Strike The Ground | Pastor Darren Palmer | Faith Church

Would you turn with me in your scriptures to

2 Kings chapter 13? 2 Kings chapter 13. I started

2 Kings 13 · chapter mention 2 Kings 13 · chapter mention

this word last week. God began to drop this in

my heart. We began a discussion in our seniors

gathering. Our seniors gather every Wednesday

at 1 p .m. at Suzanne and at the Kodat's home

and Suzanne and Mike's home. It's mostly Suzanne,

so Mike gets to live there. But any of you that

consider yourself seniors, what age is that?

I don't know when that begins. I go. But anyway,

it's a wonderful prayer meeting, and you are

welcome to come at 1 o 'clock. And so we talked

about this passage of Scripture. And I felt like

the Lord wanted me to bring it to the entire

church. I feel like it's a word for a moment

in time. I believe that God is going to fan some

people into flame this morning. I believe that

God is going to deposit something into you. How

many of you are ready to receive from the Word

of God? Let's read it together. 2 Kings chapter

2 Kings 13 · chapter mention

13 and verse 14. Elisha had become sick with

the illness of which he would die. That's an

interesting sentence all on its own. That's not

my text really. Then Joash the king of Israel

came down to him and wept over his face. And

said, oh, my father, my father, the chariots

of Israel and their horsemen. And Elisha said

to him, take a bow and some arrows. So he took

himself a bow and some arrows. And he said to

the king of Israel, put your hand on the bow.

So he put his hand on it. And Elisha put his

hands on the king's hands. And he said, open

the east window. And he opened it. And Elisha

said, shoot. And he shot. And Elisha said, the

arrow of the Lord's deliverance and the arrow

of deliverance from Syria. For you must strike

the Syrians at Aphek until you have destroyed

them. It's a pretty awesome moment so far, isn't

it? A prophetic moment. This is the kind of moment

that doesn't happen very often. We'll get to

the rest of the story in a moment. There have

been some people in my life that have impacted

me like this. Now, Joash was a wicked king. He

did not lead the nation into righteousness, but

he had a healthy respect for the prophet. And

when the prophet was nearing the end of his life,

the king went to see the prophet and wanted the

blessing of the prophet. The Syrians had come

against Israel and were defeating them. This

happened often in Israel's history when Israel

would stray away from God. God would raise up

a nation that would come against Israel. This

was happening right now with Syria. And Joash

wanted some answers. And he knew the importance

of not just a prophet, but the prophet. This

prophet was not just one of the prophets that

were operating in the land. This was the prophet

that had the double portion anointing from Elijah.

This was the prophet that could move the hand

of God. This was the prophet that could change

the history of a nation. And he went to see Elisha

out of respect for Elisha. And out of respect

for him, he participated in this prophetic act.

Take your bow and some arrows. And face the east

window. And can you just imagine the old prophet

rising up to stand next to the king. And as the

king draws back, the old prophet placing his

hand upon the hand of the king. Covering the

hand of the king. Shoot! And the arrow goes through

the window. And the prophet says, the arrow of

the Lord's deliverance. This is an amazing moment.

This is the kind of prophetic moment that you

remember the rest of your life. I remember when

a man of God in our world, his name was Joe.

And his wife had passed away. He was getting

ready to move. He ended up passing away about

five or six months later. But before he moved

from our city to go and be with his family for

the last days of his life in Indiana, I made

sure that I brought my sons to his house. And

I sat my sons before Joe. And I had Joe lay his

hands on my sons and pray over them. It was a

moment that I'll never forget. And this was that

kind of a moment. This is the kind of moment

that Joash could potentially tell his family,

his grandchildren about. I was with the prophet.

And it was the beginning of the deliverance of

Israel. But the story goes on. Because there

are some qualities in Joash's life that God wanted

to deal with. And so the story didn't stop there.

And in verse 18 he says, take the arrows. So

Joash took them and he said to the king of Israel,

strike the ground. So the king struck. the ground

three times and stopped. And the man of God was

angry with Joash and said, you should have struck

five or six times. Then you would have struck

Syria till you had destroyed it. But now you

will strike Syria. Only three times. And then

Elisha died and they buried him. Father, we thank

you for your word. And we ask that you would

open it to our hearts. In Jesus' mighty name.

