Now I want to share with you what I believe is the very heart of God this morning.
I read a story recently about two lumberjacks. There was a young man who really wanted to prove himself on a job and there was an older veteran lumberjack who has been there for many years and was greatly respected because he was a real great lumberjack. The young man challenged the old lumberjack to a contest he said today I challenge you in front of all these other man to cut down as many trees as you can in this forest and I will do the same and the person who has cut down the most trees at the end of the day wins the contest and will be known as the greatest lumberjack. The old veteran said I agree son now the young boy was young and strong and chiseled and had his youth and had his muscles. And the old man was old and then doing it many years. And so they sold out that morning at the same time and that young fellow was just swinging that axe and he was cutting down tree as fast as he could. It moved from one to on other never stop, never quit never took a break. He cut tree after tree. The old man was cutting down trees too but every time he would cut down a tree, he would sit down and rest a little while for about 15 minutes and then he would get up and cut down another tree and rest. But at the end of the day it was noticeable to everyone, apparent to everyone that the old man had cut many more trees down than the young fellow who had never stopped cutting since he went to work that morning. In frustration, the young guy when he realized that he had lost the contest walked over to the old man and said you won he said but I’ve got to understand something. I watch you sit down and I’ve watched you after you cut every tree stop and rest and sit down over here under the tree and just relax and I kept on swinging I kept on cutting. He said I don’t understand how it is you cut many more trees than me and you kept taking breaks after every tree you cut. He said son what you don’t know is when I sat down every time I sat down and rested I sharpen my axe.
And the problem with many people is their swinging with a dull axe. They have lost the edge. See it is possible not only can it happen to lumberjacks, it can happen to Christians. We become dull spiritually, where we are singing the songs but there is no edge to it, where we’re lifting our hands but there is no edge to it, where we’re doing what we’re supposed to do, coming to church but there is no cutting edge there is no anointing there is no sharpness to it. it is just kind of a dull routine and rituals.
◑Fasting gives you your edge back.
What fasting does is fasting gives you your edge back. Fasting give you that passion back, fasting gives you the ability to be productive and successful and accomplish the will of God. And how many of you it is hard to cut down a tree with a stick and it’s a whole harder to cut a tree down if your axe is not sharp and your edge is not sharp. And what fasting is doing is slowing down, stopping, and sharpening our edge it is getting the edge back.
Now in 2 Kings 6:1~6
1 And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha, Behold now, the place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us.
2 Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan, and take thence every man a beam, and let us make us a place there, where we may dwell. And he answered, Go ye.
3 And one said, Be content, I pray thee, and go with thy servants. And he answered, I will go.
4 So he went with them. And when they came to Jordan, they cut down wood.
5 But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water: and he cried, and said, Alas, master! for it was borrowed.
6 And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he showed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron did swim.
This is a story about a young man who really wanted to do something for God. He had an axe they were going to enlarge the school of the prophets. They went there to be educated as prophets. They felt they have a call of God on their life. But in the process of building this new building and cutting down the lumber, the axe head somehow came of the axe and flew to the murky muddy water of the Jordan water. And as you know iron does not float, it sinks. And when it went to the bottom of the river it was a crisis because they did not have a store they can run in to as hardware store and get an axe. It was a big deal and it was borrowed. Embarrassment would come, that preacher that borrowed the axe can’t even bring back what he borrowed.
The scripture said that they were cutting wood. I doubt this boy signed up to be a wood cutter. He was called to teach, he was called to preach, he was called to pray, he was called to do spiritual things and yet the call of God led him to have axe in his hand and to be cutting down a tree. Calluses will never impede the ministry of laying on are hands. If you get calluses from working, that will never stop you from being into ministry. What im trying to say is what you’re called to do will not come without hard work. Don’t be afraid to work. Be a worker for God. Many times before god will trust you with spiritual platform ministry, he will let you work, work to see how you do at work.
The scripture said in the process he lost the axe head and when the axe head was lost, he could not find it because he could not see it. It went down into the murky muddy water of the Jordan and because he could not see it he thought it was gone. And what I feel in my spirit is many of you have lost the edge. Spiritually speaking and even in your personal life you have lost the edge. At one time you have the edge, at one time you have an anointing, and at one time you have a consecration and a passion for spiritual things. At one time you are on fire for God. At one time you have the edge but something had happened in your life and somewhere in life the edge flew off and the enemy has convinced you that it was gone in the murky muddy water and you’ll never be able to reclaim it again. But what I’m preaching on this morning is reclaiming the edge.
