab it by its fur,  strike it down, and kill it. ³⁶ Your servant has killed lions and bears; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.” ³⁷ Then David said, “The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”  Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you.”

Overcoming “Big Challenges” requires a proper perspective on the size of that challenge.  Here’s where many people get in trouble.  People measure their challenges in one of two ways:  1)  they measure the challenge according to the size of the problem.  This almost always leads to an exaggerated size of the problem and inevitably it leads to “fear and retreat” just like we read earlier of the Israeli soldiers in verse 24.  Or, 2) one can measure the size of one’s challenge by the size of one’s God.  This always leads to an unshakable resolve and remarkable courage.  So, how will we measure our “Big Challenge?”  Shall we measure it by the size of the problem, or by the size of our God. 

The size of giants is relative.  When I stack my problem and challenges up beside my own human ingenuity or intelligence, I look small.  When I stack up those same problems and challenges beside the God I read about in the Bible and have a personal relationship with through Jesus Christ, those challenges look small.

Everybody, including the King was sizing up Goliath, and their hearts melted with fear.  What they should have been sizing up was Yahweh.  David had a personal relationship with Yahweh.  David had experienced Yahweh giving him strength, courage and victory in challenges against bears and lions.  David did not fear Goliath’s massive size, formidable weapons, and training as a soldier because David didn’t expect to overcome Goliath in his own strength.  David declared with bold, unshakable, tested-and-proved-worthy trust that “The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine” (v.37).

Yes, as we get a “Big Idea” for God a move forward in faith we will have to face “Big Challenges” and the odds WILL be against us, but we don’t have to face those “Big Challenges” alone.  One of my favorite verses in the Bible is in Exodus 14:13-14: 

¹³ Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. ¹⁴ The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

As David stands before Goliath he declares:  ⁴⁶ This day the Lord will hand you over to me, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. ⁴⁷ All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”

I love Southern Gospel music.  One song encourages to properly measure the size of our challenges:

I may not know what you’re going through

And I don’t know your pain.

I don’t know the valley you walking

Or the mountain you’re facing again.

I’m not sure what you’re feeling

Or how rough this road is that you trod

And I don’t know your situation

But friend I know the size of your God! (Matt Rankin)

The Bible never minimizes the challenges God’s people face as we try to “go big for God”—that is get a “Big Idea” and set about putting it into action.  God knows we will face troubles and challenges.  He never minimizes our anxiety and cares, but God calls upon us to “through our cares upon Him because He cares for us” (1Pet. 5:7).

God never trivializes the burdens that weigh us down in this life, but says, “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Mat. 11:28).

I promise you based upon the Word of God that if you get a “Big Idea” for God and begin to “love Him with ALL            your heart, and ALL your mind, and ALL your soul” (Mt. 22:37), you are going to face Goliath-sized challenges when the odds will be against you.  Here’s some good advice from a wise Christian writer,  “Focus on giants – you stumble. Focus on God – your giants tumble” (Lucado). 

This truth is portrayed in graphic fashion in verses 49-51:  ⁴⁹ David put his hand in the bag, took out a stone, slung it, and hit the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground. ⁵⁰ David defeated the Philistine with a sling and a stone. Even though David had no sword, he struck down the Philistine and killed him. ⁵¹ David ran and stood over him. He grabbed the Philistine’s sword, pulled it from its sheath, and used it to kill him. Then he cut off his head.

The odds WILL be against you—but, God WILL be for you!

3.  You Must PREPARE  (40)

⁴⁰ Instead, he took his staff in his hand  and chose five smooth stones from the wadi and put them in the pouch, in his shepherd’s bag. Then, with his sling in his hand, he approached the Philistine.

What stones are you putting into your bag today to use in your battles tomorrow?  There’s an adage that says, “It’s a little late to shut the barn door after the horses have bolted.”  The time to prepare for the “Big Challenge” is now—not when Goliath is knocing at your door.