Hallelujah. We thank you, Father. Incredible

moment. Pick up the arrows, Joash. and strike

the ground. When I first read this, I think,

Elisha, you have no right to be upset with Joash.

You told him to strike the ground, and he not

only struck the ground once, but he struck the

ground three times. But what Elisha was looking

for in Joash that made him upset was a quality

called wholeheartedness. It's something of zeal.

He was looking for fervency in Joash. And he

did not find it. He looked at Joash in this moment

and I don't know if it was his body language.

I don't know what it was that the prophet saw.

But he hit the ground three times and the prophet

was angry. The prophet was angry because he did

not see zeal in Joash. A while ago, the Lord

woke me up in the night. With the name on my

mind. Anybody ever have that happen? Many of

you have had that happen. A name was on my mind.

What do you think that God was wanting me to

do in that moment? He was wanting me to pray.

And so do you know what I did? I said, Lord,

I just ask that you would bless that person.

In my heart, I didn't use my voice, would have

woken up my wife. I just said it in my heart

and in my mind, and I turned over and went back

to sleep. I think in that moment that I did just

enough to convince myself that I had obeyed God.

But that is not why God put that name on my heart.

Strike the ground, Joash. The kind of prayer

that moves mountains and changes situations is

found In James chapter 5. And James 5 says. The

James 5 · chapter mention

righteous prayer. The fervent prayer. Let me

just pull it up here. James 5 .16. Confess your

trespasses to one another. We're going to get

to that part in a moment. And pray for one another.

That you might be healed. The effective fervent

prayer. of a righteous man avails much. Amen?

Elisha was looking for zeal. He was looking for

fervency, and he found none. Elisha was fueled

by zeal. Here he is, the day he's going to die,

and he's rallied himself up to engage in this

prophetic moment, and he finds himself upset

with the king. The last thing he says before

he dies, Elisha was fueled by zeal. There's another

prophet that I'm reminded was fueled by zeal.

And I asked the seniors to pray this verse over

me in the coming weeks. And it's Jeremiah chapter

Jeremiah 20 · chapter mention

20 and verse 9. And Jeremiah was told by the

people, be quiet, be quiet, be quiet. They didn't

like him prophesying. And so in verse 9, he said,

I will not make mention of God nor speak any

more in his name. And so for a season, the prophet

Jeremiah kept silent. But listen to this next

phrase. But his word was in my heart like a burning

fire shut up in my bones. I was weary of holding

it back, and I could not. Do you know what this

was in the prophet Jeremiah? It was the same

thing that was in Elisha. It was this thing called

zeal. Zeal for God's word. God is speaking to

me and it's burning in my heart. And I can't

help but preach what he has put in my heart to

say. This is what happened in the book of Acts

Acts 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4. And Peter and John are standing before

the Sanhedrin. And the Sanhedrin says, don't

preach in his name anymore. And what did Peter

and John say? They said, we cannot help but speak

the things which we have seen and the things

which we have heard. Why? Because there was something

of zeal inside their heart. Something of passion.

Something of sincerity. Something was in their

heart that Elisha did not find in Joash. When

was the last time you were moved? By the spiritual

condition of our city and our nation. I appreciated

talking with one of you this week. This past

Sunday night. And you shared about what was happening

in the city. What you were witnessing in the

city. Listen to this in Acts 17. Verse 16. Paul

waited for them at Athens. His spirit was provoked

within him when he saw that the city was given

over to idols. Paul looked at the condition of

the city of Athens and he was provoked on the

inside because he saw that they gave themselves

to idolatry. And many of us watch our city slide

and slide and slide and feel nothing. But God

is looking for somebody that will have some zeal

and some passion. What kind of prayer is effective?

Fervent prayer. Are we praying just enough to

make ourselves feel better about the way we're

living? Strike the ground, Joash. I don't know

about you, but I want to be an all -in kind of

believer. Does this mean that I walk in perfection?

