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2 Kings 4 (Part 1) Bible Study (Elisha and the Widow's Oil) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

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Meet me in Second Kings chapter 4.
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And before we unwrap this thrilling chapter together, I
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want to briefly mention something in light of last
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week's study. Before 1868, the Moabite people
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were referenced through 1 main credible source, the Bible.
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Apart from the Bible, there was no credible source to give any
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idea about who the Moabite people were, even if they
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existed. But something happened a few 100
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years ago. Again, as I mentioned, in 1868
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there was a discovery that was made by Frederick Klein, who was
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a missionary in the Middle East. He was traveling through Jordan
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and in one particular place, D Bond Jordan, he discovered what
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we know today to be the Moabite stone.
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The Moabite stone is currently held in the Louvre Museum in
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France. There are many replicas out
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there, but I bring this to your attention in light of our study
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of Second Kings because what they found on this 4 foot stone
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were 34 lines inscriptions that were very similar to ancient
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Hebrew and the data found on that artifact is amazing.
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First of all, it was an inscription that was authored by
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Mesha, King of Moab. Does that name sound familiar to
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you? They should.
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Just in case it doesn't go to 2nd Kings chapter 3, let's jog
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our memory here. Look at verse 4.
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Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder and he laid or
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excuse me, he had to deliver to the king of Israel 100,000 lambs
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and the wool of 100,000 Rams. So Mesha king of Israel is
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identified on this slab. But more than that, he describes
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how Himash, which is the God of the Moabites and his name also
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is found in the scriptures, was angry with the Moabites and so
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he allowed check this out the people of Israel to subjugate
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them. So you have the nation of Israel
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found on this slab. Moreover, you have Yahweh, the
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God of Israel mentioned on this stone.
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And later you read how Mesha describes human sacrifices,
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which is something that the Moabites practiced, and how at
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some point Hemash was pleased to give the people of Moab liberty.
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Moreover, you have many cities mentioned in and on the stone
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cities that we find in our Bibles as well.
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Do you know when the stone is believed to have been created?
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850 BC? And so I bring that to your
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attention to excite your faith that there are external things
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that corroborate the Bible that support the Bible, archaeology
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and history. King Omri, we studied him many
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weeks ago, is also found on the Moabite stone.
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And so before we even begin this chapter, let me remind you that
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what you are holding in your hands is real.
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It's history, it's fact, It's not fables, it's not fairy tale
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real events. Real people are real God.
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Let's come to 2nd Kings chapter 4.
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Now with that being mentioned, if you're interested to review
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that more, all you have to do is Google it and I'm sure that it
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will excite you. We now resume the ministry, or
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at least our close examination of the ministry of Elijah as the
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record of miracles connected to him continues to increase in
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this chapter. There are several supernatural
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episodes that are found in this section, but this evening we're
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going to take up our time to focus just on the first one.
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The first one is found here in the 1st 7 verses of Second Kings
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chapter 4. I want us to read it together.
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Then collectively contemplate on the life altering treasures that
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it holds. Are you ready with me?
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Second Kings chapter 4, beginning in verse one.
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Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried to Elijah.
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Your servant, my husband is dead, and you know that your
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servant fear the Lord, but the creditor has come to take my two
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children to be his slaves. And Elijah said to her, What
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shall I do for you? Tell me what have you in the
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house? And she said, Your servant has
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nothing in the house except a jar of oil.
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Then he said, Go outside, borrow vessels from all your neighbors,
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empty vessels and not too few. Then go in and shut the door
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behind yourself and your sons, and pour into all these vessels,
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and when one is full set it aside.
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So she went from him and shut the door behind herself and her
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sons, and as she poured they brought the vessels to her.
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When the vessels were full, she said to her son, Bring me
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another vessel. And he said to her, There is not
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another. Then the oil stopped flowing.
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She came and told the man of God and he said, go sell the oil and
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pay your debts and you and your sons can live on the rest.
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Lord, we really, desperately, genuinely ask for your help.