A common question asked about these stones is:  “why did David choose five stones when there was only one giant?”  I can think of a couple possible answers:  1)  David lacked enough faith to believe God could hit His target with one stone.  This doesn’t fit David’s clear declaration of complete trust in God, nor does it explain why David had faith in five shots but not in one shot.  2)  David trusted God’s abilities, but doubted his “sling skills.”  Again, David already declared that the “battle was not his” and the outcome did not depend on his skills anyway.  3)  According to some Bible scholars, five is the number of representing a part of a whole (ten representing a whole).  As a practical matter, David couldn’t take all the stones so he just grabbed five fingers worth—or a handful.  He could get more later.  This is doubtful because when he used up the five, Goliath was not likely to give him a “time out” to refill his bag.”  4)  One very common explanation with some scriptural support is that David expected to take out four brothers of Goliath.  These other giants are mentioned in 2Samuel 21 by name.  There is no hint of a connection between fighting Goliath and fighting four relatives.  That is mere speculation. 

Two things come to mind in regard to the five stones as I examined the possibility four were reserved for Goliath’s brothers.  First, five stones would never have been sufficient to kill all the giants left among the tribe of Raphaim (the Hebrew term for these giants).  Our challenges in life never end.  We constantly need to keep stones in our bag.  Second, as I contemplated the number of “five” God spoke this to my heart:  “you will never face more giants than I have stones.” We never exhaust God’s grace and mercy.  His grace is an eternal fountain that does not diminish regardless of how much it refreshes.”

But, here’s the scoop on the stones.  The issue is not so much how many stones he picked up, but how “carefully” he selected them.  The word translated “chose” always refers to careful, purposeful action.  David’s preparation was “careful, diligent, and purposeful.”  David did not go out to meet Goliath “half-cocked” to borrow a metaphor from the Wild West.  David spent some time and deep reflection on preparing to meet “The Big Challenge.”  Preparation is essential to overcoming “The Big Challenge.”

I was reading a book the other day and came upon this story.  Two were hired to clear a field of trees.  The contract specified they would each be paid per tree.  Bill wanted the day to be profitable so he started out with a fury, grunting, sweating, and swinging the ax non-stop.  Ed seemed to be working at about half the rate of Bill.  At regular intervals, Ed would sit off to the side and take a break for a few minutes, and then get right back to work.  Bill chopped steadily until every muscle in his body screamed for rest.  At the end of the day, Bill and Ed went to collect their due.  Bill was cranky and soar, but Ed was smiling and joking.  Here’s the surprising part:  Ed cut down more trees than Bill with seeming half the effort.  Bill, a slight bit disgusted asked, “How did you outwork me?  I saw you taking several breaks while I worked without taking any breaks.  We both quit at the same time.  How’d you outwork me?”  Ed, not wanting to gloat or be prideful answered, “Did you notice that when I was sitting,  taking a break, that I was sharpening my ax?”

The Bible says David carefully, diligently, and purposefully choose five specific stones.  He took time to prepare for “The Big Challenge.”  In fact, his whole life was a preparation.  While he was protecting sheep from bears and lions, God was preparing him for “The Big Challenge.”

What are you doing to prepare for your “Big Challenge?”  Are you reading your Bible every day?  Do you spend a significant time each day in prayer?  Do you fellowship regularly with other believers?  Are you engaged every day in with non-believers ready and prepared to share the gospel?  Do you gather regularly and consistently with the Church to worship God in spirit and in truth?

You need to “choose” your activities carefully in order to fill your bag with stones of devotion you can use in your sling of faith.

There is so much more I’d could say about overcoming “The Big Challenge,” but understanding these three aspects will provide a good foundation for dealing with “The Big Challenge.”  You need to know that the odds are against you.  You need to know that God is for your.  And, you need to prepare every day, especially in regard to spiritual matters.

As we learned from the Senior Citizen as we started this message, life is full of challenges and these challenge increase the older we get.  One day it will even be a challenge to put on our leotards! 

