Prophet with God-Sized Vision — E.A. Johnston

The Need for a Prophet of Prayer and Faith

The greatest need in our land today is a prophet, a man sent from God, a God's man who will stand in the gap between heaven and earth, between mortal man and almighty God, a holy man who is so wholly sold out to God, so intoxicated with Christ and so consumed with eternity, that his very footprints leave a smoky trail of the lingering fire of God, a man whose desperate life of prayer has left fingerprints on the horns of the altar in glory, a man whose emboldened faith and Enoch-like walk with God moves mountains of resistance and proves that the God of the Bible is alive and interested in the most minute requests of man, God will always raise up an Elijah whose prayers impact a sleeping nation, the church in each generation has had individuals who live upon their knees, whose prayers reach heaven with a holy violence, India had her pray and hide, China her Hudson Taylor, England her Puritans, Scotland her Covenanters, America her fiery E .M. Bounds, voices which gained the attention of the throne room startled angels and shook the gates of hell, making even the demons quake and tremble with their desperate prayers.

Well, that's my introduction to my message this evening, friends. The title of my message is Prophet with a God-sized vision, and my text can be found in the Book of Second Kings. You can turn in your Bibles there now, friends.

Elisha's Double Portion and God-Sized Vision

We will be in chapter 13 and in verses 14 through 19. I stand amazed at the life of the prophet Elijah, who did twice as many miracles as his mentor, Elijah, because he had the faith to ask for a double portion of his mantle, a single blessing.

Wasn't good enough for this man. He desired a double blessing. Elijah was a farsighted man with a God-sized vision. In our passage, we find the man of God in his deathbed as the king of Israel comes to pay his last respects.

The Prophet's Final Lesson: Shoot the Arrows

Listen closely, friends, to what takes place in Elijah's bedchamber. Now, Elijah was falling sick of his sickness, whereof he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him and wept over his face and said, O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof.

And Elijah said unto him, Take bow and arrows. And he took unto him bow and arrows. And he said to the king of Israel, Put thine hand upon the bow. And he put his hand upon it. And Elijah put his hands upon the king's hands.

Prophetic Authority and the Arrow of Deliverance

And he said, Open the window eastward. And he opened it. Then Elijah said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said, The arrow of the Lord's deliverance and the arrow of deliverance of Syria. For thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou hast consumed them.

Let me pause here, friends, to say the prophet is passing some of his mantle of authority to the king in the form of victory and battle. He places his hands on the king's hands. Elijah is trying to get the king to see something, something larger than his illustration of the arrow shot out the window.

Faith's Measure and the Limits of Unbelief

And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them. And he said unto the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice and stayed. And the man of God was wroth with him and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times.

Then thou hast smitten Syria till thou hast consumed it. Whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice. I will stop there. Here in our striking passage of scripture, we see a small-minded king chastised by a prophet with a God-sized vision that one's faith limits God's activity with man.

In the gospel record, we find Jesus lamenting over his rejection at Nazareth and the text reads in Matthew 13, 58,. And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief. Like I said, we limit God's activity in our personal lives because of our unbelief.

Brother pastor, are your people limiting the work of God in your midst? Your church could turn your community upside down for Christ and the gospel if you could only believe with the faith of a prophet.

Three Principles of a God-Sized Vision

There are three principles I will share with you from the life of Elisha the prophet as I have studied it over and over again through the years. Principle number one, a man of God who walks with God will hear the voice of God.

Principle number two, a man of God who hears from God will see with the vision of God. Principle number three, a man of God who sees with the vision of God will go out and attempt great things for God.

Reclaiming Faith and Prayer in an Apostate Age

Elisha was a man of God with a God-sized vision whom God performed God-sized miracles through. Listen to me, dear friends. We live in a tragic hour, a tragic time in history. It's a godless time in society and it's a time of apostasy in the church.

Our young people today are mainly atheists who don't believe in God or the Bible. We have placed ourselves in this position because of our lack of faith, our lack of prayer, and our lack of preaching the full counsel of God.

But we can turn the tide back of the encroaching darkness. We can push back the darkness in our community if we could only possess the God-sized faith of a prophet who walks with God. Let me ask you, brother pastor, how many times will you smite the ground against the enemy?

Hell fills this hour while God is looking at your faith. Let us pray.