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To go through these texts apart from the power and the wisdom of
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the Holy Spirit is foolish and we will not be fools tonight.
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We ask for Your grace to be poured out on every mind, every
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heart, so that we may benefit and experience all that you have
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to say through these verses. We trust You and we give you
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glory in advance for how this will impact us.
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Give us ears to hear what the Spirit has to say to this
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church. In Jesus name we pray.
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Amen. It's very tempting to go
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straight to this miracle and try to unpack the message behind it,
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but when reading this the other night, I could not help but be
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gripped by the characters that are involved in this story.
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I wonder if you were moved by them as well.
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I want to highlight them to you briefly.
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The first is the mention of a deceased husband who is
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identified as one of the sons of the prophets.
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The second being a widow. A widow who was approaching this
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man of God known as Elijah with a predicament.
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And lastly Elijah who seems to be the main character of this
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section of Second Kings. Elijah who was again approached
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with this need and how he responds to it.
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I truly believe that each of these individuals offer
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something to us if we are willing to not rush and just
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patiently meditate to see how what is included and connected
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to them can indeed sanctify us. So I want us to do that.
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I want us with the 1st 2 verses. Look at each of these
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individuals separately and see what we can draw from what the
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Scriptures provide us concerning them.
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Let's deal with this man, this unnamed husband who is also a
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father who's also enrolled in the sons of the prophets.
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I want you to look at verse one, and I want to ask you, and you
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are free to answer if there's anything that stands out to you
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about this man whom this destitute widow speaks of.
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Anything stands out to you from verse one.
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I'm doing this because I want us to train to how to get
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revelation from the Bible and it takes careful reading,
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meditation, and asking questions if we're going to get any
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answers. Anything stands out to you.
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Yes. He was a servant that feared the
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Lord. Very important.
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Absolutely. Anything else he says your
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servant or she says your servant.
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The widow says to Elijah, he was your servant.
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Good. Anything else?
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I get it. There's not much to work with,
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right? But I believe there is at least
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three things that we can learn from this individual.
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Three things, at least three things.
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The first thing is this. This man, whoever he was, he
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served the Lord. He served the Lord.
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As we just heard, this widow speaks to Elijah and identifies
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him as your servant. So evidently Elijah knew who
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this man was, had a relationship with him, And that seems obvious
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because the narrator tells us that he was one of the sons of
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the prophets. Now we learned not too long ago
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who the sons of the prophets were.
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They were a school, a band of men who were committed to
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exercising and growing in their gifting, but also the study of
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God's Word. And Elijah for the longest time
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was the overseer of these prophets until Elijah took his
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place as their leader. So we know that Elijah knew who
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this man was. This woman is reminding Elijah
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of that fact. But what blesses me about this
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man that we don't know his name. We're not given reasons for his
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death. I'm stirred, I'm certain,
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because he was somebody who chose to serve the living God in
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an age where the general population was apostate.
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You got to remember the setting. This is an Israel.
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There was only a remnant of true prophets, and the prophets of
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Yahweh paid a high price not too long ago, right?
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Many of them were slaughtered under the administration of
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Jezebel. And yet you have this man who
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was willing to give his life over to full time ministry when
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there wasn't much reward with it, when the culture generally
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bow down to false blasphemous gods, and at any second
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persecution could break out against the true servants of
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God. And yet he he still chooses to
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set himself apart to honor the true and living God.
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And so we see here that he was willing to serve under
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circumstances in an environment that was not favorable.
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That says something about this servant, which brings us to our
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next point. He was not just a servant of the
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Lord. He was a servant, as our sister
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mentioned, who did what? He feared the Lord.
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Look at that phrase again, and you know that your servant
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feared the Lord. The words of this wise widow
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remind us that we should not assume that just because
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somebody's a dedicated student of God's Word or a full time
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servant in his Kingdom, that he or she fears God.
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There's a distinction being made here, is there not?
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Yes, He is your servant. But let me also add this,
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There's a quality about his service, about his devotion to
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the Lord. He feared the Lord.
