STOP...DON'T BOIL THE BABY!!!!!!!!!!!

Howdy Oh Ye Trusters in God. How's you TRUST FACTOR doing in the midst of world events?

The year was 1971. I was enrolled at Tennessee Temple Bible School. I was freshly saved from the fall of 1970. During a Missionary Conference at Temple Baptist Church in Murfreesboro Tennessee...I listen to a preacher by the name of Milton Kerr preach a message. I don't especially remember what he said...but I do know that I experienced an overwhelming desire to be used by God.

I made a commitment to do anything that was needed to be used of God. I quite the band that I was still in...THE BLIND DISTORTION. We played one more gig at the Moose Lodge...where we pulled a WHO ending and went out on a feedback frenzy...knocking over instruments and creating havoc. If those Moose members could have had a cow....they would have.

Fast forward to one of my first sermons...that I diligently put together after taking Homiletics. The message was called DON'T BOIL THE BABY!!! After all of these years...as I listen to the economic woes of 2008...the message still rings true with me. The message about not boiling babies was preceded by how the invisible supersedes the visible.

II Kings 6:8-24...the Lord reveal how what appears to be...is not necessarily so. The King of Syria was warring against Israel. The attendant of Elisha had risen early one morning...and saw an army with horses and chariots circling the city. The servant's reaction was FEAR..."Alas, my master! What shall we do?
Elisha's response to the visible was NOT to deny what was visible...but to take control of the FEAR..."Do NOT fear." The reason for not fearing was what Elisha was SEEING...that the servant was NOT SEEING. "...for those who are WITH US are more than those who are WITH THEM." At that point Elisha asked the Lord to allow the servant to see what he was seeing...."O Lord, I pray, OPEN HIS EYES...that he may see." And the Lord did. "And the Lord opened the servant's eyes, and HE SAW...and behold...the mountain was FULL OF HORSES AND CHARIOTS OF FIRE all around Elisha. The Lord then orchestrated for the tables to be turned on the enemy by blinding the eyes of the enemy, routing them into the midst of Samaria.

WOW...what a powerful lesson about TRUSTING IN GOD...even if it looks like we are at a disadvantage.

In this crazy world that we live in...it is easy to look as CBS, ABC, NBC, MSNBC, CNN, FOX NEWS, read blogs, listen to talk radio, read a newspaper....and begin to trust in our master....MASTER...MASTER...MASTERCARD. Instead of FEARING...We need to pray for the Lord to show us the TRUTH. We don't deny REALITY...but we know that TRUTH TRUMPS REALITY. We need a God's eye perspective on what we are going through.

II Kings 6:25-29 speaks of two women in the midst of a besieged and famininized Samaria. A donkey's head was sold for eighty shekels of silver (Hee Haw), and a fourth of a kab (a kab=1 pint) of dove's dung was going for five shekels of silver. Talk about price gouging. I refuse to give more than 3 shekels for dung. I wonder if they had dung wars at the corner market. If there was a gas station in Samaria...gas would have going for 500 shekels a gallon. One woman cried out to the King of Israel, complaining about another woman. The two women had struck up a deal that they would BOIL HER SON...and EAT HIM...and on the next day....they would BOIL the other woman's son and eat him...HOWEVER...the other woman backed out of the deal after eating the first woman's son...and she HID HER SON.

Sometimes in the MIDST OF BEING BESIEGED and IN THE MIDDLE OF A FAMINE...with out backs against the wall...we do DESPERATE things in DESPERATE TIMES. Thus...the title of one of my first messages a young Baptist preacher boy....DON'T BOIL THE BABY!!!! Instead of boiling the baby....TRUST GOD FOR PROVISION.

NOTE: At this point...I want everyone to take a collective breath...and say...THAT IS HARD TO DO!!!!!!!

God's heartbeat is PROVISION...to those who TRUST HIM...and sometimes even to those who don't. God can deal with honest doubt. There was a man who had a son possessed...and he cried out for pity on him and his son...and asked for HELP. Jesus' response was...IF YOU CAN! All things are POSSIBLE TO HIM WHO BELIEVES." Immediately the boys' father cried out....and began to say...
"I DO BELIEVE...HELP THOU MY UNBELIEF." Jesus response to the BELIEVING UNBELIEF...DELIVERANCE.

"Faith is the substance/assurance of things hoped for, the conviction/evidence of things NOT SEEN." (Hebrews 11:1 NASB)

"Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title-deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] DO NOT SEE and the conviction of their reality---faith perceiving as real fact what IS NOT REVEALED TO THE SENSES." (Hebrews 11:1 The Amplified Bible)

"For we walk by faith and NOT BY SIGHT." (II Corinthians 5:17 NASB)

"For we walk by faith [that is, we regulate our lives and conduct ourselves by our conviction or belief respecting man's relationship to God and divine things, with , with trust and holy fervor; thus we walk] NOT BY SIGHT OR APPEARANCES." (II Corinthians 5:7 The Amplified Bible)

God is a PROVIDER. He provided food for Elijah via Raven Delivery...Fresh Baked Manna (HOT like a Krispie Kream Donut)...Quail under glass....and fresh, running water from the Rock. All of these items were delivered....WHEN IT LOOK LIKE IN THE NATURAL THERE WAS NO WAY OUT. Faith put eyes on belief. TRUTH TRUMPED REALITY.

One of the COMPOUND NAMES of God...that reflects his character is...
JEHOVAH JIREH...which means MY PROVIDER...the God who will meet our needs according to His riches in Glory...in Christ Jesus.

Why am I Rambling like this? I'm glad you asked. In these last days...we need to start trusting God...in the good times...because...there will come a day when there is no hope to be had in MasterCard...insurance companies...401 K...gas pumps...etc.

IF God can provide when gas was 36 cents a gallon...and if He can provide gas at a dollar a gallon...and He can provide gas at $5.00 + a gallon...He can provide anything.

Oh...by the way...this PROVISION goes way beyond the material. He will provide for your marriage, your peace, your job, your family, your sanity, your destiny

Lord...open our eyes and let us see BEYOND what the world wants us to see. Let us see beyond what is staring us in the face and breathing down our necks. Let us see your PROVISION...let us SEE YOU.

Love and Provided Kisses
Rodney "Eyes Wide Open" Boyd

P.S.

Oh yea...IT'S HARD...but it's WORTH IT. Still kickin' against the darkness till it bleeds daylight.

Love and P.S. Kisses
Rodney "Ain't Gonna Hoard Dove Dung" Boyd