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2 Kings 4 (Part 3) Bible Study (Elisha Raises the Shunammite's Son) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

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  Let's come together the second Kings Chapter 4.
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  This is our third installment in this chapter and it will not be
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  our last. As you know, it's a it's a
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  lengthy chapter and we are no rush to try to advance without
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  meditating on everything that it has to offer.
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  So turn with me to 1st Kings Chapter 418.
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  But at the same time, allow me to set the stage for this study
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  from another part of your Bible and my Bible.
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  In Hebrews Chapter 11, you and I are provided a concise
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  definition of faith and along with it an extensive catalogue.
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  Of what faith looks like and how the Holy Spirit does it in
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  Hebrews 11 is that he lists for us notable figures and
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  characters and real people from the Scriptures who demonstrate
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  in their respective ways what trust in God looks like.
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  So Hebrews 11 is commonly known as the Hall of Faith right now,
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  if you read that chapter very carefully, what you'll notice is
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  that there are a total of 16 names explicitly provided, 16
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  names. And we see there that out of all
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  those names, there are 14 men mentioned and two women.
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  Does anybody know the name of the two women that are mentioned
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  in Hebrews Chapter 11? You can say it if you know it,
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  Rahab. And who's the other one?
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  Very good. Now here's what's more
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  interesting. Seven of those men and one of
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  those women, right? So we have 16.
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  So exactly half seven and one are located in the book of
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  Genesis alone. Now we don't have time to get
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  into the possible reasons for that, but I just think it's an
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  interesting observation as you advance in Hebrews chapter Other
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  than what you'll notice is that the author, inspired by the
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  Spirit, no longer lists names, but instead describes different
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  exploits of faith in a more general manner.
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  And I know I told you to turn to 2nd Kings 44 already, but I want
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  you to see if you would like Hebrews Chapter 11 verse 35 as
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  he is coming to the end of his teaching on faith, practical
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  faith, lived out faith, fleshed out faith.
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  Notice what he says in Hebrews 1135.
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  Woman received back their dead by resurrection.
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  Now pause there. The two most notable instances
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  of women receiving back their loved ones from the dead are
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  found in our study of First and 2nd Kings.
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  The first one is the widow from Zarephath.
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  Remember when Elijah raised her son from the dead?
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  And the second will be the woman from Shunam.
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  We are ready to study. Elijah will help raise from the
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  dead. Now the woman from Zarephath,
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  was she a Jew or a Gentile? She was a Gentile.
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  And the woman from Shunam, she was what she was a Jew.
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  Showing us that faith is meant and is available to be exercised
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  by anybody. And with that, no matter who you
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  are, God will honor you for your faith.
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  But while we're here, I want us to make mention of something
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  else, because the point of our study in Second Kings 4 will be
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  to see the power of faith and also the wisdom of God in our
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  trials. But while we're here, notice how
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  this verse continues. Hebrews 1135 women received back
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  their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured.
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  Refusing to accept release so that they might rise again to a
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  better life. And then when you read verse 36
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  and verse 37, you discover that he discusses suffering, mocking,
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  flogging, imprisonment, stoning, being destitute, afflicted, and
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  mistreated in connection to the faithful.
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  What is he getting at here? Why is he mentioning these
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  things in light of faith? To teach us and to clarify.
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  That the rewards of faith and faithfulness do not always
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  promise relief or restoration in the way that we hope.
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  There are times when faith will not bring about deliverance from
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  your problems, but instead will grant you the joy, the courage,
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  the endurance in the midst of them, as well as a reward in the
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  life to come. So the Holy Spirit is being very
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  realistic and is trying to teach us a balanced view of faith.
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  You know, a few weeks ago I stumbled upon a teaching while
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  getting ready for one of our services.
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  Sometimes if I have enough time and not rushing too much, I
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  listen to music or listen to sometimes whatever is being
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  preached on my phone. And I stumbled upon a teaching
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  of a young prosperity preacher, young guy.
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  I guess he's up and coming. I'm not too sure, but he he got
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  my attention because he was teaching at a Hebrews Chapter 11
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  and he started from verse one and he was reading down this
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  chapter and I decided to stick around because I was
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  anticipating. And looking forward to how he
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  was going to explain verse 35, verse 36, and verse 37 to talk
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  about the very things that I mentioned to you.
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  What is he going to say? Because as you know, prosperity
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  preachers love to teach on faith as the means, as our ability to
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  unlock God's blessings at will or however you wish and in a way
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  that can deliver you from absolutely any kind of
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  affliction or problem. And so as he was reading, I was
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  thinking, OK, what is he going to say here?
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  Now he comes to verse 303132, pauses here and there to
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  explain, and then he comes to verse 35.
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  What do you think? He did very quickly says let's
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  skip this part and he leftover all these truths that the Holy
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  Spirit wants to instruct the people of God concerning what
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  faith, real faith looks like. Let this be a reminder that.
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  When you choose to skip parts of the Bible, that's how you get
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  wonky theology. I'm surprised the people in that
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  place didn't stand up and protest at the same time.
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  I'm not surprised because some people don't mind skipping parts
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  of the Bible. But we are not among those who
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  do that, do we? We honor all that God has to
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  say, and that's why we're studying the Bible the way we
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  study it, week after week. So now we're we're coming to
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  this text in Second Kings chapter 4 to observe a woman
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  with incredible faith and to see what that faith did.
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  For her in this life, faith, yes, can also do things today,
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  tomorrow within our world. So then you have this opposite
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  understanding of faith where it's just don't expect anything.