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It's possible for somebody to be active in the things of God, to
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be knowledgeable in the things of God, and yet be void of the
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fear of God. We're actually being plagued
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with that kind of Christianity Today.
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Not so with this man. And we've discussed much about
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the fear of the Lord in this church.
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Rightfully so. But let me bring up one
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important attribute that this fear produces in a Christian.
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We find it in, I mean, there's many places to go, but this is
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what was on my heart. We find it in Jehoshaphat's
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instructions to the judges that he would raise up in Judah in
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Second Chronicles 19. You can turn there if you'd
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like, but I'm just quoted to you in Second Chronicles 19.
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Seven. He gives these men instructions
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and notice what he says in this powerful verse.
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Now then, let the fear of the Lord be upon you.
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Be careful what you do, for there is no injustice with the
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Lord our God, or partiality, or taking bribes.
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Do you catch it? Observe how being careful what
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you do is closely associated with the fear of the Lord being
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upon someone. When a person fears God, they go
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from being careless to being careful.
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Careful with their words, mindful of their actions,
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cautious how they interact with the opposite sex.
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Vigilant of his whereabouts, joyfully attentive about his
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testimony before any audience, he finds himself standing
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before, leading and dealing with an awareness of God's presence
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at all times, even if he is all by himself.
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Let the fear of the Lord be upon you.
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Be careful what you do. People, even professing
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Christians who don't fear God, they don't.
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They don't care what they say, what language they use, how they
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refer to God, how they represent God.
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That's not that's not there. But when a person has this fear
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on their lives, they are indeed very aware.
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And this is not being legalistic.
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It's not a being about somber. It's not being overly
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introspective. It's none of that.
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It's it's a way of life that springs from a heart that is
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absolutely and profoundly longing to please his or her
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God. That's what it's motivated by, a
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fierce love that walks step by step, conscious of their God and
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wanting to do everything that ultimately pleases Him.
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So we can imagine then that that we don't know much about this
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man. The fact that he feared the Lord
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says so much about him, says so much about him.
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He was the real deal. It must have been a painful
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thing for those who knew Him to know that he had passed on into
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glory. So number one, we know that this
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man's served the Lord. More than that, we know that he
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feared the Lord. Let me add this We also know
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that he suffered. He suffered for the Lord.
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In what ways did he suffer? What's the obvious way?
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He died? He died.
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That's the first thing he died. We're not told how he died.
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Was he sick? Was it sudden?
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Was he the victim of collateral damage?
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Was he subject to the folly of someone else?
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We don't know. But what we can say with
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confidence is that this is a reminder to all of us that
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fearing the Lord does not exempt us from painful interruptions in
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life. Here's another hint that just
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because someone is suffering, even to the point of an untimely
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death, does not necessarily mean that such a person lacked the
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fear of the Lord or is not a true servant of God.
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We have a tendency to equate suffering exclusively with sin.
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That is not always the case, as we see here.
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This was a man who served God. This is a man who feared God.
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But this is a man who was taken supposedly early and just like
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Elijah's departure into glory. We may not understand the ways
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of God, especially with His graduations of some of His
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servants into glory, but we have to trust Him.
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Is there anything else to add about this man's suffering as he
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served the Lord besides the fact that he died?
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Say it again. Death.
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Yes, besides death. That OK, good.
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So happens when you stand up here.
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Sometimes you can't make out the words.
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Yes, not just death, but debt. Now we are not certain if this
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debt accumulated while this man was alive or if it began after
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he died, but we can say this, that he was not a wealthy man.
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He did not leave a generous inheritance behind for his
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family. So now his family is suffering,
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suffering greatly. So again, let me go back to that
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point. This man chose to serve the Lord
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when there wasn't much pay, when there wasn't much reward or
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assistance. Remember the land, though this
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was the nation of Israel was generally Pagan.
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And we've seen in our past studies how true prophets of
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Lord were not treated the best. And I think that reflects even
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here with this man's financial situation.
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It gets even more heartbreaking, right?
