Water of Life and Water of Death

Let us turn to the Word of the Lord, brothers and sisters. Second Kings, chapter 3, verses 4 and following. It is quite a long passage, but I will try to shorten the reading as much as possible, and then I will go into the account itself to draw from it the benefit that God wants us to draw in the time we have left. Second Kings, chapter 3. Let us begin with verse 4. And I want to speak about... I have entitled this sermon “Water of Life and Water of Death.”

Let us begin. It says here, “Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder, and he paid the king of Israel...” Do you know that Israel was divided? The Jewish nation had been divided into two kingdoms: the northern kingdom, which was called Israel and consisted of ten tribes, and the southern kingdom, Judah, whose capital was Jerusalem, where the Davidic line continued—the kings who were descendants of King David. And the kingdom of Israel, the northern kingdom, was generally distinguished by very, very wicked kings: pagan kings, idolatrous kings who had completely turned away from God. In the kingdom of Judah, there were good kings and bad kings at different times, and Jehoshaphat was a man of God, a godly king, a man who loved the Lord. But the king of Israel was an ungodly man.

It says that he “...paid the king of Israel one hundred thousand lambs and one hundred thousand rams with their wool. But when Ahab died”—that is, the father of this king of Israel—“the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. Then King Joram set out from Samaria”—Samaria was the capital of the kingdom of Israel, just as Jerusalem was the capital of the kingdom of Judah—“this is the king of Israel at that time, after Ahab, his son, his descendant—and mustered all Israel. And he went and sent word to Jehoshaphat king of Judah”—the other Jewish kingdom, the southern kingdom; Jehoshaphat, a man of God, a God-fearing man, but one who also had certain flaws, as we shall see—“The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to war against Moab?”

The king of Israel is inviting this king of Judah to go to war with him in order to regain command and dominion over the king of Moab.

“And he answered, ‘I will go, for I am as you are; my people are as your people, and my horses as your horses.’ And he said, ‘Which way shall we go?’ And he answered, ‘By way of the wilderness of Edom.’ So the king of Israel, the king of Judah, and the king of Edom set out.”

These three kings form an alliance; they join together to campaign against the king of Moab and cooperate in bringing him back under the dominion of Israel, the northern kingdom.

“And as they went around through the wilderness...” because that was the route they decided to take into battle, perhaps to take the king of Moab by surprise.

“...as they went around through the wilderness for seven days, there was no water for the army or for the animals that followed them. Then the king of Israel said, ‘Alas! The LORD has called these three kings together to deliver them into the hands of the Moabites.’”

“But Jehoshaphat said, ‘Is there no prophet of the LORD here, that we may inquire of the LORD through him?’ And one of the servants of the king of Israel answered and said, ‘Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, who served Elijah.’ And Jehoshaphat said, ‘He will have the word of the LORD.’ So the king of Israel, Jehoshaphat, and the king of Edom went down to him.

“Then Elisha said to the king of Israel, ‘What have I to do with you? Go to your father’s prophets and your mother’s prophets.’ And the king of Israel answered him, ‘No, for the LORD has gathered these three kings together to deliver them into the hands of the Moabites.’ And Elisha said, ‘As the LORD of hosts lives, before whom I stand, if I did not respect the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you or even see you.

“‘But now bring me a musician.’ And while the musician played, the hand of the LORD came upon Elisha, who said, ‘Thus says the LORD: Make many pools in this valley, for thus says the LORD: You shall see neither wind nor rain, yet this valley shall be filled with water, and you, your animals, and your livestock shall drink.

“‘And this is a light thing in the sight of the LORD.’”

Let us leave it there, okay? Amen. I will continue the account later, but I do not want to make the account too long, although the best part is actually still ahead: the outcome of this drama that we see unfolding here.

But as I was telling you, while reading this passage, I have been working on writing a book about the life of Jehoshaphat. Because he is a very fascinating king, a very interesting king, and while reading his story—which is recounted mainly in Second Chronicles, chapters 17 through 20–21—I have discovered many things. And in this passage, here in Second Kings chapter 3, these episodes from Jehoshaphat’s life show us this man’s character.