The enemy wants to convince you that it’s gone forever. Your anointing is gone is forever, your purpose is gone forever, your dream is gone forever, your effectiveness because of something that happen is gone forever. Your lost kids are gone forever and you will never be effective in their life again. We can get the edge back, we can get that which is gone and the enemy has whispered it will never come back. God still makes iron swim.
▲1. Regain the edge.
We are going in this 21 day fast to reclaim and regain the edge in our life. The anointing the blessing your praise life is going to get the edge back. Your prayer life when you pray there is going to be a power behind it. It won’t be dull, it won’t be routine it won’t be a ritual to come to God’s house this year. In the name of Jesus, you’re going to get your edge back and you are going to get your purpose back and you are going to see God's move. You’re going to pick up your passion again. You’re going to regain the edge it is time to get it back.
You said you don’t understand I've lost the anointing. I've lost the purpose of God I mess up and did something. You need to understand that if you’re running in a race, you never see someone who stumbles and falls in a race be told by the judges of the race you have to go back and start over. No they tell them get up from where you are from where you fail and start running. You don’t have to go back you go forward, in Jesus name. I've just come to say that his fast for 21 days is going to be a fast that moves you to the edge again.
Get people around you with faith, get people around you of optimism, and get people around you of restoration, get people around you who believe that God can restore the edge. I’m preaching to somebody who’s lost the edge in the business world. Everything you touch it seems like its falling to pieces but it isn’t always that way. And the enemy says it’s gone in the murky muddy water forever. But this is the year God is going to give your edge back. Somebody has lost the edge in their marriage, somebody has lost the edge in your spiritual walk with God but this fast is going to sharpen the axe head.
▲2. Confess that you've lost the edge and the passion.
The second thing you’ve got to do to get your edge back is confess as you fast and pray. Confess that you’ve lost it. So many Christians are in denial. Denial is a river in Egypt (The Nile, humor). You’ve got to confess I’ve lost it. I’m just going to the motions. You can’t foul people for so long. When you lose the edge the passion is gone you have to understand something about passion. Passion is transferred. That if you have passion it will be transferred into your family into your children in to people and if you lose the edge you need to understand the second thing about passion the lack of passion is “transferred”. And if you've lost the passion in your edge spiritually it was transferred to people who is close to you. And so what you have to do is recognize I’ve lost it.
▲3. And the thirdly you have to confide in someone who is spiritual.
Notice that when he recognized he lost it, notice when he said I’m going to get it back that he then went to a prophet. He said prophet, “I’ve lost the edge. I’ve got to get my edge back.” He went to someone spiritual. In Galatians 6 it says, “You better spiritual restore such one that has fallen with the spirit of meekness considering yourself less you be tempted”. He said, “If someone is overtaken in a sin in a failure, find people who are spiritual that will restore you”. Notice when they went to Elisha and said, “Oh I lost it! I mess up! I lost it!” he didn’t say you stupid thing! You sorry thing! What did you do? He didn’t say that, he didn’t do that. And spiritual people will go on their knees not on the telephone. I need grace in my life they understand so I’m going to give grace to you in this area that you’ve lost.
Somebody has fallen off the handle. You just flew off the handle and you’ve lost it. And the thing you need and you’re blessed to have is when you go to an Elisha in your life, somebody spiritual who knows how to pray. Everybody needs somebody in their life who knows how to touch heaven, somebody who knows how to raise their hands somebody who knows how to speak a blessing over you and encouragement.
And Elisha, the scripture said, told the boy return to where you lost it. Take me to where it’s flown off and dropped into the water. You’ve got go back where you have lost it. Go back to move forward, deal with it, get it under the blood and then believe that God can give you your head back. And the bible said the prophet took a stick and broke it off the tree and he touched the water with tree. The tree represents Calvary. The tree that Jesus hung on at Golgotha and because of the cross, when the cross touches the area in our livies when we lost something, suddenly the iron begins to defy the laws of gravity. The iron did swim the iron begin to swim up and then begin to swim across the Jordan River. This miraculous thing that I hear in my spirit God trying to get you to understand is He can still make iron swim. He can still make what the enemy says is gone, be restored to your life and you get your edge back and you get your confidence back. And you get your anointing back. And you get your passion back, the iron did swim and the iron still swims. Pick up the edge.
The prophet turned to the boy and he said when it swam over to the edge, “pick it up”. Now I don’t understand when you’re going to get iron to swim why don’t you just give it to do a someone assault and pop on the axe? But God said I want him to play a part in the miracle. Tell the boy who lost it, who lost his edge to do what he can do. Pick it up.