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  Don't pray for anything. Don't don't challenge your
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  unbelief. Just just kind of dismiss it and
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  go with the flow. And that's also wrong.
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  So we're going to see a woman who had faith and that faith did
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  something for her. And I want you to see that God
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  expects us to also trust in Him and to seek.
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  Him when we need him, let's read beginning at verse 18 of Second
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  Kings chapter 4. We're going to be ending in
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  verse 37. So we're not going to read this
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  all in one shot. We're going to take our time by
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  reading this verse by verse. When the child had grown, he
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  went out one day to his father among the reapers.
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  And he said to his father, Oh my head, my head.
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  The father said to his servant, carry him to his mother.
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  And when he had lifted him and brought him to his mother, the
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  child sat on her lap till noon, and then he died.
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  We remember how this Shunammite was rewarded with a child for
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  her support for this man of God known as Elijah.
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  Now between verse 17, when we're told that the woman can see
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  them, Boris son, and verse 18, a few years had passed.
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  We're not told how many years passed.
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  We're not told how old this boy was at this point, but evidently
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  he was old enough to do what? To walk to the fields
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  independently? To talk.
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  But young enough. Still to be taken, carried and
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  placed in the lap of his mother. So he he's a few years old here.
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  And tragically, while there was so much ahead for this child and
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  this family, we learned that he suddenly dies.
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  And there are so many things that we can say about these
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  verses, but I want us to focus primarily on the timing of this
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  trial. This is a catastrophe.
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  This is this is horrible. This is horrific.
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  But notice when it happened. Read again here in verse 18, the
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  last three words, the child had grown, right?
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  He went out one day to his father among the reapers.
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  What does that tell you about the timing of this event?
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  Harvest time. This is during harvest season,
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  and harvest season was a busy season.
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  It was a hectic time. Sowing and planting was a
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  demanding thing, but harvesting was equally demanding.
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  You want to make sure that there was no waste.
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  You want to make sure that you gathered in all that you worked
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  hard for. And so there was a special
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  emphasis here in terms of gathering in the servants,
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  hiring new people. Just like holidays in our
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  context where the stores are busier, the malls are more
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  filled, there are there people hiring just for the season and
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  for the rush and the business. This is what we are seeing here.
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  This is a busy, hectic time. Which makes this trial a little
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  bit more inconvenient. But harvest season also defines
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  in the Scripture a time of joy, right?
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  This is the in gathering, this is the product, this is the
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  fruitfulness. And so Scripture often connects
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  harvest season with jubilance. This is a time where the people
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  of God would gather, they would feast, they would fellowship in
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  communal reflection on the faithfulness of God and his
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  provision throughout that year. Moreover, there are feast that
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  demand that there would be first fruits and different
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  celebrations connected to your produce and you're in gathering
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  that would be a means of worship to the Lord.
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  And so you have this combination of the hustle of harvest season,
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  also the anticipation of joy being at its peak, and it's
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  there. And then this child dies.
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  Right here. We're learning something about
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  affliction, something about tribulation, something about
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  trials. They tend not to honor your
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  schedule, your plans, your hopes, your desires, your.
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  Dreams. They have a tendency of barging
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  in unannounced without warning. And we see here that this
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  child's illness and eventual death took place at a time that
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  was unpleasant. Now, we can all admit in general
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  that there is no test of our faith that is a pleasurable
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  thing. It's not a exciting thing that
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  we look forward to. But we can also say that there
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  are times when trials come that are especially disruptive.
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  And God's Word seeks to teach us that there can be devastating
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  interruptions in our lives. Not to scare you, but to prepare
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  you. And the best way to be prepared
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  for such things as not to be pessimistic or cynical, you have
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  people who live like that. You have people who live day by
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  day and just bracing themselves for impact.
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  They don't know how it's going to happen.
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  They don't know where it's going to happen, and it sucks the life
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  out of them. That's not how God wants you to
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  live. Underlying anxiety that that's
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  not how He designed you to operate.
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  The best way to be prepared even for startling trials is to abide
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  in Jesus Christ day by day so that you can draw from Him the
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  source of strength and wisdom that you need every single day,
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  day by day, even for uninvited surprises.
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  See, trials, even trials of this kind don't have to sabotage your
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  faith, don't have to vandalize your witness.
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  It doesn't have to happen. And the tsunami is a prime
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  example of that. So let's see what happens,
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  right? The boy says, Oh my head, my
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  head. I mean, it's harvest season, so
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  it's extra hot this time of the year.
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  And she carries him, holds him, And we don't know how long she
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  was doing that for before he gave his last breath.
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  Verse 21 And she went up and laid on him the bed, on the bed
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  of the man of God, and shut the door behind him and went out.
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  And she called to her husband and said, Send me one of the
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  servants and one of the donkeys, that I may quickly go to the man
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  of God and come back again. And he said, why will you go to
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  him today? It is neither new moon nor
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  Sabbath. She said all is well.
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  You know what stands out to me about this woman?
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  Her composure. Her composure is convicting.
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  Think about it. Imagine mothers in this house.
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  God forbid, but just imagine holding a child a few years old
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  and that child dying in your arms.
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  What do you do? How do you react?
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  Here's what this woman does. She quietly carries the same
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  child, goes upstairs, puts him in the guest room, closes the
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  door, goes to her husband, says I need the keys to the car.
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  I'm looking at this and I'm thinking, what's the
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  explanation? And I believe the best 1 is that
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  this woman who was not just wealthy materially, but rich in
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  faith, understood that this child was miraculously provided
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  by God. She never lost sight of the
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  origins of this story. She understood that God was the
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  one who sovereignly granted this gift, and she believes still
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  that God did not lose control of His sovereignty.