And it is a complex, nuanced character—not black or white, but filled with shades of gray. And I love complex people. I believe that the matters of the kingdom of God are complex and nuanced, and I believe that Christians often want to paint only with primary colors: red, yellow, green, white, and black, and we are not very inclined toward nuances. And that is also what we were talking about a moment ago. We must be nuanced because the Word of God is nuanced.

And Jehoshaphat is a very complex man because he loved God, had a passion for the kingdom of God, and carried out great reforms in Judah to bring his people to the knowledge of the Lord, establish godly laws, put an end to the worship of Baal and the goddess Asherah, and bring Judah back to the ways of the Lord. But he had a problem.

The problem was that he was a man who seemed to be greatly impressed by the ungodly and allowed them to lead him down paths that God did not approve of. He established close relationships with those northern kings who had abandoned the worship of the true God. They had become hardened in the worship of the Baals. And he joined himself to them; he formed an alliance with them.

From time to time, we see one of these kings inviting Jehoshaphat to join them in some situation, some undertaking, some endeavor, some military campaign... and there is Jehoshaphat, like a little lamb. “Of course! Why wouldn’t we go forward? I am just like you, and I can do the same thing you do.” And he allowed himself to be drawn into serious trouble. It happened to him again and again.

One of King Jehoshaphat’s problems was that the very first thing he did, he did wrongly: he married his son Joram—not this Joram; this Joram is Ahab’s son, so do not get confused. Jehoshaphat also had a son named Joram, and he married him to the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel. Just imagine.

Do you know who Ahab and Jezebel are? Two of the most ungodly, most diabolical rulers recorded in Scripture. Elijah waged war against them, and later Elisha did so to some extent as well. But Elijah, above all, had a terrible conflict with them.

Jezebel is the demonic spirit itself. She was a woman who came from the pagans, from the pagan world, and Ahab, the Jewish king of Israel, married this woman—who was a genuine demon—and this corrupted Israel more and more.

And these people were hated by God because they hated God. They committed crimes and abused their royal power. And then Jehoshaphat came along and established a relationship with these people who were hated by God.

He married his son to a daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, and that was the greatest mistake Jehoshaphat could have made. A man who loved God, a man who revered and feared God. Passionate about God.

But what business did this man have marrying his son into an accursed lineage, into a corrupt lineage such as that of Ahab and Jezebel? And that brought great loss to Jehoshaphat’s life and family.

The Bible records that years later, after Jehoshaphat had died, that daughter-in-law of Jehoshaphat whom he had married to his son—the daughter of Jezebel—killed almost all of Jehoshaphat’s descendants so that she could retain the kingdom. All of Jehoshaphat’s grandchildren were murdered because she wanted—his own lineage killed them—none of his children to remain in power, so that she herself could continue reigning in Israel.

Terrible. His joining himself and improperly cooperating with people with whom he should not have cooperated at that level of his life cost this godly king a great loss. And I believe that one of the great lessons recorded in this passage is precisely that. And as I said, it is a very long passage, and we do not have all the time in the world.

But you see that here. Jehoshaphat is over there in Judah, perfectly at ease. Joram has his problem with a king who now refuses to submit to him, and he invites Jehoshaphat to get involved in his affairs and cooperate with him to get him out of trouble.

One of the things I have learned, brothers and sisters—and this is very clear in the history of all these kings—is that when a person walks with God and that person’s life conforms to the principles of the Word of God, there is blessing upon that person’s life. God’s support is upon that person.

And look, I believe that when you have the Spirit of God in your family, your finances, your health, and your life, you can expect God’s blessing to accompany you.

But when you separate yourself from God, even the devil and the demons that were subject to you begin to rise up and say, “You know what? I am not going to respect this guy. Let us do whatever we please.”

That happened in Israel. Many of those peoples who were under their rule began to rebel against them and even attack them, and a host of enemies arose.

Israel had to fight continually to preserve itself, because it was surrounded, as it still is today, by so many enemy nations.