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Because look at verse 2 again. And when Elijah asks her, what
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do you have in your home? The only thing that she can
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claim to her name is what? A jar of oil?
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Now here's what's interesting, and Pastor Bennett can confirm
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this. When you look at the Hebrew word
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for jar, it's only found here in the Hebrew Scriptures and it
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actually describes a flask. So we're not, we're not talking
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about a bucket here. We're talking about a little
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pouch of oil. This is probably what prophets
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would carry with them when they were sent to anoint the king or
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another prophet. We're talking about a little
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pouch of oil. If that's not difficult enough,
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we read of this creditor threatening this family.
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In what way? She says my two children are
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going to become slaves. What's wrong with this scenario?
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Only until you understand the Law of Moses will this make
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sense because there is a law that was given by God for those
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who have incurred debt and how they should deal with that debt
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and how the lender should treat such people who were in debt.
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So turn with me to Leviticus for you to see with your own eyes.
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Leviticus chapter 25 beginning in verse 39.
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God gave instructions about those who owed money to another
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and could not repay. Here's the law.
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Leviticus chapter 2539 to 40. If your brother becomes poor
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beside you and sells himself to you, you shall not make him
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serve as a slave. He shall be with you as a hired
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worker and as a sojourner. He shall serve with you until
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the year of the jubilee. So knowing this now, with this
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in view, what's wrong with the picture in Second Kings chapter
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4? This creditor was ready to take
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the sons to make them what? Hired workers, slaves, slaves.
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So what's this law about really? It's about those who could not
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for whatever reason, pay back what they borrowed.
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And if that was the case, they have to be employed.
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They have to be employed and they have to cover their debts
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before they were set free or until the year of jubilee came
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around, whichever came first. But the instruction here for
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those who did lend money was that they could not treat these
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individuals as degraded or permanent slaves.
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They were to be treated with dignity and honor.
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And when it was time for them to go, they had to let them go.
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And so we we see this creditor who's now threatening to not
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just take one son, both sons. And leave this widow all by
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herself. So what I know about this
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creditor is that he was not a man who feared God.
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He did not honor the law of God, nor did he honor the situation
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with the simple fact that this family had a father, had a
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husband who was a prophet. He was a servant of the Lord.
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He could care less. It's true today.
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It was true back then that servants of God don't often
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receive honor as they should, respect as they should.
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You and I should prepare for that if we're going to serve
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God. And the way to endure that kind
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of treatment is to keep your eyes on a heavenly reward.
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Keep your eyes on the judgement seat of Christ.
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Keep your eyes on Jesus giving you the final praise and
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blessing. So we learned a lot about this
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man, but let me move on now to this widow.
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Going back to verse one and connecting it to verse two, let
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me ask this question again. Is there anything that stands
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out to you about this woman? Anything?
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Put yourself in her shoes. What temptations would there be?
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What risk would there be for someone's faith if the more
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they're one of the most prized possessions was taken from them?
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Any idea? You know what stands out to me
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about this woman? She wasn't bitter.
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She wasn't bitter against her husband.
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She wasn't resentful towards God.
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How do I know that? Because look how highly she
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speaks of her husband and she is willing to still inquire of the
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Lord. That's not the case for many
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people. It's not hard to imagine how
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some in her situation would approach the situation
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differently. Coming to Elijah and saying your
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servant, your servant is now dead.
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He's not here. He's died.
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And look at what serving God gets you.
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Elijah, how does God do this? We're talking about a remnant of
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prophets left in Israel, and God chooses to take one of them
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early. Why doesn't he take one of the
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wicked prophets instead? That sounds exaggerating.
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No, it doesn't. That's very possible.
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Nothing of the sort with this one, though it doesn't say it
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explicitly. I believe with all my heart that
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it wasn't just her husband who feared the Lord.
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This woman feared the Lord as well.
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Not just a woman who was free from bitterness, but there's
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something else that she possessed.
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What was it? Somebody said it.
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Humility. Sure.