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  And so she's able to remain sane and stable.
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  You see, knowing that God was the one behind the birth of this
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  child meant that he was in control of the destiny of this
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  child. And acknowledging God's control
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  from the start, listen, will help you not lose control at any
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  time at any point. Now that is not to say that she
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  did not experience grief. I mean, verse 27 would say
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  otherwise. Look at verse 27.
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  We didn't read it yet, but this is when she finally arrives to
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  the man of God. And notice what he says in verse
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  27. The latter portion it says leave
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  her alone for she is in bitter distress.
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  So faith doesn't delete your emotions.
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  Possessing faith doesn't make you emotionless.
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  What it does though, is enable you to remain grounded.
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  So I just praise God for the songs that we sang today, so
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  much about being anchored in Christ, Christ being our anchor,
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  hope, peace, joy as a result of our trust.
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  Listen, knowing God's character and trusting in His character,
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  what He reveals about Himself is your anchor, is your anchor.
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  And such faith, listen it promise us to be never carried
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  away in the midst of the storm. You'll be in the.
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  Faith doesn't promise you no storms, it just promise you to
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  remain steadfast in the storm. And that's exactly what this
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  woman demonstrates. And unfortunately, many cannot
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  interpret the world that this woman how this woman does
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  because of their limited understanding of who God is.
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  Now, I mentioned last time that we studied last week.
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  In connection to this woman's faith, her husband in contrast
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  that that maybe she had and she possessed greater spiritual
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  insight than her spouse. And I believe what we see here
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  with this interaction confirms that conclusion.
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  Why do I say that? Because notice she takes the
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  child, goes into Elijah's room, closes the door and asks for a
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  servant and a vehicle to get to Elijah.
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  What does she leave out? She didn't tell her husband that
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  the child died. She doesn't.
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  Why do you think she didn't? I mean, you can only speculate.
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  Here's what I believe. That the husband probably
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  wouldn't see it the way she saw it.
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  And a priority to this husband during harvest season wouldn't
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  be go and find Elijah. But let's plan for the funeral
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  so she knows her husband very well.
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  And she understands that there is a man not too far from here
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  who has received a mantle from another man named Elijah, who
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  was used by God to raise the son of another woman.
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  And so she wants to take advantage of this.
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  And she's not going to accept this immediately.
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  She's going to do all that she can to seek for an intervention
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  before anything else. And I think here that this woman
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  shows us once again some of that you and I know very well that
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  the godly are not exempt from such things.
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  She understood that she was a he was a unique prophet.
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  And though we can celebrate her faith, we should also admire for
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  a character because she doesn't rail against her husband.
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  She doesn't disrespect. And this is what we saw last
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  week as well, when she asked for his permission and asked to
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  partner with him to build this extended room for Elisha.
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  And we see the same consistent care and honor for her spouse
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  despite his slender spirituality.
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  But before we move on, don't you appreciate something that the
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  husband acknowledges about her? Look at verse 23.
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  And he said, why will you go to him today?
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  It is neither new moon nor Sabbath.
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  So that indicates to me that this woman frequently visited
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  Elijah and that during certain holy days, Elijah must have had
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  meetings where he preached and he taught the word of God and
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  she attended those meetings because it wasn't strange for
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  her to want to go see Elijah. It was strange for the husband
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  that she was trying to go to church when it wasn't Wednesday,
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  Friday or Sunday, say, hey, there's no service today.
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  Why are you going? I just that warmed my heart.
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  Why did it warm my heart? Because I like to see that she
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  was a part of a remnant that went to these meetings in a day
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  of great apostasy in Israel when society was collapsing and
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  falling apart. She was among those that enjoyed
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  going to a man of God, among the people of God and receiving from
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  God. Not a precious little insight,
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  that just blessed. Me.
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  Why are you going? And here's her answer.
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  All is well. All is well.
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  Really. How is all?
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  Well, you know what? The Hebrew word, it's one word.
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  Shalom, Peace. All is well.
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  How can you say all that's a contradiction to your
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  circumstances. Yeah, but when you understand
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  God's character, then you can say something like this.
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  And it's not the only time she's going to say it.
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  All is well. Verse 24.
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  Then she saddled the donkey, and she said to her servant, urge
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  the animal on. Do not slacken the pace for me
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  unless I tell you. So she set out and came to the
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  man of God at Mount Carmel. She's from Shunam.
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  She wants to go to Mount Carmel. Elisha frequently visited Mount
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  Carmel. That's what the Scripture seemed
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  to hint, the journey between Shunam and Mount Carmel, perhaps
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  five hours, five hours during harvest season.
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  It's hot, but she's desperate, so she makes her way and notice
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  what happens. Verse 25, when the man of God
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  saw her coming, he said to Gehazi, his servant.
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  Look, there is the Shunammite. Ron at once to meet her and say
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  to her is all well with you, is all well with your husband, is
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  all well with the child, and she answered, all is well.
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  So even the sight of the sunnamite was strange to Elijah
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  because, you know, she usually comes to Friday night Bible
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  study and she usually comes to Sunday service.
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  But why is she coming today? Why is she making her way to the
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  office now? Something must be wrong.
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  And so she he dispatches Gehazi. Gehazi gets her Is everything
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  OK? Is everything OK with your
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  husband? Is everything OK with your son?
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  And she answers no differently than she did with her husband.