Not at all. But I want to do this thing called

Christianity with my whole heart, with everything

that's inside of me. When God speaks to me to

do something, I want to do it with all that I

am. Do you know that Jesus was like this? And

the disciples were shocked by it. Let me just

read this to you. John chapter 2 verse 13. Now

John 2:13

this is early in the ministry of Jesus. He did

it again during the Passion Week. John 2 .13,

now the Passover of the Jews was at hand and

Jesus went up to Jerusalem and he found in the

temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves

and the money changers doing business. And when

he had made a whip of cords, he drove them all

out of the temple with the sheep and the oxen

and poured out the money changers and overturned

the tables. And he said to those who sold doves,

take these things away. Do not make my father's

house a house of merchandise. And then his disciples

remembered that it was written, zeal for your

house has eaten me up. The disciples were shocked

at this moment. Fiery. They saw some fiery passion

in the Lord Jesus. Not just this lovey -dovey

Savior, but a passionate, fiery Jesus. And I

think they said that man is worth following.

They saw him in a brand new light and they remembered

Psalm 69 verse 9. But his zeal was not only expressed

Psalms 69:9

in anger in this moment. I believe that zeal

for the house of God, for the people of God,

for his prayer life, for the ministry. I believe

that zeal was an evident character trademark

of who Jesus was. Can you imagine Jesus bored

with his life? Can you imagine Jesus bored spending

time with the Father? Can you imagine him ever

saying, okay, I suppose I'll heal you. No, Jesus

was fully engaged. And that's the kind of life

that I want to live. Strike the ground, Joash.

I want to read Colossians 3, 22 through 24. I

want to read this from the message. Transliteration.

This is Eugene Peterson's version. Servants,

do what you're told by your earthly masters.

And don't just do the minimum that will get you

by. I want to read that again. And don't just

do the minimum that will get you by. Do your

best. Work from the heart for your real master,

for God. Confident that you'll get paid in full

when you come into your inheritance. Keep in

mind always that the ultimate master you're serving

is Christ. The sullen servant who does shoddy

work will be held responsible. Being a follower

of Jesus doesn't cover up bad work. Wow. Isn't

that awesome? We've got to do things with zeal.

We've got to do them wholeheartedly. Why ought

we live with zeal? Remember the passage in James

James 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5 where it says fervent prayer? Fervent

prayer. That word fervent is energeo. Well, what

English word do you think comes from that? Energy.

Energy. Let me... Let me read to you another

verse that uses the same word from Ephesians

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2. You once walked in the course of this

world. This is verse 2. According to the prince

of the power of the air, this is the devil, the

spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience.

What do you think that word works is? The same

word. Fervent. Do you know the devil is fervent

in what he does? Do you know the devil works

hard to keep people in darkness and blindness

and keep the church lackadaisical, to keep the

church from rising up and being the people of

God that he's called them to be? The enemy works

overtime to keep you lukewarm as a believer so

that you'll be ineffective and unproductive.

The devil works in the sons of disobedience,

and he's working with passion and fervency. And

I don't know what that does for you, but that

kind of riles me up a little bit and says, I

want to meet the challenge. If you've got one

army that's fired up and full of zeal, and you've

got another army that's haphazard, which army

do you think is going to win? And the enemy is

fighting for everything to keep people in darkness,

to drag people to hell, as many as he can. And

the church is sleeping. But it's time for the

slumbering church to awaken and to arise up and

have energy. Praise God. If you come to prayer

on Wednesday nights, Don't come, don't come with

a lazy, unbelieving attitude. If you come to

prayer on Wednesday nights to believe God for

things like revival, to believe God for things

like families and restoration and deliverances,

come believing that when I pray, it's going to

make a difference. Hallelujah. Come believing

that when I seek God, it's going to change things

because it's that kind of faith and it's that

kind of believing that changes a city and changes

a region. The devil works with zeal and God's

church ought to work with zeal also. But the

greater reason that we ought to work with zeal

is not because the devil does. The greater reason

we ought to work with zeal is because our Father

works with zeal. Let me read to you another verse.