The Bible says that God gave Jehoshaphat peace because Jehoshaphat feared God, destroyed the idols of Asherah and Baal, and established the law of the LORD in his nation. And as a result, God’s blessing came, and it says that the nations themselves came to bring tribute to King Jehoshaphat and seek his lordship, his rule. Jehoshaphat became strong, stationed armies in different parts of his nation, and God prospered him materially.

But Jehoshaphat did a great deal of work—read it so you can see for yourself—to establish the law of the Lord and educate the people, and therefore peace, prosperity, and tranquility came to the kingdom of Judah. But in the kingdom of Israel there was war, sedition, revolutions against him, and disorder. And what happens? Joram, the king of Israel, then comes to Jehoshaphat and says, “You know what? I need you. Come with me into this battle.”

And I think... this tells us a great deal, brothers and sisters, essentially about the relationship Christians have with the world and how difficult it is to navigate that tension found in Scripture.

Because on the one hand, the Bible says that we are in the world even though we are not of the world, and we must have relationships with the world in the realms of work, the economy, and many other things, because it is impossible for us to remain completely isolated. Nor would that be good, because we are the salt of the earth, and salt must mingle with the things it salts. Yes or no? We are the light of the world. Light must invade the darkness.

But we must be careful that, in the process, we do not allow the world to color and determine the way we conduct ourselves. Amen.

We must not allow the world to draw us into controversies or dictate the path we must take. Rather, we must always maintain that healthy distance that makes us distinctive.

We must be careful. Holiness is real. So is God’s call in Scripture for us to remain separate.

Where does the word “holy” come from? The word “holy” means exactly that: “set apart.” And how difficult it is for us to remain separate from the world!

I am the first to raise my hand, because we want the world to approve of us. There are so many decent, loving, well-intentioned people in the world.

We evangelicals here in North America want the world to see us as pleasant people, winsome people, appealing people, and very often we do everything possible to avoid anything that might portray us as separate and different.

But it is a matter of balance. I believe that we must show the world a pleasant face of the gospel. I do not believe that we should go around all the time looking as though we had been soaked in lemon, with gloomy, sad faces. No, we want the world to know that in Christ there is joy, there is gladness, there is abundance, and there is blessing.

Of course there is! Because where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is blessing and there is freedom.

But there will be times when we will have to say to the world, “You know what? I am very sorry, but I cannot cooperate with you in that. In that area I have my principles, and I am sorry, but if we are going to walk together, let us do so with clarity. I cannot get involved in the things you are doing just so that you will accept me.”

And that is often what the world wants. The world throws stones at Christians because we do not support certain practices in which they are involved, and they say that we are arrogant, that we are Pharisaical, and that we judge people.

And look, the devil will always accuse. Forget about that.

Do not allow yourself to be intimidated. There is a campaign to intimidate Christians so that we allow ourselves to be emotionally bribed and get involved in their foolishness—which is precisely what is causing their problems and their destruction. The devil’s attack upon our culture. So many problems that this culture has.

And what often happens? The world then comes to the church so that the church can solve its problems, so that the church can get involved in the world’s problems, often without realizing that they are the ones who have caused the problems, and then we have to come and solve those problems for them.

It is a balance. You see? It is a very fine line.

Here we have Joram inviting Jehoshaphat to join this campaign against this king, who has rebelled against them. And I am struck by Jehoshaphat’s response, because in fact, years earlier, when King Ahab, Joram’s father, invited him on another military campaign against Ramoth Gilead, another nation of Syria—it is a large city in Syria—he said the same thing.

And when he called Jehoshaphat to invite him to that war, Jehoshaphat’s answer was the same one he now gave his son years later: “My people are as your people, and my horses as your horses.”

What did Jehoshaphat mean by this? He meant, “Hey! I am every bit as much of a man and every bit as macho as you are. Of course! You’re going to war? Well, you can bet I am too. Go for it; I’ll be right behind you, and I’ll do the same thing.”

That is the Miranda version of Scripture.