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Humility expressed how? Faith, she knew where to run to
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in her time of great distress in this tragedy, in this calamity,
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in this situation that would change the trajectory of her
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life. She went to the mouthpiece of
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God, namely Elijah, who represented God.
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So this woman believed God, and I have no doubt that she had a
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grasp on the law of God, but I wonder if she had her mind.
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I wonder if she understood and applied a particular law that
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speaks to her situation. Go to Exodus 2222.
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It's an easy reference. And notice what God says about
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widows. Exodus 22 verse 22 to 23.
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She would have had access to this.
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She would have understood this. She probably might have
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memorized this. You shall not mistreat any widow
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or fatherless child. Look what it says next.
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If you do mistreat them and they cry out to me, I will surely
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hear their cry. I wonder if she's acting upon
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that promise. She's being mistreated.
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She's being abused. She's surrounded by people who
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don't honor God's law. So she goes to a man who does
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honor God and she is crying out believing what that God's going
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to hear. Isn't that what we're told in
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Second Kings chapter 4 verse one?
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Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried to Elijah.
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She believes God's going to hear her.
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She might have not understood why God allowed things to happen
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the way they happened, but she still believed God was good.
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God was still for her. Oh, this, this woman is
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remarkable. So we learned something from
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this unnamed deceased husband. We learned something from this
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widow. We still have one more
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character. We haven't passed verse 1 and 2
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yet, but it's OK. There's no rush, right?
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Look at Elisha in verse two. Let me ask you the same question
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again. What stands out to you about
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Elisha in this particular case? Look at how he responds to her.
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That will be your clue. And Elisha said to her, what
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shall I do for you? Tell me, what have you in the
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house? Read carefully.
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Read slowly. Anything stands out to you about
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that. Let me put it this way.
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Is he apathetic? Is he reluctant to help this
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woman? No.
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You sense urgency, Don't you? Read it again.
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There's desperation in his voice.
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What shall I do for you? Tell me.
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Whatever You in the house. So I see something about this
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prophet in light of what we just learned in the previous chapter,
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that he was somebody who was willing and eager to help a
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single woman in private, not just kings on a national stage.
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What what did we end with last week?
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That Elisha was the vessel God used to deliver armies from a
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foreign enemy, potentially defeating them.
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And the same man who was willing to help kings was also willing
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to help one that was easily overlooked.
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You know, we have this notion if our service to God is not
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public, if it doesn't reach out or contribute to the masses,
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then it's not powerful or meaningful.
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Nothing can be further from the truth.
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Elijah did not dismiss the importance of representing God
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before armies, but he also was willing to come to the aid of
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somebody who was hurting, ignored, hidden, maybe even
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despised. I just want to pause here and
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actually exhort you and ask you a few questions.
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Are you only willing to exercise your gifts with the knowledge
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that it will be honored or recognized somehow?
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Are the people in your church that you may be looking over,
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looking past, dismissing because they don't have status, they
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can't return aid to you in any way?
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If so, crucify that concept quickly and be willing to go out
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of your way. For those who are often
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overlooked, let me ask you another question.
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I've asked this question many times in our study of the Old
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Testament. Let's see who remembers who was
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the first person in the Scriptures with the title Man of
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God was given to good Moses and Deuteronomy.
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It's the first time the title Man of God appears and is
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attributed to a particular individual.
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Now what you're going to discover in the next few
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chapters of our study from 4 onward is that this title Man of
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God is given to Elijah many times.
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And here's what's even more exciting.
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There is no other named individual in the Bible where
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the title Man of God is given to more than Elijah.
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Now why do I bring that up? Because that reference is
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granted in this context. Look at verse seven.
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Once more she came and told the man of God and he said, go sell
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the oil and pay your debts and you and your sons can live on
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the rest. So this title, Man of God is
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applied to Elijah in the context of him willing to serve a
28:28
hurting family. What's your idea of a man of
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God? Someone who preaches before
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thousands, who travels and does conferences?
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You know how the Bible describes a man of God?
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Somebody was willing to come to the aid of a widow who could not
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afford her next set of groceries.
