Where does God want you to win? Because you can't win
every battle at once. Aram wasn't the only enemy; it was the next one.
I can't win everywhere at once, and I'm going to tell you something else. I can't please everybody.
I have to let some people down
in order to aim my life in the direction of my destiny. I can't please everybody.
Can you imagine what kind of pastor I would be if I tried to please everybody?
How many times would I have to change clothes during one sermon if I wanted to please everybody?
I can't please everybody. I'm not aiming to. If I please God (and Holly) I'm good.
(Did you notice the footnote?) I'm aiming at something. I'm not just shooting
every direction this year. I'm aiming at something. That means I have to be
realistic not only about where I want to win but where I might have to lose.
I don't want to hurt your feelings, but you might not get around to all of it this year.
Okay? You might lose some this year. You might not get to eat organic and get out of debt this year.
You might have to save a little bit so you can afford to shop at Whole Foods.
So get the money, then get the apples. Are you following me?
You might not get to take the promotion while your kids are young and be at the house like you want
to. You might need to make a little less, because the window of more money will be there in 10
years, but the window of childhood is closing. You might have to make some decisions to win, to aim.
You might not get to take Tina to every dance competition.
You might have to teach her that we go to church on the weekend.
He said, "Shoot out the east window." God, show me the right direction to aim my arrows this year.
I don't want to waste my time. I don't want to waste my money. I don't want to waste my thoughts.
I don't want to waste my pain. I want to apply myself in the direction of my destiny.
I believe God is going to show us some stuff in this series. He's going to show you how to point
your life in the direction of your purpose. That's going to be a good week when we get to that.
People, please. This is just the introduction. I have some stuff to show you from the Word of God.
I hope you're going to be here every week of this series. Make it your aim.
You show up to other stuff consistently.
I don't feel angry when I'm saying this. I just feel accurate.
I just feel like this is exactly what you need to hear. Take the bow, open the window, shoot.
Let's go through the passage one more time. He said, "Get a bow. Take the bow. Open the window."
When he shot the arrow out the window, he promised him victory.
The progression of the text is a little unsettling at this point.
What happens next is what happens in a lot of our lives when church is over
and we have to apply what we have heard. My first point was view your victory, and
I want you to see it and shout about it. That's important. My second point was focus the fight,
because you can't win everywhere at once, and you have to decide what God has called you to do.
You don't have to raise your kids like they raise their kids. You raise your kids the
way God shows you to raise your kids. You have to focus the fight for your fight,
for your battle, for your calling. It might not look like everybody else's.
But can I tell you something? Jehoash's real fight was not against Aram.
Even though they were his external enemy, his biggest fight was not
out the east window. Your biggest fight is never out there. After the prophet told him to open the
window and get a victory in view, shoot the arrow in the direction of his next battle,
focus his attention, focus his energy, focus his effort, the next thing he tells him to do
is what you must do if you're going to move past intention into implementation
and go from seeing it to seizing it.
"Then he said, 'Take the arrows…'" The same ones that were just flying. "…and the king took them.
Elisha told him, 'Strike the ground.' He struck it three times and stopped."
I heard the prophet say, "Get." I heard the prophet say, "Take." I heard him say,
"Open." I heard him say, "Shoot," and I heard him say, "Strike," but I didn't hear him say, "Stop."
I hear God saying to someone, someone who has taken the arrow in your hand and you've kind of
half-heartedly done it and kind of messed around with it and kind of tried at it and stopped short…
This is what I used to preach. I had this sermon,
and when I would get to this point I would take my microphone. I preached this all over the world.
I preached it in Australia; London, England; and South America.
I would get to this point, and I would demonstrate. I'd take the
microphone and start pounding it on my Bible. I'd pound that microphone.
I was the most feared preacher for every sound technician in the world. I'm not going
to do that illustration here, because this microphone is expensive, and I pay for it.
He stopped short, and he stopped striking, and the prophet… Verse 19: "The man of God
was angry with him and said, 'You should have struck the ground
five or six times.'" In other words, "I didn't say stop."
You're good at starting stuff,
but the moment your hands get tired and the ground gets hard, you stop.
What a terrible place to end your year. "You should have
kept striking; then you would have defeated Aram and completely destroyed it. But now
you will defeat it only three times." Look at verse 20. "Elisha died and was buried."
The window closed. "You should have." I don't know about you,
but I don't want to look back on any more seasons of my life
thinking about what I should have and what could have. This year, I will work my window.
Let me tell you how I know. I have determined the decision in advance.
Quitting is not an option. It's not an option. It's not an option for me to stop short.
It's not optional. I have determined the decision. I don't wait until I get
tired to decide if I'm going to do it. I decided it in advance. I pre-decided it.
I pre-cided, pre-decision. Before I get into temptation, I determine my response.
Before I get discouraged, I determine to keep going. It's the power of pre-cision.
I have aimed in the direction of completion, and I will not stop until it comes to pass.
Somebody give him 17 seconds of praise! I'm aiming at it.
Take aim; take action. Come on, the arrow is flying. Take aim; take action. Tell your neighbor,
"Take aim; take action." My God is fighting for me. I cannot be defeated. Take aim!