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  All is well, Shalom. Now, why did she do this with
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  the Gehazi? It couldn't be that she didn't
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  want to be detained. She didn't have to stop there
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  and explain to Gehazi. Time was of the essence she
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  needed to get to the man of God who was used by God to bring her
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  this child to begin with. Or, or could it be that this
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  perceptive, discerning woman, she felt something about Gehazi
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  and she rather deal with Elijah directly.
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  Remember, we sort of commended Gehazi for his observation of
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  the woman's need, helping Elijah to provide her a reward for her
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  hospitality. But Ghazi from this point on
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  will not, will not demonstrate the greatest characters traits.
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  And I just wonder, I wonder if this Sunnah might picked up on
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  some things about Ghazi. I mean we see it in the very
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  next verse. Look at verse 27.
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  And when she came to the mountain, to the man of God, she
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  caught hold of his feet and Gehazi came to push her away.
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  That's not how you treat a woman in distress.
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  While you might try to justify it or you know, explain it on in
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  defense of Gehazi, but notice what happens.
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  He's rebuked for it. Look at the rest of verse 27.
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  But the man of God said, leave her alone.
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  Leave her alone for she is in bitter distress.
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  And the Lord has hidden it from me and has not told me.
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  So let me say a few things here. The first thing I want to
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  mention in the verses that we just read is that Elijah here
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  once again receives this rare title Man of God and it and it
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  appears with great. Intention No other person named
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  person in all the Bible is the title man of God attributed to
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  then Elijah. And notice where it is mentioned
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  again, it is brought in the context of His compassion.
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  So look at the the the middle of verse 25 when the man of God saw
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  her coming, he said to Gazi's servant, look, there's a should
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  of mine run at once, not walk, run, run at once and ask her
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  these questions. Now, do you recall how he
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  responded when the widow earlier in the same chapter approached
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  them, one of the one of the woman who was married to son of
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  the prophet with her issue with her sons.
• 24:42
  Do you remember how he responded?
• 24:44
  Look back at verse 2 of the same chapter.
• 24:47
  And Elijah said to her, what shall I do for you?
• 24:50
  Tell me, what have you in the house?
• 24:52
  And she said, your servant has nothing in the house except a
• 24:54
  jar of oil. So here's what I learned.
• 24:58
  Whether it was a widow or a wealthy woman, Elijah
• 25:02
  demonstrated the same earnestness and serving and
• 25:05
  alleviating their suffering. Listen, Elijah's compassion and
• 25:11
  his ministry did not discriminate.
• 25:14
  No matter who the Lord put before him, He determined to
• 25:18
  show the love of his God and our God, Jesus Christ.
• 25:24
  So he wasn't picky and choosy whether it was a widow, whether
• 25:27
  it was a a wealthy woman, whether it was two sons or one
• 25:30
  son. How may I demonstrate Christ's
• 25:34
  compassion toward you? That's a man of God.
• 25:40
  And so Gehazi. As he sent out as an extension
• 25:43
  of this man's love comes back and he demonstrates a different
• 25:48
  attitude. What does he do?
• 25:51
  She comes and he pushes her away.
• 25:55
  What? How do you?
• 25:56
  Even explain this again. I wonder if this woman picked up
• 26:01
  on something about Gilhazi. And here's the lesson for you
• 26:04
  and I right, because she doesn't deal with Gehazi.
• 26:06
  Listen to this. I'm speaking, I hope, to a room
• 26:09
  fill the people who want to serve God most effectively.
• 26:11
  Then listen to this insight. She doesn't want to deal with
• 26:14
  Gehazi. She wants to deal directly with
• 26:17
  Elijah. And I would say here that we
• 26:19
  have an indication that if you are someone like Gehazi,
• 26:22
  insensitive, lacking tenderness and patience for others.
• 26:28
  You will severely hinder your ministry.
• 26:33
  Can I say it another word? If you're like this, people
• 26:38
  won't reach out to you and people won't want to receive
• 26:40
  from you. I'm reminded no matter what your
• 26:45
  ministry is, by the way. I'm not just talking about
• 26:48
  pastors here, I'm talking about anybody serving in any capacity
• 26:51
  because if you're really serving God, you're going to be serving
• 26:53
  people. I'm reminded of the words of the
• 26:58
  Apostle Paul and his introduction to the Philippians
• 27:00
  in his letter to those believers.
• 27:02
  And he says something in verse seven, he says.
• 27:05
  I have the. Right to feel this way about
• 27:08
  you, for I have you in my heart. Wow.
• 27:18
  The beginning of his letter, he wants to remind these believers
• 27:20
  in Philippi, you live here. What a wonderful model for
• 27:27
  ministry. If you want to be received, if
• 27:32
  you want to be effective, if you want no shortage of serving
• 27:38
  people, let them know that you love them.
• 27:43
  Let them be convinced that you care about them.
• 27:46
  Let them perceive that you actually want to see them
• 27:51
  blessed. And if you have that kind of
• 27:55
  heart for people, listen. You'll even have license to
• 28:00
  speak stern words. A person who truly loves other
• 28:05
  people can rebuke, at times reprimand and those people
• 28:10
  because they know that you love them or receive from you.
• 28:13
  Still, I have you in my heart. Ask God to help you really love
• 28:20
  people, and it will revolutionize your ministry.
• 28:27
  Gehazi was not such a person based on how he's treating this
• 28:29
  woman here. Elisha on the other hand, you
• 28:32
  can see it in his words, You can see it in his, in his urgency.
• 28:40
  So what happens? He rebukes him.
• 28:43
  Leave her alone, for she is in bitter distress.
