EXPANSION BY INVASION

EXPANSION BY INVASION

2Ki 6:1-7 KJV 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 shewed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron did swim. 7 Therefore said he, Take it up to thee. And he put out his hand, and took it.

The sons of the prophets who were also called the disciples of Elisha met him and told him that the place where they were sitting and dwelling with him was too narrow or tight and they needed to have an extension. The increase in the number of the students in the school of prophets was literally because of the ministry and miracles of Elisha. he had a great influence and many people were troping to him.

May the Lord increase what you do in life and cause you to increase in all sides in Jesus name.

Psa 71:21 KJV Thou shalt increase my greatness, and comfort me on every side.

Psa 115:14 KJV The LORD shall increase you more and more, you and your children.

They did not only desire it but acted on their aspiration. They went into the bush and cut down the woods. While they were doing that, the axe head of one of them fell into the River and the man shouted because it was not his own but borrowed.

The man cried, and said, alas, master! for it was borrowed: it grieved him to lose his axe, because he could do no more work. when you lose your tool you automatically become useless, idle and unemployed. Many have lost their tools. The tools may be money working capital, it could be a place where they sell, it could also be a contract or job. But like this man, once you lose your means of working, you will be devastated and troubled. There are many like that today because of the prevailing economic reality, they have lost their tools voluntarily or involuntarily. But can I pray for you, the Lord shall reverse the situation in Jesus name.

And much more why the man cried out was  because it was not his own, but he had borrowed it from his neighbour; and still more, because, as it seems, he was poor, and not able to pay for it, which, being of an honest disposition, gave him distress.

You borrow things you don’t have and it is either you are too poor to afford it or it is not readily available. Whichever, the Lord does not want to be a borrower; a borrower of money or material things. One of the blessings upon the Israelites is that they shall not borrow but lend to many nations. The book of proverb has this to say about borrowing.

Pro 22:7 KJV The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.

This is very profound. There are many Christians that can not do without borrowing. Whether it is necessary or not they just have to borrow to meet what they called an immediate and urgent need.

The bible has a solution to that and Paul tells us:

1Ti 6:8 KJV And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.

Heb 13:5 KJV Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

The son of the prophet actually borrowed the axe because he had none. How do I know that? here what he said when the axe head flew out and fell inside the river:

2Ki 6:5 KJV 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.

The Hebrew word for “borrow” is “shâ’al shâ’êl”. It means to ask, enquire, borrow, beg. He actually begged for it and he had no money to repay it back and that was why he screamed.

Can I pray for you? The yoke of borrowing is broken in Jesus’ name. Every yoke of insufficiency is destroyed by fire in Jesus name. The covenant is against borrowing for living as stated in Deut 28.

Deu 28:12 KJV The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow.

Deu 15:6 KJV For the LORD thy God blesseth thee, as he promised thee: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow; and thou shalt reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over thee.

In fact one of the beatitudes as it is normally called puts us in the condition of a lender and not a borrower.

Mat 5:42 KJV Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.

This is my question: why did the sons of the prophets wait till they found out that the place was too narrow for them before they started thinking for an extension? I believe it is a natural thing to do by any right thinking folks. We are mostly sense minded people who relate and walk by our five senses. It doesn’t make any good sense for you to start expanding when the current place you are occupying now is not filled up. It will amount to a waste of money and resources.

However, sometimes when we act under pressure there is a likelihood of making a mistake and running into distress like this man. He could have been under pressure and while cutting wood the axe head dropped. One of the ways to prevent this is to live by faith. The Bible has said that just shall live by faith Hab 2: 4. Hear what is obtainable under the New Covenant.

Isa 54:2-3 KJV 2 Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes; 3 For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.

The Lord was talking to Zion that was experiencing desolation and waste lands to start spreading out because increase was coming. The Gentile church will be so muc increased that they will need expansion. Here is the lesson for us. We need to anticipate an increase in every area of endeavours; be it ministry, career, work, family and otherwise and not only anticipate but make adequate preparation for it by increasing capacity.

As an individual, where you dwell will one day be too narrow for you if you don’t start preparation now. Increase your knowledge. The time is coming when the certificate that you think is not necessary today will be a requirement and a prerequisite for a good job. Go back to school to acquire a higher degree. Develop your skills in your place of work. The employer only pays for the value you bring to the table. Money itself is an exchange for value. The higher the value the better the paycheck.

Apollo was a man that was only versed in the doctrine of John the Baptist. But he humbled himself to be taught by Priscillia and Aquila, he became more eloquent. Here’s what the bible says about him.

Act 18:24-28 KJV 24 And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus. 25 This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John. 26 And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly. 27 And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him: who, when he was come, helped them much which had believed through grace: 28 For he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publickly, shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ.

In marriage aspire to greater relationships. Learn more about your spouse and act love irrespective of feelings or not. The feelings will come, just act as if it is real. If you are believing in God for the fruit of the womb, then buy baby materials even when there are no signs of pregnancy. In the same light, for those that are single and searching, start preparation for the marriage; get your wedding gown or suit as the case may be and do other necessary preparations. This is how faith works.

Those in business ought to start thinking of business expansion. It takes faith to do what Isaiah 54 was talking about. How could you rent another store or open another office when the one you are presently occupying has so much space? But that is faith. God is pleased by faith. 11: 6.. The difference between the Old Testament people like Elisha and his school of prophets is that they were men of senses and acted based on what their five senses told them. But under the new Covenant, 2Cor 5: 7 says, we walk by faith and not by sight. We don’t wait till we see before we act but we act based on what the Bible says.