 

The Big Idea

January 3, 2016

The Big Idea                            NOTES NOT EDITED

2Kings 6:1-7

SIS—Ordinary people can change eternity with “The Big Idea.”

We seldom think about how the big ideas of others have impacted our lives. I don’t know where to start in searching for the “biggest idea” or discovery in history. I think of fire for example. Of course nobody invented it, but somebody discovered how to manipulate it in such a way to offer meat selections other than “rare.” The discovery of fire led to subsequent discoveries of manipulating energy for human benefit. The big idea of “fire” is the great grandparent of atomic energy.

The invention of the “wheel” has to rank high on the list of “big ideas.” Wheels (and the working counterpart of a gear) “make the world go ‘round” so to speak. The world has been on a “roll” of innovation (pardon the pun) since Fred Flintstone first added logs to his prehistoric wagon.

History is filled with men who have had great ideas—Newton, Henry Ford, Edison, Einstein, Steve Jobs, and Mark Zuckenberg have all impacted our lives in immeasurable ways with their big ideas. And, this list is only the tip of the iceberg in regard to “big idea people.” Henry Ford, especially, contributed perhaps more than any other to the “consumer revolution” of the modern era. His “big idea” of the “moving assembly line” made it possible to offer the “horseless carriage” to the masses. His “big idea” allowed Ford Motor Company to reduce the time it took to build a Model T from 12 hours to just under two hours. The automotive age—the consumer revolution was born. In many ways, Henry Ford is the great grandfather of our “technology age.”  One hundred years ago, who could have dreamed even people in Third World countries would have “smart phones?”

“Big Ideas” impact our lives in ways we cannot imagine. Without “big ideas” we’d still be travelling by horseback and reading by candlelight. We would never have stepped on the moon, transplanted a human heart, or brought wholesale health to the masses through better sanitation and innovations in medicine. Sure, not all “big ideas” have been a boon or blessing. I think of Einstein’s theory of relativity that transformed the way scientists looked at the world. The same “big idea” that gave us atomic energy and nuclear medicine also gave us the atom bomb. “Big Ideas” always impact our lives in significant ways—but not always for the best.

Not all “big ideas” deal with technology and industry to provide for our creaturely comforts and physical needs. There have been great strides made by “big ideas” in psychology that help us to better deal with people who have mental health issues. We still need some “big ideas” in this area but we have come a long way since the barbaric practices of lobotomies and electro-shock therapy. More progress is needed in the area of mental health but we have moved beyond the days of Frankenstein to the era or Einstein in treating emotional and mental issues.

Yet, if I had to pick just one idea as the “Biggest Idea of All,” it would not be in the field of technology, philosophy, or psychology. The “Biggest Idea of All” would be God’s idea of or “redemption.” That truly is an “eternity-sized” idea. The idea that God would come to earth to be born in a manger, die on a cross, rise from the grave, ascend into heaven and will one day come back to collect those whom He has redeemed (paid the penalty of sin for) is truly the “Biggest Idea of All.” That one idea changes all eternity for those who put their trust in the “Idea.”

As we break open a new bottle of days for 2016, I want us to think of the impact of having a “Big Idea” for our individual lives, for our families, and most of all for our churches. Big Ideas have “big impact.” Big “Spiritual” Ideas have eternal impact. Big Ideas lead to “big miracles.” It is a simple matter of cause and effect: the bigger the cause, or idea, the bigger the effect, or resulting miracle.

Great things happen with common folk have “Big Ideas.” Let’s read about a small group with a “Big Idea.”  2Kings 6:1-7.

There are three matters I’d like for us to consider as we crack open a New Year with a “Big Idea.”

1.  The Matter of “More.” (v. 1)

The sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “Please notice that the place where we live under your supervision is too small for us.

The preaching of Elisha, protégé of the great prophet Elijah, was so effective that the number of disciples wanting to learn from him had expanded greatly.  So much so that the place they held classes had become cramped.  This restricted their learning and hindered their mission as “sons of the prophets.”  Notice that these disciples, students, prophets-in-training did not want to stop reaching people but wanted to make more room for more disciples.