But, brothers and sisters, what does that show us? That there was a certain insecurity in Jehoshaphat. He wanted to measure himself against Joram.

And I have tried to get inside Jehoshaphat’s mind to understand what inner forces moved him to respond that way, and the truth is that I recognized myself in him.

Because how many of us Christians want the world to see us as “cool”? As if to say, you know what? I am just as likable and fun-loving as anyone else, and I can dance the tango as well as anyone else in the world, and I can do anything everyone else does. I am not one of those sour, holier-than-thou evangelicals out there. No! I am a liberated evangelical; I am a likable evangelical.

And how many of us allow ourselves to be bribed by the world? And try to prove, “No, I am an evangelical, but don’t worry; I have my moments when I loosen up a little”? And sometimes we believe that this will attract the world. But you know what? It does not work that way. I can never be more skillful or more advanced at Christian publicity than God himself. And God has clearly said that we cannot be unequally yoked with unbelievers.

I believe that we Christians must be confident in what God has told us. I cannot live with that insecurity of saying, “I want the world to approve of me, to like me, to say that I am a good person.”

Look, the world is not going to say that, because the Bible is very clear. It says that “the darkness does not love.” Men do not love the light because it exposes their evil deeds. You are not going to win the world by simply trying to put on a friendly face. That does not mean you should show the opposite. But you will win the world through the beautiful presence of God in your life.

You will win the world when people see something different in you. When they see the fruit of the Holy Spirit in your life, when they see harmony in your home, when they see order in your household, when they see your character: upright and kind.

The Bible says, “Let your gentleness be known to everyone.” Do you know what touches the world when it sees someone with the character of Jesus Christ? When it sees someone who is gracious, kind, generous, transparent? Such a person does not go around judging people or saying, “I am better than anyone else.” No.

He says, “Look, I am a sinner like you. But Christ has healed me, and I have the grace of God within me; and you too can receive the same mercy that I have received. And the same Word that strengthens me when I am going through crises can also help you.”

“You know what? I have my trials too; I have my financial struggles too. Yes, I do. My family is not one hundred percent perfect. But I have the resources of Heaven, which help and bless me, and I am growing and learning. Every day I am drawing closer to Christ.”

And when people see that presence of God, when they see God’s Shalom in your life, in your home, in your finances, in your way of being, in your relationships with others, and in your spiritual life, which gives you peace and confidence and hope, they say, “You know what? I want that too.”

But it is not that artificial friendliness that tries to measure itself against the world, do as the world does, and avoid anything that might cause controversy.

Nowadays, here in North America, especially among evangelicals—and I unfortunately have to say that there are problems everywhere—but in the Anglo-Saxon world and in other sectors of North America, I see a segment of North American evangelicals who are trying, who are afraid that the world might see us as more self-righteous or more—how shall I put it?—more Pharisaical than we ought to be.

And we remove Christ’s name from the names of our churches; we edit the sermons so that there will be nothing controversial when seekers and visitors come to church. We remove anything that could be controversial, anything that could be confrontational, anything that could make people uncomfortable, and we preach a sanitized gospel. It is a hygienic gospel, but a gospel that has no life, because when we remove one thing, we also remove the other.

The vitamins disappear along with the controversy, and we grieve the Spirit of God because we are trying to please man more than God. And it is only when we have God’s blessing that the world will be confronted.

For the Word says, “Not by sword nor by army, but by my Spirit,” says the Lord. Amen.

The Bible says in its Word that “the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God for the destruction of strongholds.”

The world will not be won with advertising techniques from Madison Avenue, or wherever advertising companies are located nowadays. At one time it was Madison Avenue; today it may be somewhere else. We are not going to win it that way. The world will be won with spiritual weapons, with the presence of God in our lives.

With a church that has made room for the Holy Spirit to dwell in it. A church that purifies itself, sanctifies itself, seeks God, and possesses mercy, love, peace, and joy—the fruit of the Holy Spirit and the holiness that befits the house of God.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, God is calling us. Let us purify ourselves; let us sanctify ourselves. And there are many angles to this passage. But one of them is this matter of needing to be careful when the world invites you to get involved in its affairs because it has gotten itself into trouble. Do not go merely to win it over.