• 28:46
  Notice this part. I can't move on without
• 28:48
  acknowledging this. And this is also for those who
• 28:50
  want to serve the Lord. For the Lord has hidden it from
• 28:53
  me and has not told me. I find it relieving that Elijah
• 29:00
  admitted this. Don't you?
• 29:02
  I mean, this is one of the most reputable prophets in all of
• 29:06
  redemptive history. And he confesses, Hey, look, I
• 29:10
  don't understand what's going on here.
• 29:12
  God tends to speak to me beforehand, but here this is
• 29:15
  veiled to me. I I don't understand what's
• 29:17
  happening. And he actually mentions that
• 29:19
  like, this is humility, doesn't pretend so.
• 29:23
  Lesson #1 You don't always have to have answers to people's
• 29:28
  problems. And you can sometimes say, I
• 29:36
  don't know. Especially when you try to help
• 29:40
  somebody figure out God's ways in their lives.
• 29:43
  Be very careful making conclusions on behalf of God.
• 29:49
  Sometimes it's clear, sometimes it's obvious.
• 29:51
  And yes, you can remind people at the right time of God's
• 29:54
  characters, His wisdom, his ways.
• 29:56
  But you don't have to give decisive answers all the time.
• 30:00
  You don't need to do that. Moreover, I'm reminded here that
• 30:06
  even with God's greatest men, a broader lesson that with all of
• 30:10
  his servants, He from time and oftentimes will lead us while
• 30:14
  we're in the dark. The fact that Elijah didn't have
• 30:18
  insight here doesn't mean that God abandoned the situation.
• 30:21
  It just means that Elijah also is going to be stretched in his
• 30:26
  faith. This story is about the
• 30:27
  Shunammites faith surely, but it's also about Elijah growing
• 30:31
  in his faith as well. And if you and I are going to
• 30:34
  grow in our faith, that means we're not going to get answers
• 30:38
  all the time. So to want to know every step,
• 30:43
  every chapter, every turn around ahead that expels the
• 30:48
  possibility of your faith being exercised.
• 30:53
  One of my favorite verses concerning this truth is Isaiah
• 30:57
  50 verse 10. Hey, I would say memorize this
• 31:00
  verse because he says this. Who?
• 31:04
  Among you fears the Lord, and obeys the voice of his servant.
• 31:08
  So pause there. He is addressing those who fear
• 31:11
  the Lord and who obey the. Voice of the Messiah.
• 31:17
  So right there, let's just pause and ask, Is that me?
• 31:21
  Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the voice of His servant?
• 31:24
  I hope every hand here can say me.
• 31:26
  I do. OK, Good.
• 31:28
  Once you have figured that out and you've acknowledged that,
• 31:32
  get ready for the next part. Let him who walks in darkness
• 31:36
  and has no light trust in the name.
• 31:41
  Of the Lord and rely on his God. What kind of darkness is he
• 31:47
  talking about here? Is he talking about sinful
• 31:49
  darkness? Is he talking about not having
• 31:52
  the light of truth? No, he just finished qualifying
• 31:55
  that this is for those who fear the Lord and obey the voice of a
• 31:57
  servant. He says, OK, if you're that kind
• 32:00
  of a person, it's possible for you in this life to seem like
• 32:03
  you're walking in the dark, where you have no sense of
• 32:06
  direction, where you have no clarity on a matter, where you
• 32:09
  don't know what to do now, where you don't know where to go then.
• 32:13
  If, that is, you realize you're not exempt from that experience,
• 32:17
  but you are commanded to trust in the name of the Lord and rely
• 32:20
  on your God. Even a prophet of God who in a
• 32:25
  unique can I use this word dispensation.
• 32:30
  Even a unique man of God in a unique period of time was what
• 32:37
  was at one point let in the dark where God turned off the light.
• 32:44
  And you and me, we pull our hair and we question our faith.
• 32:51
  And we're far from being a prophet when God seems to not
• 32:55
  give us answers for the next step.
• 32:57
  What are you supposed to do? Just trust.
• 32:59
  Just trust, worship while you wait.
• 33:01
  Serve in the capacity that He's granted you while you wait and
• 33:04
  He will lead you through. So Elijah here acknowledges this
• 33:07
  and he goes, OK, I'm not sure because I, I wasn't prepared for
• 33:11
  this, but let's see what the Lord has in store.
• 33:12
  And so he does what he can to try to solve this issue with the
• 33:16
  wisdom that he. Possessed so notice what happens
• 33:19
  in verse 28. Then she said did I ask my Lord
• 33:22
  for a son Did I not say do not deceive me?
• 33:28
  You don't blame her for asking those questions, right?
• 33:32
  So here you have a barren woman who didn't ask for this when she
• 33:37
  met Elijah. She just served out of the
• 33:38
  abundance of her heart and Elijah want to do her a favor.
• 33:42
  And finally, when there was something that she truly
• 33:44
  desired, when that was unfolded, she said, please don't lie to
• 33:47
  me. This is really it is really
• 33:49
  true. I can't I can't even believe it.
• 33:51
  And he goes, it's going to happen and it happened.
• 33:53
  So God miraculously provides this child only for a few years
• 33:57
  later. Take that child away.
• 34:02
  So. Perhaps at this point in the
• 34:04
  study, you're going why, and you might.
• 34:08
  Have somewhere skeptics or critics even accused God of
• 34:12
  being sadistic, which means to take pleasure in somebody else's
• 34:16
  pain? The guy just.
• 34:18
  Playing games here, OK, here's a child.
• 34:20
  OK, now I'm going to take the child away.
• 34:25
  She has questions. Sometimes we have questions,
• 34:27
  especially in our trials, especially trials of this
• 34:30
  degree. Does God have answers?