Oh, how I wish more Christian churches had such a dissatisfaction with their number. We have somewhat of a different problem in most churches today:  we have too few disciples and more than enough room instead of too many disciples and not enough room!

Spiritual satisfaction will always lead to spiritual stagnation.  Did you get that?  You might want to write it down to reflect more deeply upon it.  Why is there not “more” happening in our personal lives in regard to spiritual matters?  Why have over 8 out of 10 churches in America reached a state of spiritual stagnation and declining growth?  The answer is simple:  satisfaction.  We are satisfied with where we are and we lack any motivation to do “more.”

The Hebrew word “small” is one of many synonyms describing the size of something. This particular word can also mean, “cramped, or restrictive.”  They were motivated to do “more” because they were “cramped” and their lifestyle was restrictive.  They had become “uncomfortable” physicaly, and perhaps by inference, uncomfortable spiritually.  They were dissatisfied with the present arrangement and wanted “more.”

This matter of “more” can be seen in various ways throughout the holy story, beginning with the first humans (Gen. 1:28):

God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth.

Fruitfulness and fullness are knit into the fabric of humanity.  Along with that is the innate drive for innovation that constantly drives us to find better, or more fruitful, ways to do things.  God created man with an insatiable appetite for adventure and innovation. More is good, if what we seek more of is good.  The idea of “more” however, can get us into trouble when we allow greed to creep into our lives.

Right before this story that recounts Elisha performing the miracle of causing the ax head to float, Elisha performed another miracle.  Elisha had healed the Syrian leader, Naaman of leprosy.  Naaman wanted to repay the prophet of God for the healing.  God’s healing is a matter of grace and no amount of money can repay God for His favor.  Chapter 5, verse 16 records Elisha’s response to Naaman’s offer:

“As the Lord lives,  I stand before Him. I will not accept it.” Naaman urged him to accept it, but he refused.

God’s favor is not for sale at any price.  Elisha, however, had a servant by the name of Gehazi who was not as honorable.  He saw an opportunity to put more in his own pockets (20-24):

After Naaman had traveled a short distance from Elisha, ²⁰ Gehazi,  the attendant of Elisha the man of God, thought: My master has let this Aramean Naaman off lightly by not accepting from him what he brought. As the Lord lives,  I will run after him and get something from him.  ²¹ So Gehazi pursued Naaman. When Naaman saw someone running after him, he got down from the chariot to meet him and asked, “Is everything all right?” ²² Gehazi said, “It’s all right.  My master has sent me to say, ‘I have just now discovered that two young men from the sons of the prophets have come to me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them 75 pounds  of silver and two changes of clothes.’ ” ²³ But Naaman insisted, “Please, accept 150 pounds.”  He urged Gehazi and then packed 150 pounds  of silver in two bags with two changes of clothes. Naaman gave them to two of his young men who carried them ahead of Gehazi. ²⁴ When Gehazi came to the hill,  ^t he took the gifts from them and stored them in the house. Then he dismissed the men, and they left.

Wanting more, is not in and of itself an evil thing as I have stated.  It becomes evil when we seek more of the wrong things or seek good things for the wrong reasons.  When our desire is to ingratiate ourselves instead of increase the Kingdom work of God as “sons of the prophets” that we bring a curse upon ourselves.  Look at what getting “more” got Gehazi:

²⁵ Gehazi came and stood by his master. “Where did you go, Gehazi?” Elisha asked him. “Your servant didn’t go anywhere,” he replied. ²⁶ But Elisha questioned him, “Wasn’t my spirit  there  when the man got down from his chariot to meet you? Is it a time to accept money and clothes, olive orchards and vineyards, sheep and oxen, and male and female slaves? ²⁷ Therefore, Naaman’s skin disease will cling to you and your descendants forever.” So Gehazi went out from his presence diseased—white as snow.