I believe that, regarding Jehoshaphat, one wonders, what was such a godly man as Jehoshaphat doing getting involved with these people all the time? And in part, I believe Jehoshaphat wanted to evangelize these people. Jehoshaphat perhaps thought, “Look, these two sister nations have been at war for sixty years, ever since Solomon died.

“And wow! What an opportunity this is to heal the breach between these two nations, restore unity, and end all the warfare that has taken place between us. Just think how much money could be saved for social programs and so forth!” But you know what? It was not God’s will. Because these people were already hardened; they were already committed to their course.

And you know what? I see, brothers and sisters, that a nation, a society, has said, “You know what? I am not going to make a deal with God.” There are times when man becomes so obstinately set on a course that nothing can turn him away from it.

And sometimes I see that this culture is so hardened, so self-assured, and so deeply immersed in its passions and addictions that I believe it is very difficult. Now, we must keep trying, but we must also know that we need to guard ourselves and handle that interaction with the utmost caution.

There is a passage whose exact wording I do not remember right now—I believe it is the Apostle Peter who says that “there are people to whom we must minister even while hating the very clothes they are wearing.” Look it up; it sounds difficult, but I know it is there.

And that is often what happens: this world is corrupt and corrupted, and we must be careful about how we become involved in it, because we want to win it, but many times that world puts us in a jujitsu hold and says, “Come, come, we are going to let you work with us,” but it does so in order to co-opt us, engulf us, and change our way of being, and we must be careful.

That is to say, I do not have a one-hundred-percent clear answer. It is a tension because we work; many of us are social workers or teachers, we are in the business world, there are lawyers, there are people who own small businesses, and so forth. And our work places us in that tension, and we have to be there, but we must walk very carefully. We must ask the Lord to give us wisdom.

Where is the balance? And every situation will be different; every person, every moment, every institution, every possibility will bring its own difficulties.

This is a time for the people of God to ask God for great wisdom and great discernment, so that they may know how to walk among what Scripture calls “a wicked and perverse” generation.

I am not the one saying that, by the way; that is what the Word of the Lord says.

It is not that I... that my coffee was bitter this morning. No. It is that this is what the Word of the Lord says. We have tried to sanitize the vocabulary of the Word, and of course we cannot. It is very clear, brothers and sisters, and it is what the Word of the Lord says.

We have to ask him, “Father, give me wisdom.”

This is a time for the people of God to study the Word of the Lord and know the Bible. These are dangerous times; these are times when you sometimes hear a man of God or a woman of God who loves God and whom God uses in many ways, but there are seeds, there are roots of bitterness in that person’s preaching, ministerial style, or life. And one has to ask, “Lord, give me discernment. Help me know how to separate one thing from the other.”

Nowadays we are living in dangerous, dangerous times, and only the knowledge of the Word of God and the discernment that only the Holy Spirit can place in your life will teach you how to resolve the tensions, dangers, and ambiguities that living in this twenty-first century presents to the son and daughter of God.

And that is why we cannot be Sunday-only Christians. You have to study his Word, you have to know the Word of God, and you have to pray.

The Bible says that “times will come when, if they were not shortened, not even the elect would be saved,” and I would not doubt that we may already have entered those times; and we need to know how to maintain a balance, how to relate to the world, how to preserve the holiness befitting God, and how also to be a light in the world and a health-giving presence—a healing presence in the world in which we move.

One thing the world does is what we see here: it invites us to fight its battles, and then it wants to tell us how we must fight them and what methodology we must use.

Here it says that after Jehoshaphat tells him, “My horses are as your horses,” he then asks Joram, “By which way shall we go?” And he answered, “By the way of the wilderness of Edom.”

While reading some commentaries, I realized that many writers and interpreters of this passage think that it was Joram who asked Jehoshaphat which way they should go.

