INTRODUCTION:

At a recent church luncheon buffet line, next to the apples was a sign that read: "Apples: please only take one per person. Remember, God is watching." A little further down the line next to the cookies, someone had scrawled with a crayon: "Cookies: take all you want. God is watching the apples." (1)

Or how about the guy who stopped at the bakery right at closing time and ordered a batch of sugar cookies. The young clerk politely said she couldn't sell them because they were frozen. "Frozen?"

"Yes," she replied, "We bake the cookies, freeze them and later put them into the display case to defrost. They won't be fresh until tomorrow." (2)

Or how about the three-year-old who was caught sitting on the kitchen counter eating cookies who said: "I just climbed up to smell them, and my tooth got caught." (3)

What is it about that sweet little confection that tantalizes us so much? The smell of fresh baked cookies is one of the most inviting smells there is. It just shouts of welcome and home and love. And it doesn't even have to be home baked cookies. Even bag of Oreos can evoke that feeling for some.

The Oreo cookie has been America's most popular cookie since it was introduced in 1912.

The average "original" oreo cookie is 1 ¾ inches wide and 1/3 of an inch tall?

Did you know that over 345 billion Oreo cookies have been sold to date and they would fill up the world's largest freight train, consisting of 660 freight cars, more than 45 times.

Did you know the St. Louis Arch is 15,120 Oreo cookies high or (630 feet).

The Golden Gate Bridge is 28,800 Oreo cookies long or (4,200 feet).

If every Oreo cookie ever made were stacked on top of each other (more than 345 billion), the pile would reach to the moon and back more than five times. Then again, if placed side-by-side, they would encircle the earth, at the equator, 381 times.

An Oreo cookie is 29% creme, 71% cookie. More than 7.5 billion Oreo cookies are consumed each year, which comes out to 625 million per month and 20.5 million per day.

The floral design on the oreo cookie consists of 12 flowers per side.

There are places that sell Fried Oreos. Us Americans are something else aren't we. We think we can take anything and make it better by dipping it in batter and deep frying it. That's exactly what they do with these Deep Fried Oreos. They dip them in pancake batter and drop in the deep fryer. I can feel my arteries clogging up just thinking about it.

There have been a number of varieties of Oreos: I can think of at least 16.

Original, Mini, Chocolate Creme, Chocolate Creme Mini, Reduced Fat, White Chocolate Covered, Fudge Mint Covered, Oreo Barz, Big Stuff, Double Delights (Peanut Butter and Chocolate, Mint and Creme, Coffee Creme.) UhOh Oreos (Which only lasted about 5 months and was a reverse opposite oreos: chocolate cookie with white creme filling), Golden Oreo, and then my two favorites: Fudge Covered, Oreo Double Stuf.

I like the Fudge Covered because they are so decadent. And I like the Double Stuf just because they're so good. And believe it or not they make me think of our passage of Scripture today.

(2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14) NRSV

[1] Now when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal.

[2] Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here; for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel." But Elisha said, "As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So they went down to Bethel.

[6] Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here; for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan." But he said, "As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So the two of them went on.

[7] Fifty men of the company of prophets also went, and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan.

[8] Then Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up, and struck the water; the water was parted to the one side and to the other, until the two of them crossed on dry ground.

[9] When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you." Elisha said, "Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit."

[10] He responded, "You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not."

[11] As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven.

[12] Elisha kept watching and crying out, "Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!" But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.

[13] He picked up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan.

[14] He took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, saying, "Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?" When he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over.

I'll bet you're sitting out there thinking to yourself, "OK, what do Double Stuf Oreos and Elijah being taken to heaven in a chariot of fire have to do with healing and wholeness."

Actually, the part I'm most concerned with is Elisha's request.

Verse 9 says, "When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you." Elisha said, "Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit."

Elisha, like all the Oreo aficionados, knew a good thing. He knew if a single portion was good, that a double portion had to be even better. So, he asked for a Double Portion of God's blessing.

Today we've come to hold a service of healing and wholeness and in the midst of that I think we need to ask for a Double Portion of God's blessing. A Double Portion of God's healing power.

I. HEALING:

A. You see, I believe in healing. And while this passage doesn't have anything to do with healing, it does tells us to seek a Double Portion of God's blessing in healing.

We know we're supposed to bring everything to Christ. Jesus doesn't say "Come to me all who are weary and carry heavy burdens" and then give us a list of those who can't come. Or burdens we can't bring to him.

No, Jesus said, "Come to me all. . ." I take that as an open invitation. An invitation to each and every one of us. An invitation very similar to what James 5:14–16a, which we read earlier, says;

"Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed."

"Come to me all. . ." And seek a Double Portion of God's blessing in healing.

B. I believe in healing because God doesn't lie. And because I have seen God heal both through the marvels of modern medicine and through divine intervention. Jo Cater experienced that. By all rights, she should have died three years earlier. And her healing wasn't just physical, it was a spiritual healing as well, that allowed her to face death with dignity and grace and be an instrumental part of the ministry of this Church.

I believe in healing. And Jesus promises to heal us when put our trust and faith in him.

He promises to heal broken hearts, broken minds, broken dreams, wounds from broken promises, our broken yesterdays, broken spirits, even our broken bodies,

I believe in healing. But I need to caution you, yours may not be that miraculous healing of body or spirit. It may be a long slow process using the medical technology of the day. That's up to God.

But you might be the one whose life is touched and made whole today. Because God still heals, but in God's way and in God's time.

But like Elisha, you'll never know how God will act in your life until you ask.

And that's what today is all about, a time to ask. A time to seek a Double Portion of God's blessing. A Double Portion of God's healing power. A Double Portion of God's spirit. A Double Portion of whatever God has in store for you. you'll never know what God has for you until you ask.

CONCLUSION:

Two older men talking about their health problems at our church. "My new doctor doesn't just treat the symptoms, he treats both the mind and the body."

"Hmm," the second man grunted and thought for a moment; then he asked, "Does he give a discount if the mind is already gone?" (4)

You don't have to look for a discount today. God's Grace is abundant. And God's Grace in healing is there for everyone.

Joey and Dennis the Menace are leaving the Wilson house with cookies in hand. Dennis says to Joey, "Mrs. Wilson gives you a cookie because she is nice, not because you're nice." (5)

God's grace is just like that. It is not something you have to earn. God blesses you because God wants to bless you. God blesses you because God is God. God loves you because God is love. You don't have to earn a thing. All you have to do is ask like Elisha and then accept.

Do you remember the old Doublemint gum ads. It always featured a set of twins and the jingle was: "Double your pleasure, double your fun with double good, double good, Double Mint Gum."

Well, today we're invited to seek a Double Portion of God's blessing. We're invited to open the Oreo Cookies of God's love and notice that it's filled with Double Stuf.

Come this morning, seeking that Double Stuf in your life. It might be for a broken relationship or an illness, it doesn't make any difference. Ask for a Double Portion of God's blessing.

1. The Pastor's Story File (Saratoga Press, P.O. Box 8, Platteville, CO, 80651; 970-785-2990), July 2001

2. Parables, Etc. (Saratoga Press, P.O. Box 8, Platteville, CO, 80651; 970-785-2990), June 1994 Tom Bresko "All In a Day's Work" Reader's Digest,

3. Autoillustrator

4. Christian Reader, "Lite Fare."

5. From Dennis The Menace, January 15, 1991

www.SermonWriter.com (Copyright, Richard Niell Donovan, 2000)

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