• 34:33
  You better believe it. Does He sometimes show you the
• 34:36
  reason for it before you meet him face to face?
• 34:40
  Yeah. And actually, with the Shunami,
• 34:45
  we actually have at least one reason why God did this.
• 34:47
  But you're going to have to stay awake until the end of the Bible
• 34:49
  study to know it. So what happens?
• 34:55
  He realizes something bad happened.
• 34:58
  And so in verse 29, he said to Gehazi, tie up your garment and
• 35:01
  take my staff in your hand and go.
• 35:03
  If you meet anyone, do not greet him.
• 35:05
  And if anyone greets you, do not reply and lay my staff on the
• 35:09
  face of the child. And the mother of the child
• 35:12
  said, as the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not
• 35:15
  leave you. In other words, she heard him
• 35:17
  and strike Gehazi to go and deal with the problem.
• 35:19
  She goes, I'm here for you, so I'm not leaving.
• 35:23
  You and I believe the reason why Elijah does this is because
• 35:27
  perhaps Ghazi was younger he can get there more speedily so he
• 35:30
  sends them off as a signal both to to her that this is me making
• 35:36
  an urgent appeal and attempt at this problem.
• 35:40
  So look what happens verse 31 Ghazi went on ahead and laid the
• 35:44
  staff on the face of the child, but there was no sound or.
• 35:48
  Sign of life. Therefore he returned to meet
• 35:52
  him and told them the child has not awakened.
• 35:55
  It didn't work. Why didn't it work?
• 36:04
  You have some who are inclined to actually blame Elijah for
• 36:06
  this and they would say because Elijah is doing this out of
• 36:11
  impulse, he doesn't have divine instruction or approval for this
• 36:14
  plan. He just says.
• 36:16
  OK, Ghazi take my staff, which is a symbol of authority and go
• 36:19
  late on his face and and hopefully something will happen.
• 36:22
  I'm not inclined to believe that.
• 36:24
  And the reason for that is because Ghazi does go.
• 36:27
  It's a failed attempt. He returns and then Elijah
• 36:30
  arrives on the scene of what happens.
• 36:32
  The boy comes to life. If there is anybody to blame in
• 36:38
  this part of the story, if there was anybody to blame, it would
• 36:42
  be Ghazi. It'd be Ghazi.
• 36:47
  I think Ghazi here in this failed attempt is preparing us
• 36:52
  for something that we're going to discover in Second Kings
• 36:54
  Chapter 5, that what externally he served, internally he was
• 37:01
  rotten. He was in fact going to be
• 37:06
  disqualified permanently from ministry.
• 37:09
  And that didn't just suddenly happened.
• 37:11
  There was something in his heart that was very, very much out of
• 37:17
  line with God's heart. And I think at this point of the
• 37:23
  story, Gehazi represents something.
• 37:26
  Gehazi represents ministers who they they might work for godly
• 37:31
  ministries. They might even be associated
• 37:33
  with godly men. They might even occupy a
• 37:37
  spiritual office or position, but they are void of the power
• 37:41
  of God. He's a sobering illustration
• 37:48
  that it is possible to approach ministry without God's backing.
• 37:54
  I'm not interested in ministry if I don't have God's backing.
• 38:01
  And I say that because it's no accident that immediately after
• 38:04
  Gehazi fails to accomplish something, we're told that
• 38:08
  Elijah is receiving and grants success to the matter.
• 38:15
  Notice what happens verse 32. When Elijah came into the house,
• 38:21
  he saw the child lying dead on his bed.
• 38:24
  So he went in and shut the door behind the two of them and
• 38:28
  prayed to the Lord. So he closes the door and he
• 38:36
  gets before the Lord, and he prays.
• 38:38
  He prays and I think there's something there.
• 38:42
  Yes, this is a unique instance, but there's there's themes,
• 38:46
  there are principles here. You cannot disconnect God's
• 38:51
  authentic seal on your service from private prayer, from
• 39:00
  regularly coming before the Lord and depending on him.
• 39:04
  That is what distinguishes a powerful ministry from a
• 39:07
  powerless 1. You know, it's interesting how
• 39:10
  Jewish rabbis interpret the scriptures should be very
• 39:14
  careful to rely on Christ denying Jewish interpretations
• 39:18
  of the scriptures. Some some some how strange ideas
• 39:20
  of of what takes place here. And sometimes they read too much
• 39:24
  into the text and we have to be careful of doing the same.
• 39:29
  We see here that when Gehazi arrives on the scene, he was
• 39:33
  specifically told. Do not greet anybody.
• 39:35
  Don't stop at any place. Go directly to that room.
• 39:38
  Lay that snap on his face. And see what happens and.
• 39:41
  And some people say well yeah, but but Gehazi must have stopped
• 39:43
  and talked to some people and they go beyond that.
• 39:46
  They say Gehazi on his way was telling people I'm not about to
• 39:48
  raise somebody from the dead. You want to come and see it.
• 39:51
  And he gets to the room and notice that it's not told in the
• 39:53
  text that he closed the door and he tried to make a public
• 39:55
  spectacle of it and that's why God didn't honor.
• 39:56
  That's reading too much into the text.
• 39:59
  I believe more than anything else, if you contrast Gehazi
• 40:02
  and. Elijah Gehazi was missing a true
• 40:07
  fear of God, a true relationship with God, whereas Elijah
• 40:11
  possessed it. Do you realize that in, in this
• 40:13
  text, twice we read all is well, all is well.
