“AND THE IRON DID SWIM”

MEMORY VERSE: 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. 2 Kings 6:6

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Exodus 33-37

2 Timothy 3:1 says: “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.” The perilous times Paul spoke about is here. As such, we must be careful. Guard the things God has given to you, jealously. Why? Firstly, it can be taken from you. Revelations 3:11 says: “Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.” There are agents of the devil out there who want to empty you of everything the Lord has given to you. Secondly, it can be lost due to carelessness. You may lose your salvation if you play with it or buy into the "eternal salvation" theory. There are several examples of fervent brothers who lost their salvation in the bible e.g. Demas, Hymenaeus, etc. According to Holy Scriptures, a man is known by his fruits (Matthew 7:16). Paul would have selected a co-worker who showed lots of it. Paul instructed Timothy and Titus on how to go about appointing elders, by making sure the selected persons were truly qualified and had a high level of morality, so we can only expect that Paul obeyed his own instructions. For instance, in Acts 15:37, Paul rejected John Mark due to his past. I am sure, Paul would not have appointed Demas as a co-worker in the ministry if he was not saved and bearing fruits. This brother later lost his salvation and went back into the world. 2 Timothy 4:10 says: “For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.”

Thirdly, the Lord (who gave it) can decide to take it back if abuse it or don't use it. The master of the servant who failed to use his talent took it back from him and gave it to the servant with ten talents (Matthew 25:14-30). The Lord warned the children of Israel whilst on their way to the promise land to run from sin or else, He would drive them from the land like He did to those before them. Leviticus 18:28 says: “That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you.” Is it possible for one to lose his or her spiritual gifts? Yes, especially if one falls into the sin of fornication or adultery. An example that comes to mind is that of a sister who fornicated. After fornicating, she lost the gifts of praying in tongues and her spiritual life went down. She had hit rock bottom when we met her. Our of mercy, the Lord restored the gift after she repented and we prayed. Guard the things God has given to you, jealously. If you have lost something due to your carelessness or for any other reason, God can restore it. However, it is better not to have lost it in the first place. I pray that He will have mercy on you and restore what you have lost. The One who retrieved an axe head from the River Jordan, a muddy river, is alive and able to retrieve the irretrievable (2 Kings 6:1-6). Verse 6 says: “ 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.”

NOTE: Don’t give up. If what you have lost is irreplaceable which is rarely the case, He will give you something better. Trust in the Lord. God wants you to be happy.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world.