This matter of “more” is one that we need to understand correctly.  The “sons of the prophets” wanted “more” space so they could continue to grow in the work of God.  They sought more not merely for their pleasure, but because of their passion to serve God.  You better be extremely careful when God allows you to have “more,” or it may become a curse and not a blessing, as in the case of Gehazi. 

2.  The Matter of “Men”

Throughout this lesson, or story, we see the kind of man (or woman) that God uses in His Kingdom’s work.  Big ideas come from men and women with “big character,” or a God-sized heart.  Virtue is the surest weapon for victory in this battle we call life. 

Notice first of all that the best ideas come not from the “biggest men” in the eyes of the world, but by humble men and women of God.  They were not seeking to build some grand cathedral as a testament to themselves, but a simple, log dwelling that would suffice for their necessities. Too often our ideas are not “big”—in the spiritual, godly sense—but merely grandiose.  These were humble men who wanted nothing more than to have adequate space to sit at the feet of a great prophet of God, and learn. 

They were also “poor” men.  Now, being poor is not necessarily a virtue.  Many men are poor because they are lazy.  Some men take a “vow of poverty” as a show of religious devotion.  The Bible condemns the former and never asks for the latter.  Neither the abundance of riches nor the lack thereof necessarily makes a man more righteous.  We do have an abundance of warning in the Bible with respect to the “danger of having an abundance of riches.”  King Solomon the Wise declared:  ^{Eccl. 5:10} The one who loves money is never satisfied with money, and whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with income. This too is futile.

Our Lord also cautioned, ^25 “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich  person to enter the kingdom of God.”

These men were not constrained by a great weight of worldly treasures.  We know this because they did not have the resources to put the building out for hire.  They had to do the work themselves.  They didn’t even have money for tools.  They had to borrow an ax, which becomes the hub around which this story turns.  So many people have the idea that “more resources will yield more work in the Kingdom.”  God has accomplished more with common folk than ever with those of great means.

Notice these were also industrious men.  They were “blue-collar” men to borrow a phrase from our day.  They were not afraid to get their hands dirty and calloused.  They were not mere thinkers, but they were doers.  They weren’t watchers, they were workers.  I would remind us all that “we can’t ride a pew to heaven.”  God needs industrious men and women who are participators not spectators.

They were honest men.  When the man lost the expensive head of the ax, he did not seek to conceal the matter, or blame the owner for lending him a faulty tool, or make any other excuse.  He owned his mistake and sought to make it right.

These men were also deeply spiritual men.  They saw great value in the word of God as it was delivered to them by the Prophet.  Notice when Elisha gave them leave to complete their project one man spoke for the group: ³“Please come with your servants.”

As we seek to grasp the “Big Idea” of ministry for this next year and beyond, let us consider the matter of the men (or women) God uses:  humble, poor, industrious, honest, and deeply spiritual men and women are the material from which God fashions His Kingdom.

3.  Finally consider the Matter of “Miracles”

the man of God cut a stick, threw it there,
and made the iron float.

Many skeptics attack this miracle as being nothing more than a “parlor trick,” or a sleight of hand magicians trick not worthy of Holy Scripture.  It does seem rather “this-worldly” or even self-serving compared to the miracle of healing a leper. Yet, God speaks as clearly in the simple as in the profound.  He communicates as surely in a picture book of a toddler as in the great tomes of a philosopher.  The issue is:  iron that usually sinks, now floated merrily (KJV even says swims) upon the surface for all to see and acknowledge the glory of God.

When we consider the matter of miracles, I have come to understand that any undertaking for God that does not require God’s miraculous intervention is not worthy to be called a “Big Idea.”  There are thousands of churches throughout our nation that show what “man can do.”  There are hundreds of cathedrals dotting the landscape of Europe as testaments of the innovation, ingenuity, and even genius of man.  But, they are now empty. They are testaments of ministry void of God’s miraculous Presence. Religion void of a relationship with God. 