Having come to know and carefully study Jehoshaphat’s life over these past few months, and seeing the grammatical ambiguity here, it is not clear whether it was Joram who asked Jehoshaphat or Jehoshaphat who asked Joram, “By which way shall we go?”

I personally think—and again, you may think differently—that it was Jehoshaphat who asked Joram, “By which way shall we go?” and Joram told him, “By the way of Edom.” You see that it says “he” and “he” here. We do not know which one asked whom, and that... the ambiguity is also present in the original Hebrew itself. So why do I believe that?

Because on another occasion, when King Ahab asks Jehoshaphat to accompany him on another campaign that was contrary to God’s will, Ahab gives Jehoshaphat instructions about what they should do when they enter the battle, and Jehoshaphat very meekly and very foolishly goes along with King Ahab’s suggestion.

Do you remember? Ahab says to Jehoshaphat, “Well, Jehoshaphat, when we enter the battle, I am going to disguise myself, and you should dress in your royal robes.” Listen to me: “Hello?” as they say in English. Ahab very innocently says, “I am going to disguise myself so that they will not recognize me, but you dress as a king so that they will identify you, and put a great big target right here that says, ‘King. Shoot me.’”

And what does Jehoshaphat very meekly do? He says, “Okay, that’s fine.” He goes along with this utterly wicked plan of King Ahab, and what happens? When they enter the battle, of course they immediately see Jehoshaphat in all his regalia and jewelry and recognize that he is the king, and say, “Let’s attack him because he is the king.” The enemy king had said, “Do not fight against anyone except Ahab alone,” and when they saw him dressed as a king, they said, “Well, this is King Ahab; let’s attack him.”

And what happened? They almost killed poor Jehoshaphat.

The Bible says that “in his distress Jehoshaphat cried out to the Lord, and God delivered him and miraculously caused the archers to turn away from him and go after others.”

Because when the righteous person cries out to God, even when he has made a mistake, God has mercy on him, brothers and sisters. It is a great lesson.

If we have followed after the world, if we have made mistakes, if we have committed errors, brothers and sisters, there is room for repentance, and God is merciful.

Thank God that God does not judge us solely according to how we act. Because otherwise, who could stand? says the Word of the Lord. God has mercy on us.

But my point is that, time and again, Jehoshaphat allowed himself to be governed and controlled, and he let the world define for him the methodology of the battles he undertook instead of defining it himself. And that world represented by Ahab and Joram is a world that does not have God's blessing.

What is more, it has God's curse and judgment against it. Ahab had God's curse upon his life. And in fact, in that battle—which was not this one, but the other one I just mentioned—where Ahab does everything possible to disguise himself and takes every possible measure so that no one will know that he is the king of Israel,

God had sent a lying spirit to destroy Ahab in that battle. This is very long, and perhaps I will continue it next Sunday.

But the point is this: the Bible says that “an archer shot an arrow at random, without knowing—in warfare they used to do that; the archers simply shot their arrows and they fell on the other side, wherever they might land, and whoever was struck by one was... had a headache that day—at any rate, that archer shot the arrow at random; Ahab was armed to the teeth, with all his protective collars and all his armor, and it says that the blind arrow pierced him in precisely the only place it could enter, here through his side, where the armor had a small opening.

The arrow found him blindly because it was being directed by the Spirit of God against this king, who was an evil king and whose execution God had decreed. For God's justice was against Ahab.

And, brothers and sisters, one last thing, because I can already see that—listen—I preach for far too long.

Look, the North American brothers and sisters are already coming in, and I am still here just beginning my sermon. Do not be frightened! Brother Gregory is much wiser than I am about that. But no, apparently not. Okay, then I can continue.

Brothers and sisters, the point is this: God's judgment is decreed against the wicked. God's judgment is decreed against those who do not seek the Lord. The man or woman who is not at peace with God does not have divine protection; that person has only divine judgment, only the warfare of demons.

The spirit of evil is a reality in this world. The diabolical spirit is loose in this world, and whoever does not have Christ in their heart has no protection. On the contrary, he or she has the wrath of God against them.