Ephesians 1 .20. Let me back up. Let me back

up. Verse 19. What is the exceeding greatness

of His power toward us who believe? Everybody

say, toward us who believe. That is us. According

to the working of his mighty power, which he

worked in Christ when he raised him from the

dead and seated him at the right hand of the

heavenly places. What do you think that word

worked is? Zeal. Energy. The Father expressed

zeal in raising the Son from the dead. Hallelujah.

I don't know about you, but I get excited about

that. Hallelujah. Galatians chapter 3 verse 5

Galatians 3:5

says, Therefore he who supplies the Spirit to

you and works miracles among you, works miracles

among you. See, you came up. this morning believing

God for a miracle and you had the elders lay

hands and pray over you, but what you couldn't

see behind the scenes is the zeal of the Father

that was engaging while we were praying and imparting

miracles into you and answering prayer. Hallelujah!

When you pray, the Father in heaven doesn't just

sit up and say, well, I guess they prayed enough

now, I guess I'll answer. No, he's filled with

zeal and he's working amongst his people. Hallelujah.

When a miracle is released, it's a sign of the

zeal of the Father. When you're healed, it's

a sign that God is acting towards you with energy

and giving you his very best. Praise God. God

is working in your life. I've got two more verses

here and then I'm going to be done and then we're

going to pray. Philippians chapter 2 is an interesting

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

verse because it not only talks about the zeal

that God has, but the zeal that we have. For

it is God who works in you. It is God who works

in you. That is... In you. So that you can. Will.

And do. His pleasure. Because what that word

do is. Energy. So the picture is this. It's God

that. That. That invests. With zeal into your

life. So that you. have the power and the zeal

to do what he's called you to do. There is an

exchange from God to me. And so guess what? I

don't have to muster anything up. What I'm not

talking about this morning is just hyping yourself

up so that you feel a certain feeling. That's

not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about

a life that is invested. in being all in for

Christ. That doesn't mean you always feel it.

We don't operate by our feelings. Well, if I

feel it, then I'll do it. Some of you in this

area of praise, I loved it when right at the

beginning, a place flooded with people praising

the Lord this morning. God inhabits the praises

of his people. God inhabits the praises of his

people. That means God's manifest presence comes

when God's people praise him. But which comes

first? Which comes first? Does the manifest presence

of God come first? No. Praise comes first. But

many of us sit back and say, I'm going to wait

until I feel it. But that's not the kind of faith

that God is looking for. Sure. Strike the ground,

Joash. And so this is true across any, this is

true in the little things of life. I've been

starting to run again and I've been doing good

for about two or three months now. And do you

know what I'm having, you know what I do every

time I run? I do it with zeal. I do it with everything

in me. And it's starting to have effect on my

life. And I'm thanking God for that. I started

last year, but then I was sick all winter and

it dried up. And so Pastor Ben and I went running

on Saturday together. And it was full -on zeal,

especially the last hundred yards. On my app,

it shows blue for slower. And then the faster

you get, it gets yellow and then it gets red.

And the last hundred yards were red. We won't

talk about that. Transfers into every part of

our lives. Wholeheartedness. And one reason why

you're bored with life sometimes is because you

don't engage. The young person that goes to youth

group because mom and dad forced them can be

bored with youth group because they're not engaged.

But the young person that goes and says, I'm

going all in for God, guess what? Guess what?

It changes their whole youth group experience.

The person that comes to church on Sunday, because

it's the religious thing to do. You might find

yourself bored and you might find yourself looking

at your watch and saying, this is the longest

service in Lincoln. But people packed. They packed.

The movie, the movie theater Thursday night to

watch Spider -Man for two plus hours and never

looked at their watch once. Am I telling you

the truth? How do I get energy back? Because

some of you are remembering a time in your life

when zeal for God was real. You were hungry for

him. What did Jesus say about lukewarmness in

Revelation 3? I wish that you were hot or cold,

Revelation 3, I think verse 10. But because you're

lukewarm, I will spit you out of my mouth. The

disciples, but Jesus told all kinds of parables.