Think about this matter of miracles simply: what does one have if one eradicates the “super” from supernatural?  The natural.  At best you have man and nothing more.  At worst you have nothing because nature lacks the power to create itself.  Men have tried to establish a “natural theology,” or a religion devoid of miracles and the supernatural.  These have failed and must fail.  If Christ’s birth were not “supernatural,” He was but a man and nothing more.  His death, without the miracle of the resurrection, was merely the death of a good man.  It lacks any substitutionary or vicarious benefit to anyone.  Heb. 10:4 says,

For it is impossible for the blood
of bulls and goats to take away sins.

Bulls and goats represent the natural world.  A man apart from Christ would be no different than a bull or goat sacrifice, no matter how honorable that man might be. Either Jesus, the Man, were also Jesus, the God, or his death was just one in a long litany of deaths from time in memorial. 

The whole foundation of Christianity rests on the possibility of the miraculous, and its systemic expression throughout history. 

Unfortunately, the church is full of “practical atheists.” In their speech the promote, even passionately at times, the belief in God, a profound trust in the Bible, and a ready acceptance of the miraculous so often expressed in the Bible.  That’s what the Church expresses in her philosophy; but, in our practice the matter is much different.  We live as if God does not exists, or if He does exist He lives so far beyond the human neighborhood as to have no impact on our daily lives.  Miracles by definition are not common events.  The fact that few Christians and few churches ever experience a miracle is not due to the nature of miracles, but the carnal nature of man.

An idea that does not require the miraculous intervention of God is not worthy to be designated a “Big Idea.”  It may be a “good idea,” but “Big Ideas” require the intervention of God or they will fail miserably. The prominent Founder of CBN--Christian Broadcast Network—and the long running program, The 700 Club, Pat Robertson is a person loved by some, hated by many, and ridiculed by more than a few.  Often, some of the things he has said have even caused his staunchest supporters to raise an eyebrow.  He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, as the son of a U.S. Senator.  He had an encounter with God and it took him in an entirely different direction.  One of the first books I read after becoming a Christian at the age of 18 was the autobiography of Pat Robertson titled, “Shout It From the House Tops.”  I’ve lost my original copy but I remember
writing something on the inside cover.  I believe it was a quote from the book, or a thought I had from reading the book.  That note on the inside cover said, “Attempt something so great that if God does not intervene, it will fail miserably.” Man can do great things:  split the atom, send men to the Moon, build massive structures, or invent unbelievable gadgets.  God wired man with an almost “miraculous” creativity and ingenuity. Yet, all the creativity and ingenuity of all mankind combined cannot qualify for a “Big Idea.”  A truly Big Idea requires the miraculous intervention of God by His Own Hand!  That’s the kind of “Big Idea” I’m preaching about.  Not just a “Big Idea” that changes the world, but a “Big Idea” that changes eternity!

CONCLUSION:

The history of man has been the history of “Big Ideas,” from the invention of the wheel to the innovation of the silicon microchip.  These “Big Ideas” have had an enormous impact (forgive the pun) on humanity, some for good and some for ill but most have enriched the quality of life on this planet.  Big Ideas have mitigated suffering and increased enjoyment in many areas of our lives.  But, the “Biggest of the Big Ideas” enriches not only our time on earth, but our time in eternity.

The “Biggest Idea” of all is God’s idea to “redeem mankind.”  The idea of redemption, as outlined in the story of the Bible, is the “Biggest Idea of All.”  It changes everything—including a person’s eternal destiny.

Our “Big Ideas” can never match God’s Big Idea, but should be in line with it.  The students of Elijah did not just want a “Bigger Place” to impress the world, but a “Bigger Vision” to impact the world.  We need to come up with “bigger and better ideas” in which we, as the People of God, can have an eternal impact upon our world. Every idea we have should line up with God’s Biggest Idea:  “Go into all the world and make disciples.”

Let’s all go “Big” in 2016!