• 40:17
  It's not the last time you see that phrase in connection to the
• 40:19
  story, at least in connection to these men who are involved in
• 40:23
  the story. Go to 2nd Kings chapter 5 very
• 40:26
  quickly. This is after another miracle
• 40:28
  will take place, and we're going to unpack that in greater detail
• 40:31
  in the weeks to come. Naman, remember Naman, the
• 40:35
  commander of the army of the king of Syria, He's he.
• 40:37
  He has leprosy. He goes to Elijah to receive
• 40:40
  healing. He is granted that healing.
• 40:43
  And he wants to pay him, Naman wants to reward him, and we're
• 40:47
  going to study in a few weeks. Why Elijah refused to receive
• 40:51
  payment. But what happens?
• 40:54
  Gehazi overhears this. And he overhears that he denied
• 40:58
  this and he thought it was foolish.
• 41:01
  So let me just read this. We read here in verse 20,
• 41:07
  Gehazi, the servant of Elijah, the man of God, said, see my
• 41:09
  master has spared this name in the Syrian, and not accepting
• 41:13
  from his hand what he brought, as the Lord lives, I will run
• 41:16
  after him and get something from him.
• 41:18
  So Gehazi followed Naman and when Naman saw someone running
• 41:22
  after him, he got down from the chariot to meet him and said is
• 41:25
  all well. How does he answer in verse 22?
• 41:33
  And he said, all is well. My master has sent me to say,
• 41:39
  there have just now come to me from the Hill Country of Ephraim
• 41:43
  two young men of the sons of the prophets.
• 41:45
  Please give me a talent of silver and two changes of
• 41:48
  clothing. And Naman said Be pleased to
• 41:51
  accept 2 talents and he urged them and he tied up the two
• 41:54
  talents of silver and two bags with two changes of clothing and
• 41:57
  laid them on two of his servants and they carried them before.
• 42:00
  Ghazi is all well. Ghazi, all is well.
• 42:04
  No, all is not well. Actually, you know, there are
• 42:08
  many people today who believe all is well when all is not well
• 42:15
  because they had the cancer of greed eating them up because
• 42:19
  they're bound and lust, because they're riddled with pride,
• 42:25
  because they have sued their conscience by convincing
• 42:28
  themselves that there is no God and there is no accountability
• 42:31
  and there's no eternity. And they think all is well.
• 42:33
  Have you ever talked to somebody who's outside of Christ and they
• 42:36
  say all is well? I don't need your Jesus.
• 42:39
  I don't need your gossip. Your, your, your gospel.
• 42:42
  I, this is a reflection of Ghazi is all well, all is well.
• 42:46
  And just a few short verses. He was inexperienced.
• 42:49
  Judgement, divine judgement. I don't know how long Gahazi
• 42:54
  believed all was well, but when we come back to 2nd Kings
• 42:59
  chapter 4, he should have picked up on some clues.
• 43:04
  A rebuke from his teacher, something not happening when he
• 43:09
  was instructed by a prophet. He delayed.
• 43:16
  But when Elijah comes on the scene, he prays.
• 43:19
  He seeks God. And what what do we read
• 43:22
  happens? Verse 34.
• 43:25
  Then he went up and laid on lay on the child, putting his mouth
• 43:28
  on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his
• 43:30
  hands. And as he stretched himself upon
• 43:32
  him, the flesh of the child became warm.
• 43:35
  Then he got up again and walked once back and forth in the
• 43:38
  house, and went up and stretched himself upon him.
• 43:41
  The child sneezed 7 times and the child opened his eyes.
• 43:49
  Elijah shows us the true way of a truly successful ministry.
• 43:56
  No prayer, no power. Little prayer, little power,
• 44:04
  much prayer. Much power, a seasoned prophet
• 44:14
  who never forgot the true success.
• 44:18
  The true secret? Pray and when something doesn't
• 44:26
  work, pray and when you think it's going to work, pray and
• 44:31
  when the answer doesn't come right away.
• 44:32
  Just like this child, his body first became warm.
• 44:35
  He didn't instantly get up and start sneezing.
• 44:37
  Pray, pray, pray. He prays.
• 44:45
  The child sneezes 7 times. It's very difficult to find a
• 44:48
  reason for why the evidence of his life returning to him came
• 44:51
  about in this fashion. Verse 36 Then he summoned Gehazi
• 44:56
  and said, call this Shunamite. So he called her and when she
• 44:59
  came to him, he said, pick up your son.
• 45:02
  She came and fell at his feet, bowing to the ground.
• 45:05
  Then she picked up her son and went out.
• 45:09
  And you and I might think this is the last that we'll see and
• 45:11
  hear of the Shunamite woman, and we would be wrong.
• 45:18
  She asked a question earlier, does she not?
• 45:21
  Did I ask for a son? Did I not say do not deceive me?
• 45:28
  She was trying to figure this whole thing out herself.
• 45:31
  I don't get, I didn't look for this, I didn't demand this.
• 45:34
  I didn't really fast for at least there's no evidence of it
• 45:36
  in the scripture. It was granted to me.
• 45:38
  And just when I was enjoying it, you took him from me, and now
• 45:44
  you bring it back to me. She was thankful that I'm sure.
• 45:49
  Is there any, any threat, any kind of clue of how we make
• 45:53
  sense of this story? And I believe there.
• 45:56
  Is just like how sometimes it might take time in your life to
• 46:01
  discover how God's wisdom works in our trials.
• 46:06
  Go to 2nd Kings chapter 8. I'm scared to explain this too
• 46:10
  too much because we're going to come to it eventually if God
• 46:12
  wills, but let me just give you some kind of insight that will
• 46:19
  make this Bible studies conclusion.