If you are not in Christ Jesus, unfortunately, my brother, you may be very well-intentioned, but divine protection cannot rest upon your life; instead, you will face judgment.

Whatever you undertake will not go well for you, no matter how many measures you take, how many precautions, how many efforts you make to protect yourself, no matter how... The Word says, “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.” It says, “Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guard keeps watch in vain.”

The world is condemning all its efforts to failure; all its investments, all its social programs, all its scientific advances, all its sociological and psychoanalytical research will ultimately be blunt swords that will be unable to make a dent in the destruction, dysfunction, and natural deterioration of the cosmos and of nature.

Only when we have the Spirit of God can we counteract the works of sin and the harm that sin does in the world. And so, when we get involved in working with the world and the world tells us which way we should go—do you see? Now I am tying it all together.

Because when Jehoshaphat asks him, “Which way shall we go?” “Oh, let us go by the road through Edom,” through the wilderness. The world leads you down roads of wilderness and death. The world leads you down roads believing that this is the most strategic route, that it is the best way; but once you are in there, you will run out of water just as Jehoshaphat did, and you will find yourself in trouble.

Do not allow the world to define how it wants you to live; do not allow the world to define the methodology you adopt to fight the battles of your life. Do not allow the world to contaminate you with its way of reasoning. The world knows only reason, intellect, and science. But those weapons have never been sufficient to provide men and women with wisdom and happiness.

Only the Word of God, the fear of God, and the Holy Spirit can do that.

The world says, “Let us go through the wilderness; let us go through Edom,” the way of the world. Edom represents the world; look it up in Scripture. I do not have time to develop that idea. But the world says, “Come, cooperate with me; help me with this problem I have,” but then it says, “Do not mention Christ, do not speak about the cross, do not speak about holiness, do not speak about sexual purity, because I do not want to know about that; that is not for me. If you want to help, help me with the weapons I allow you to use.”

And many times, foolishly, we allow ourselves to be taken in by that spirit and end up in the wilderness. We end up wandering around the wilderness like these people, and only the presence of God can bring us through.

Thank God that, despite his error, Jehoshaphat said in time, “Goodness, is there anyone here in this wilderness who has a word from God and can tell us what we have to do?” And Elisha was there. And Elisha came forward, and the prophetic Spirit came upon Elisha, and Elisha gave the miraculous word.

And that battle was won not because the army had a good strategy, but because God, in His mercy, intervened and brought victory through a supernatural strategy. Our battle is supernatural; our weapons are supernatural. If we are going to heal our children, it will be with supernatural weapons; if we are going to heal our marriages, it will be with supernatural weapons; if we are going to heal our finances, it will be with supernatural weapons. If we are going to heal our emotional wounds, the distortions in our personalities, and the wounds the world has inflicted on us, it will be through the intervention of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

For we must know where to go to ask for a direct intervention of the Spirit of God in our lives. We are going to need the prophetic spirit embodied by Elisha to say, “This is the Word of God; this is God's strategy; this is what God wants you to do.”

Brothers and sisters, may the Lord grant that we be a people, a people who look where we need to look, whose decisions come from the Word of the Lord; that we say, “No, I am very sorry. I love you, but look, I am married to this book; I am sorry. I wish I could tell you that what you are doing is right, but look, I adhere to this Bible, which judges me first and tells me what I have to do.”

We have to use the methodology of the Word of God. Let us not marry the world; let us not be intimidated.

I want to challenge you this morning, too. Put your faith in the Lord, put your eyes on the Lord, put your brain and your intellect in the Lord's hands. Seek the methodology of the Kingdom of God. Seek the guidance, seek the counsel, seek the reasoning of the realm of the Spirit.

Young people, particularly now that you are struggling and fighting in a very difficult cultural context, I urge you in the name of Jesus Christ: renew your vow of holiness to the Lord and say to yourself, “Do you know what? I am not going to try to please the world. I am not going to try to win the world over by showing that I am a nice guy or that I am a nice girl. I am going to be who I am, and I am not going to judge people or walk around as if I am holier than thou.

