"A Double Portion"

"I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it." (Psalms 81:10) God doesn't just want to save us, He wants to have a strong relationship with us; the kind of relationship that satisfies and overwhelms our souls. He brought them out of Egypt, but He also wants to deliver them from Egypt! That's what I meant by "Go big or stay at home." He doesn't want just part of our lives, He wants all of it, every little piece of it. More than that, He wants us to want Him to have it! You know that saying, "You can't out-give God," well, you can't! For every portion of our life that we give to God, He doubles the return back to us, literally! I was reminded again this morning of my very first post, and what it was that God first put on my heart when I started this; it was about His love. The question was about what best motivates us to obey God, is it fear or love? Maybe the better question should be, What makes us want to obey God, is it fear or love? Fear might get our attention, but love will draw us into a deeper relationship; and the deeper the relationship, the more we obey Him. Our obedience is not developed by fear, but love; the more we love Him, the more we obey Him. There is a Scripture that I am thinking about, but I just can't remember where it is. It's where a king was told by a prophet to strike the ground, and then he just struck it a couple of times, when he should have stuck to again and again, with intensity. How much do you want to defeat your enemy? How much do you want God to bless your life? That's the point of this message; because if you are failing, it's not God's fault...
"When Elisha was in his last illness, King Jehoash of Israel visited him and wept over him. "My father! My father! I see the chariots and charioteers of Israel!" he cried. Elisha told him, "Get a bow and some arrows." And the king did as he was told. Elisha told him, "Put your hand on the bow," and Elisha laid his own hands on the king's hands. Then he commanded, "Open that eastern window," and he opened it. Then he said, "Shoot!" So he shot an arrow. Elisha proclaimed, "This is the LORD'S arrow, an arrow of victory over Aram, for you will completely conquer the Arameans at Aphek." Then he said, "Now pick up the other arrows and strike them against the ground." So the king picked them up and stuck the ground three times. But the man of God was angry with him. "You should have stuck the ground five or six times!" he exclaimed. Then you would have beaten Aram until it was entirely destroyed. Now you will be victorious only three times."" (2 Kings 13:14-19) NLT