Do you know many of them had to do with wholeheartedness?

Ten virgins waiting for the bridegroom, five

wise and five foolish. The five wise ones had

zeal. among other things. How do I get it back?

My final verse, 2 Corinthians chapter 7. Paul's

2 Corinthians 7 · chapter mention

first letter, 1 Corinthians. He rebuked the Corinthians.

He tore into them. He tore into them. And it

made him sorry. And Paul said in verse 9 in the

second letter, he was responding to that. He

said, now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry,

but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you

were made sorry, in a godly manner, that you

might suffer loss from us and nothing. For godly

sorrow produces repentance, leading to salvation,

not to be regretted. But the sorrow of the world

produces death. For observe this very thing,

that you sorrowed in a godly manner. And when

we have conviction come upon us, and we don't

just give a token prayer, well, God, forgive

my sins. But no, we feel it, and we say, God,

I have moved away from you. I have not served

you with my whole heart. And we're moved on the

inside. That is true repentance. Paul goes on

to say, observe this thing you sorrowed in a

godly manner and this was the fruit. What diligence

it produced in you. What clearing of yourselves.

What indignation. What fear. What vehement desire.

What zeal. What vindication. In all things, you

proved yourselves to be clear in this matter.

Paul had rebuked them for sexual sin. And Paul

was commending them now for saying you dealt

with it. You changed. And now look at your life.

You're filled with zeal and passion. You're doing

what God called you to do. What caused that?

Repentance. Pastor, have you always, in your

40 years of walking with Jesus, have you always

done it wholeheartedly? I've had seasons too.

where I've been half -hearted, where I've gone

through motion. I might not have been openly

rebellious, but I've also been a little bit lukewarm.

And I'm asking today for every one of us to examine

our hearts and to say, God, Restore to me. Restore

to me that which you are looking for in the life

of Joash. Strike the ground, Joash. Strike the

ground. I love the worship time that we had earlier

because it was all about laying our life down

before God. Here I am, God, to worship. Jesus

have it all. Jesus have it all. Jesus have it

all. I'm going to ask if the worship team would

come. And I just want to give you opportunity

to respond. I remember as a 13 -year -old boy

just saying, Jesus, I want you to have everything.

You know, one of my favorite scriptures in the

Bible is Jacob at the end of his life, another

one of these prophetic moments. Do you know what

he's doing? He's speaking prophecies over his

children, over his sons. And the Bible says that

he leaned on his staff and worshiped. He couldn't

even stand up. Because of his age, he couldn't

stand up fully and his balance was gone. But

he stood up in that moment and he leaned on his

staff. And he worshipped God, leaning on his

staff. And even in that moment of his life, Jacob,

whose name had become Israel, said, God, even

in this moment, it might be my last day today.

I'm going to give you everything. I'm not just

going to remain seated. I'm with everything in

me. I'm going to stand up and I'm going to worship

you. Jesus, have it all. Jesus, have it all.

What I want to know, is there anybody? That would

take the arrows. The spiritual figurative arrows.

And when the prophet. Asks you. When the Holy

Spirit asks you. Strike the ground. Joash. Strike

the ground. this is what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna

give you it all. I'm not gonna give you some

half -hearted response. I'm gonna strike the

ground again and again and again and again and

again and again. I'm not gonna grow weary in

prayer. I'm gonna come to you again and again

and again and again. going to grow weary in my

obedience I'm going to say here I am Lord here

I am here I am I give it all I give it all is

there somebody in the house that would join me

God has been speaking this to me long before

I ever preached it to you. I've been meditating

in this. I've been saying, God, I repent. God,

I want my life to be on the altar. I want to

lay it all down before you. Just lay your life

on the altar. Would you come and strike the ground?

Would you come and say, God, here I am. Here

I am. My life is not my own. I've been bought

with a price. I've been bought with a price,

the price Jesus paid for me. I want to surrender

my life to Christ. I don't want to be half -hearted

anymore. I want to yield it all.