But I am going to stand my ground. I am going to be my own man, my own woman, and I am simply going to be a Christian and walk according to the Word of the Lord. If they do not like it, you know, I am very sorry. I wish I could have good relationships, but too bad; I am not going to sacrifice my relationship with God to please man.

We are not here to please man; we are here to please the Lord. God will give you grace, and God will bless you. Let us stand, brothers and sisters. Let us stand. Let us stand, brothers and sisters.

Today the Lord calls us: “Do not walk on the road through Edom.”

There are two waters: the water of life and the water of death. The water God provided for Elisha—I did not have time to develop that—the miraculous water that came to quench these armies' thirst ended up becoming a stumbling block to the other army and the cause of its defeat.

For God's weapons are like a two-edged sword. If you receive them, if you allow them to minister to you, they bless you; if not, they curse you.

The Word of God is a blessing to those who receive it and a curse to those who reject it.

We want to be on the right side.

I invite you this morning in the name of Jesus: if you have not given your life to Jesus Christ, I ask you this morning to take a step of faith in your spirit and say, “Lord, I need that water which only You can give. When I walk through the wilderness, I want to be near that spring. That spring of water is what I need in order to press on.”

And if you have not yet taken that step of faith and have not given your life to Jesus Christ, before you leave here this morning I want to invite you to take that step of faith, my brother, my sister, and to place your life in the hands of Christ Jesus.

If you are in a wilderness as we once were, without Christ, be like Jehoshaphat: humble yourself, humble yourself, and say, “I want—I want God's intervention in my life. I want to go to the spring of living waters.”

The Lord Jesus Christ has said it: “I am the water of life. Whoever drinks from Me will never thirst, never. Whoever drinks the water I will give them will not thirst.”

So Christ invites you and invites Himself into your life this morning. I want to make sure that everyone here has taken that step of faith and given their life to Jesus. And if you have not done so, my brother, my sister, I want to invite you to raise your hand, and I want to pray for you.

I want to ask whether there is anyone here who has not yet taken that step of faith and has not given their life to Jesus. I want to invite you to do so. Is there anyone who has not yet done it and who would like to say, “Lord, I receive You today as my Lord and Savior”? Is there anyone?

I am going to give you one more moment so you have time to consider whether you are one of those people who needs to take that step.

Is there anyone who has not yet given their life to Jesus? I invite you to raise your hand. We want to pray for you. Amen. If there is no one, glory to God.

I assume that all of us are clear about this, that we are immersed deeply, deeply in that water of life which is Christ Jesus. Let us bow our heads.

Father, may Your Word make an impact on our hearts this morning. We want to be men and women who please You, Lord. We want to be people committed to You. Clearly defined people, people willing to pay the price. People who are so secure in You that, even if the world criticizes us and we sometimes feel lonely and alienated... we can find peace and satisfaction because we have Your smile, we have Your approving gaze, Father.

We have Your Father's heart, which blesses us, seals us, and adopts us.

Oh, Lord! There is hunger and thirst within us to be a people who please You, and to be a people who bring a smile to Your lips and to Your Father's heart. Consecrate us, Lord; seal us. Sanctify us. Remove everything that is not of You, Father.

Heal every division in our minds and our spirits. Remove all double-mindedness, Lord, all indecision, and make us a resolute, committed people, Lord—clear in the knowledge that we have died and are hidden. Our life is hidden with Christ Jesus in the heavenly places.

That is our desire, Lord. Sanctify us and purify us and cover us, oh God! Cover us from the enemy's attacks and the temptations of this world.

I bless this people, Father, and declare them sealed: Your Word sealed in their hearts, and them endowed with a double portion of Your grace, Father, to be effective witnesses out there in the world to the love and grace of Christ Jesus.

We worship You and bless You. Thank You, Lord. Amen. Give the Lord a great round of applause this morning. Glory to the name of Jesus.

Sermon by Dr. Roberto Miranda recorded August 16, 2009, at Congregación León de Judá

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