SOME HELPFUL DON’TS AND DOES OF LIFE

Friends, I welcome you again in the Name of the Lord Jesus. Today, I want to speak on Some Helpful Don’ts And Does Of Life. We take our scripture from 2 Kings 6, reading at verse 1

2 Kings 6:1-7

¹And the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “See now, the place where we dwell with you is too small for us. ² Please, let us go to the Jordan, and let every man take a beam from there, and let us make there a place where we may dwell.”

So he answered, “Go.”

³ Then one said, “Please consent to go with your servants.”

And he answered, “I will go.” ⁴ So he went with them. And when they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees. ⁵ But as one was cutting down a tree, the iron ax head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, “Alas, master! For it was borrowed.”

⁶ So the man of God said, “Where did it fall?” And he showed him the place. So he cut off a stick, and threw it in there; and he made the iron float. ⁷ Therefore he said, “Pick it up for yourself.” So he reached out his hand and took it.

PRAYER:

Father, we have come again to search the scripture, and we are trusting that Your Spirit will speak to our hearts, as we look at some of these helpful don’ts and does of life, in Jesus Name, Amen!

Most of us are more familiar with does and don’ts, not don’ts and does. But, I think it is better to go from negative to positive, from smaller to bigger, from rags to riches, from down to up, from bad to good, than the other way around. Let us go now from don’ts to does. I gleaned them from the portion we just read now. The context is the dissatisfaction Elisha’s students felt regarding their accommodation. They needed more living space, and so decided to do something about it. They were to go to the Jordan and cut wood for expanding their dormitory. They begged their teacher to go with them, and he consented. This expedition furnishes us with these helpful don’ts and does. Let me go straight to them.

1. Don’t be static in life, be progressive.

Healthy dissatisfaction leads to progress. That is what we find in verse one of our text. Healthy dissatisfaction leads to progress. The sons of the prophets were dissatisfied with their living conditions. They observed that their accommodation was not ideal. They did not have enough space, and so they decided to do something about it. But you may ask, but who are the sons of the prophet? The sons of the prophet is a nomenclature that means, students of the prophet. Webster dictionary says that, the sons of the prophet refers to a group of people who have the calling to prophetic ministry, and have come together at one place to be schooled in hearing and recognizing the true voice of God, and how to properly and timely minister that Word with grace and wisdom for the greatest glory of God, and the good of mankind.

He said that Samuel is recognized as the founder of the school of prophets which was continued by Elijah and Elisha. Remember first of the series of don’t and does of life is don’t be static, be progressive. Contemptment saves you from envy and covetousness, but a healthy dissatisfaction makes you progressive.

Are you satisfied with your spiritual and material life? As it is, fine. Do nothing. But if you are not, go to God in prayer and ask Him what you can do to move forward, to progress in life.

1. Don’t walk alone in life, choose to walk with somebody. But choose wisely.

This is from verse 2. The sons of the prophet chose to work with the servant of God. The first person you need to choose to work with in life is God. The hymn writer got it right when he said:

          When we walk with the Lord,

          In the light of His Word,

          What a glory He shades on our way

The next person you need to choose to walk with is a heavenly wise person, not a worldly wise one. Don’t choose to walk with sympathizers. Choose to walk with intercessors: people who can pray. Sympathizers may touch your emotions and make them worse or better. But intercessors touch heaven on your behalf. Those are the kinds of people that you need to walk with.

• Don’t value only your own things, value the things that belong to others too.

We find that in verses 4 and 5. The ax head fell into the water. And the servant of the prophet who was using this screamed. He was so much affected by the loss of that ax head. And he said, Master, alas, it was borrowed. This man who lost the ax head felt bad losing what belonged to another person, not merely because he would be required to pay for it, according to Exodus 22:14, but because he would be regarded as a bad steward – a careless custodian.

Do you value what belongs to others? You run down the apartment where you live now because it is not your own. But you are expecting God to give you your own house some day in the future. When you are late to activities what you are saying is that you value your time more than anybody else’s. Some value their own children more than those of other people. Don’t value only your own things, value the things that belong to other people.

1. Don’t be a naturalist or an atheist, believe in miracles.

Seen in verses 6 to 7. The ax head that fell to the bottom of Jordan floated to the top. That was a miracle. Miracles are those acts hat only God can perform – usually suspending natural laws, as is in this case. Bakers Dictionary of the Bible defines a miracle as an event in the external world brought about by the immediate agency or the simple volition of God. It goes on to add that, a miracle occurs to show that the power behind it is not limited to the laws of matter or mind as it interrupts fixed natural laws. So the term supernatural is exactly what it says. Supernatural is above the natural. These believe in the existence of God, even though some of them claim to be Christian for that reason…but they do not believe in miracles. Atheist do not believe that God exists, yet they argue over the existence of God. Isn’t it foolish for somebody to argue over that which is not? Naturalist or materialists explain everything that happens in terms of natural causes. The supernatural does exist. There are times when God meets our needs supernaturally. You better believe it

1. Don’t depend on miracle for everything, do some things yourself.

In the last verse of our text, says: ⁷Therefore he said, “Pick it up for yourself.” So he reached out his hand and took. Elisha said to the man who lost the ax head after it floated to the top miraculously, pick it up for yourself.

You believe in miracles, live in miracles of healing, but you do not take care of yourself. You don’t eat right, you don’t live in a clean environment, you don’t get sufficient rest. Don’t depend on miracle for everything. Do some things yourself. We may not like don’ts and does or does and don’ts for that matter, but they can provide helpful insights in our spiritual and physical life. These things take us from the negative to the positive side of life.

PRAYER:

Father, we are thankful to you now, and ask that this Spirit of God will really burn this truth deep in our heats, to take us from where we are to where you would have us be, to be progressive in life. This we pray, in Jesus Name, Amen!