• 46:23
  A bit more. Clear a famine hits the land and
• 46:29
  up to this point Elisha still stays in touch with the shunami.
• 46:32
  Look at verse two of Second Kings 8.
• 46:33
  So the woman arose and did according to the word of the man
• 46:35
  of God, because Elisha says. You need to leave here.
• 46:38
  There's going to be a seven-year famine.
• 46:40
  You need to go. You need to go to the land of
• 46:42
  the Philistines. So she went with her household
• 46:44
  and sojourn in the land of the Philistines 7 years.
• 46:47
  And at the end of the seven years, when the woman returned
• 46:50
  from the land of the Philistines, she went to appeal
• 46:52
  to the king for her house and her land.
• 46:54
  Now the king was talking with. Gehazi, the servant of the man
• 46:58
  of God. You ever wonder what's Gehazi
• 47:01
  doing before the king? We're going to discover that in
• 47:04
  the next few chapters. But Ghazi was there with the
• 47:06
  king saying, right, what does the king say?
• 47:09
  Tell me all the great things that Elijah had done.
• 47:11
  He knew that this man worked for and worked with Elijah.
• 47:14
  So he's just out of curiosity, you know, I'd like to hear some
• 47:17
  of those glory stories. Can you explain some of the
• 47:19
  amazing miraculous things that took place while you work with
• 47:22
  Elijah? Verse 5, And while he was
• 47:26
  telling the king how Elijah had restored the dead to life.
• 47:30
  Behold, underline that pause. Behold being.
• 47:33
  Check this out. Look at this.
• 47:35
  Behold, the woman whose son he had restored to life appealed to
• 47:40
  the king for her house and her land, and Gehazi said, My Lord,
• 47:45
  O king, here is the woman, and here is her son whom Elijah
• 47:49
  restored to life. Is this coincidence?
• 47:53
  Don't you dare say it is. This is not coincidence.
• 47:58
  It starts with the letter P. This is Providence.
• 48:02
  Right at a time when Gehazi was speaking to the king and the
• 48:06
  king wants to hear stories about Elijah and what he had done for
• 48:09
  the Lord. And this woman is coming back
• 48:11
  from 7 years of exile so to speak.
• 48:15
  And right when she walks into her appointment with the king to
• 48:18
  restore her house and her land, Gehazi is talking about her.
• 48:22
  And what happens? Verse 6.
• 48:25
  And when the king asked the woman, she told them.
• 48:27
  So the king appointed an official for her, saying restore
• 48:31
  all that was hers, together with all the produce of the fields,
• 48:34
  from the day that she left the land until now.
• 48:41
  Were kings generally good or wicked during this time in
• 48:44
  Israel's history? And So what?
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  What was it that compelled this king to not just restore her
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  land, but say, you know what, Everything that you missed out
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  on these past seven years, I'm going to return to you and
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  restore to you. What was it that moved him?
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  The testimony of her son being raised from the dead, when this
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  king realized that God had such favor upon her and God moved on
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  her behalf in such a way and moved him to say, I'm willing to
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  help you, so let's put this together.
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  Back in Second Kings chapter 4, this woman receives the son.
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  The son dies. She goes through agonizing pain.
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  I'm sure as a loving mother. There are no answers right away,
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  but down the world, realize that the God who knows your
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  tomorrow's prepares you today. And how did he prepare for the
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  years that would come where this famine would hit?
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  And there would be a specific ruler and he would need a
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  specific story to be behind her and to support her and to
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  restore and to take care of her and her family.
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  It would take this season of pain so that it would produce a
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  compelling story so that she would be taken care of for the
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  rest of her life. That's why one reason why in the
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  scriptures, so why was this provides us in the word of God
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  so that when you are trying to make sense of this chapter,
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  understand that God has already written every chapter.
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  You just haven't read it yet and you don't understand how this
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  masterful supernatural author will piece it all together.
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  So this this is just one among many stories for you to
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  understand. I I don't understand this.
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  I don't understand why this happened now.
• 50:29
  I don't understand why God did this only for it to lead to
• 50:32
  this. I may not understand it, but I
• 50:34
  know a story in my Bible of a Shunammite woman who also didn't
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  get it until later on. And that insight, that foresight
• 50:47
  should grant you and I the energy and the stability and the
• 50:52
  confidence to say all is. Well, when at this time it may
• 50:59
  be difficult to say it because the one who loves you, cares for
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  you, has lived out and prepared your tomorrow's, He is worthy of
• 51:14
  our praise. Let's thank you for this Bible
• 51:17
  study. Father, you are beyond good to
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  love us enough to provide us this incredible testimony so
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  that we can be prepared for trials that might knock the wind
• 51:58
  out of us. And for us who may still be
• 52:02
  trying to make sense of what's happening with our children,
• 52:08
  with our spouses, with our ministries, with our health,
• 52:14
  with our finances. You've provided us this story.
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  You've inscribed it and Holy Writ to remind us that we can
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  say all is well because you have a reason and more than one
• 52:32
  reason for why you're allowing what we are enduring.
• 52:38
  And so, Lord, even as we sing this song in light of these
• 52:42
  Scripture truths, may you receive the honor and the glory.
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  May you infuse us with a real faith, a stronger faith that
• 52:53
  would anchor us as we walk out of these doors tonight and live
• 52:56
  out day by day, whatever you have prepared for us.
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  We give you thanks for what you've done, what you will do,
• 53:05
  and we pray these things in Jesus name, Amen.
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  Amen. All is well.
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  Let's stand.