Behind Closed Doors

Elisha was a man of unusual “God moments.” I’m still pondering the floating axhead story—and have absolutely nothing to say about that!

But I was especially struck by the details of two miracles: the widow with the replenishing oil and the Shunammite woman’s son who was raised from the dead. Both of these stories from 2 Kings 4 have a common thread that I’ve never noticed before.

In the first miracle story, the widow was in deep financial trouble. She called out to Elisha for help, acknowledging that she was down to her last few drops of oil. Elisha instructed her to gather up as many jars as possible in her home. Then he told her to go inside and shut the door. Behind that closed door, the oil began to flow and the widow was supplied with more than enough to sustain her family.

In the second miracle story, the woman from Shunem lost her son, perhaps to a brain aneurism. (Just my guess—the passage says that he died after a horrible headache.) She was distraught and went to find Elisha. Elisha’s servant got to the woman’s house first and tried to help the boy according to Elisha’s instructions. Nothing.

Then Elisha showed up, went into the room with the boy, and shut the door behind him. Alone in the room with the lifeless body, Elisha began to pray. He laid on top of the boy, mouth to mouth, hand to hand. As Elisha’s body covered the boy, a sense of warmth began to return. Elisha got up, paced around the room, and then stretched out over the boy again. Suddenly the boy sneezed seven times with the breath of life!

Both of these miracles were done behind closed doors. No crowds; no big fanfare. Just simple acts of obedience and prayer in times of desperation. One miracle resulted in provision; the other resulted in a revived life.

I’ve noticed in my own life that God is calling me to more times of intercession behind closed doors. It’s just me and my God. Mostly I’m pleading with Him for revival of the church and spiritual awakening of our nation. I’m praying for the dead to live again!

But perhaps the greatest miracle is what God is doing in my own heart and life when I shut the door and get alone with Him. I think I am living again!

Unprecedented Moment in History

Something will happen on Sunday, May 31, that has never happened before in the history of the world. Every nation will be united in one thing - lifting up the name of Jesus Christ in prayer around the globe!

All 220 nations will be represented on the Global Day of Prayer, from the rising to the setting of the sun over a 24-hour period. Believers in every land will join in a unified prayer for the world - that the glory of Christ will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea (Habakkuk 2:14).

Stop and think about it. Really, stop and ponder the enormity of this moment. Even the Olympics cannot compete with this vast movement of God throughout the earth. Although nearly all nations compete in the Olympics, it is not every nation. This is unprecedented. We have never witnessed this before - ever!

Frankly, that ought to take your breath away. We are living in a time when all the saints of heaven (that great cloud of witnesses in Hebrews 12:1) are watching something that was once deemed unimaginable. With the combination of the technology of today and a mighty move of the Holy Spirit, it is possible for believers to be united in the same prayer and the same heart cry throughout the earth. Just imagine the heavens being filled with the prayers of the saints here on earth, while the saints above are cheering us on.

Here in Minneapolis, we will gather in the Convention Center on Sunday evening. In nations throughout Africa, people will gather in stadiums. In other nations that are hostile to Christianity, people will gather quietly in homes or other secure places - at great personal risk. But they will gather for the glory of Christ!

This blows me away. If it doesn't blow you away, then go back to the top of this article and start reading again. Ask the Lord to open your eyes to see the powerful moment that is before us.

Unprecedented. Marvelous. Glorious. Words cannot describe. It is all for You, Jesus.

All for You.

Let's Review

I had breakfast with my nephew this morning so that we could explore the “R” word just a bit more. You know the “R” word—the one we don’t really like to talk about. The one that gets left out a lot because it makes people uncomfortable.

Repentance.

It seems a very fitting topic for this Good Friday morning because without repentance, the cross of Jesus Christ seems a bit pointless. If Jesus was willing to take the sins of the world upon Himself, die a humiliating and torturous death, and then provide a way for us to be redeemed from our own hopelessness and destruction—well, isn’t repentance really a small sacrifice on our part? Acknowledging our sin by confessing and repenting is the most powerful thing we can do to honor Christ today.

Yet much of the Church today leans toward downplaying the message of repentance. It doesn’t seem to attract people to the gospel message, so maybe we should tone it down a bit, seems to be the trendy Christian thought.

That’s perhaps part of why so many people are drawn to books like The Shack. It makes God a bit more comfortable, more to our liking. No mention of repentance and our need to turn from sin. No mention of judgment and eternal death. Whew…I like the God of the New Testament over the God of the Old Testament, who seemed so harsh. A new and improved version of God, many like to think.

Really?

Today my nephew and I went back to the basics of repentance. We both want to know what Scripture really says about it. Did Jesus back off on the message of repentance so that the gospel could be more comfortable to the masses?

Here are the words of Christ, just as a reminder on this Good Friday:

• Jesus’ first message after 40 days of temptation and ministry preparation: “Repent and believe.” (Mark 1:15)



• Jesus’ continuous message throughout His ministry: “From that time, Jesus began to preach and say, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” (Matt. 4:17)



• Jesus’ instructions to the disciples as He prepared them for ministry: “With my authority, take this message of repentance to all the nations…” (Luke 24:47)



• The disciples’ response to Jesus’ instructions: “And they went out, telling all they met to turn from their sins.” (Mark 6:12)



• Jesus’ message to five of the seven churches in Revelation: “I have this against you...repent! (Rev. 2-3)

So let’s review. It’s the first message of Jesus, the message He passed on to the disciples, and it’s the message He continues to give for the Church today.

Please honor the Lord Jesus Christ in your life by embracing the message—and gift—of repentance. I believe as we walk out a lifestyle of repentance, we will become more and more Christ-like. That’s the kind of revolutionary life that will be used of God to bring revival to our churches and transformation to our land.