The fast is what you can do. The fast is your part. The iron swimming is God’s part. When you fast the devil himself came to Jesus. And when you fast the devil will always somewhere in the fast race his ugly head in an unusual attacks. Then I’m not going to fast. Do you want to fight him? He’s going to do it anyhow. Do you want to fight him with a dull axe? Or do you want to sharp axe when he raises his head you say I’ve been waiting on you I figured you would show up and good my axe is nice and sharp. I’m going to take you head off.
I’m tired of being afraid of demons and devils this kind comes without but by fasting and by prayer. When you got a sharp axe if the devil raises his head you can deal with him.
He got his edge back. He went right back to chopping. Somebody who has lost your edge because of sin, you going to get a sharp axe and you’re going to sever(chop) pornography in your life. When you’re going to this fast you’re going to get sharp edge and sever using tobacco and smoking. You’ll never smoke again. Somebody is going to sever alcoholism. Somebody is going to sever double lives. You live one way around people and then you have secret live. God wants to sever the power of Satan from your life. So that you can walk in freedom. This is not a game, this is your soul. This is eternity. This is what is in stake and you need to give yourself to God so he can give you a sharp edge to sever every bandage in your life. You don’t have to be a drug addicted. Sever failure from the past. Sever that old thing that keeps knocking you down. That sin, let us lay aside our life because connect fast. Let us lay aside every wait that does so easily beset us.
My daughter Courtney text me Wednesday after church, actually the next day we went to eat and with some of the family. She was telling me she said dad Wednesday night when you preach, (I preached about 'Jesus passing by') and she said one of my friends who’s never been to <Free Chapel> went to your church, came to your church and she was texting me about the service. She said this guy is not from our camp and so he is not used to that kind of church but he came. And she said dad he got so touched and so moved that when he got home something inside of him said, “I’ve got to start reading the bible again”. He had not read the bible in months and months. See that’s getting his edge back. Now here is the deal, she said, he had made two thousand dollars cash six months ago, she said. He placed it somewhere to hide it and forgot where he put it and goes all the way through Christmas. And you know, you laugh at that, I can totally I relate to that. That is my world that’s where I live. He could not remember! Can you imagine two thousand dollars cash lost and he had ridden it off and said I must have put it in a sit and I thought I might not see it again? Somebody picked it up and said Jehovah-Jirah. You know how we do, will not going to tell, “Look somebody lost their money. Jehovah Jirah… was just praying.. Jehovah Jirah would just provide”.
So this guy was here Wednesday night was touched by the service, he goes home. The money is gone it’s gone in the murky, muddy river Jordan, never to be seen again. Haven’t read his bible in months goes to open his bible after that service, he said inside the Bible is the two thousand bucks. I told to myself I need to preach on that. You know where your money is! It’s not in the stimulus plan! It’s not in the economy and Wall street! You’ve got to get this book open. If you want see God bless you again, your edge back and the only way you get your edge back is to fast and pray.
This year we have seen God bless this ministry and I say this it’s the glory of God to encourage people. How have you done? Fasting and prayer gives you that edge. Our television ministry doubled in finances, doubled in this economy. This year the ministry has been blessed. Why? Because when we feel ourselves getting doubled we have learned the secret. You can get a whole lot more accomplished with a sharp axe head than you can’t stick hit the piece of wood thinking you’re going to move it. And some of you everything you’re looking for, if I could just guess where you’re going to find it.
Lift your hands up. Reclaim your edge and feel the anointing in this place. Reclaim your edge. The edge of consecration, look at me, the edge of separation, the edge of holiness. I don’t care what everybody else. I don’t care how many others do it. There is an edge if you want it that while they are swinging gets little done, you’ll get a lot done. You’re going to have a sharp axe head that only comes, the only way you sharpen it, is to fast and in prayer. Lift your hands and worship him.
Here I come again Lord, I just dull without my anointing my preaching is dull. I need your anointing Lord this year. This church needs your anointing Lord more we need our next breath. So many have lost it, they have lost it. Let us reclaim, regain the axe head this morning.
Say this:
I will not leave here without my axe head. In Jesus name I confess I’ve lost a little of it. I’m not as sharp as I used to be spiritually. Lord, sharpen my axe. The next 21 days do a work in me.
Stand and lift up your hands as you can and cry out to God. Put a voice in your throat and cry out to God. Turn the volume out in your voice and cry out. Anybody who wants to recapture the edge, anybody ready for God’s way, you want to get an alignment for your assignment. God help me give me the edge back.
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