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That's a man of God, according to the Scriptures.
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That's a woman of God according to the Scriptures.
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It's not about grandeur. It's not about platform.
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It's not about likes. It's not about follows.
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We need to rediscover the beauty of serving people even when
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nobody knows about it. He was a man of God.
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Let's continue. Let's reread verse 3.
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So Elijah asks, he inquires and he learns that her resources are
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very scarce. So he gives her now divine
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guidance in verse 3. Then he said, go outside, borrow
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vessels from all your neighbors, empty vessels and not too few.
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Then go in and shut the door behind yourself and your sons
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and pour into all these vessels. And when one is full, set it
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aside. Anything stands out to you about
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these instructions? I mean, I'm not looking for
29:44
insight. Let's actually just break down
29:45
these instructions. What was she to do?
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She was to borrow vessels. They were supposed to be empty.
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And there's a very important point.
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They were not supposed to be few.
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As many as she can get. OK, seems straightforward, but
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put yourself in her shoes again and imagine what it would feel
30:05
like to hear those words in light of the predicament that
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she's in. What is the main problem at hand
30:11
here? What's the issue that they're
30:12
trying to solve? We said it earlier, starts with
30:14
the letter D debt, OK? Her problem was that whether her
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husband or her after her husband died, borrowed money and could
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not pay it back. And imagine how you go to this
30:26
man of God for some help and the first instruction he gives you
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to relieving you of this debt is what go borrow.
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It's like actually that was that's what got me in trouble to
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begin with. Now you're telling me to borrow
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more. This is not a lesson that
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permits those who are in debt to incur more debt.
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It's actually a lesson about how sometimes the commands of God
30:52
are counter intuitive, or at least they seem
30:56
counterintuitive. So what do we learn from here
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that got us to be trusted at all times in all things, Especially
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when your obedience involves people who may not understand
31:06
why you are doing what you are doing.
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Wasn't that what was about to happen?
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Because Elisha tells her, Yeah, go borrow vessels from where?
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The nearest Home Depot? All your neighbors, not just a
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couple, not just a few, go to all your neighbors.
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Can you imagine going to every house on your street and around
31:31
the block, having a reputation of being in debt, borrowing and
31:36
not giving back, to ask people if you can borrow some of their
31:40
possessions? So this was a call to great
31:47
trust and faith and humility. You can imagine the potential
31:51
questions that these neighbors would ask.
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You can imagine the potential fear of being rejected by some
31:58
of these neighbors. But it didn't matter.
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And this is a reminder that when we obey God, we cannot allow
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what people might say to us about us.
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Doubt us. Question your motives.
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All of that has to be dismissed. If God said it, you do it, and
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don't try to have everybody understand why you're doing what
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you were doing. Many people have been called
32:25
into the ministry, for example, and they don't get the support
32:27
of their family. They don't.
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People don't understand that's OK.
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Not just ministry for anything. Some people don't understand why
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you're forgiving somebody who doesn't deserve forgiveness.
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You obey God, doesn't matter what your neighbors say.
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Some people don't understand why you come to church.
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OK. Sunday.
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Yeah, Friday. Who goes to Bible study on
32:51
Friday night? Well, they don't understand.
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It's OK. You go to Bible study.
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That's what your heart's desire is, You know, That's what you
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believe God is calling you to. So she was to obey despite
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misunderstandings, questions about her motives or doubts with
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her intentions. But there's one more thing about
33:10
these instructions. It was the last part about it.
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Not that she was just supposed to go to all her neighbors, get
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empty vessels, but what? Not too few of them.
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Get as many as you can. So I'm imagining here that
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Elisha is expecting her and her sons to get more than just a
33:29
couple of jars and pots each. I'm thinking they have to fill
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their living room, their bedrooms, the garage.
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There was a garage. So you know what that would
33:43
require hard work? Knocking on doors, gathering
33:47
vessels, going back home, dropping off the vessels, going
33:52
back to get more from that one house and then go to the next.
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I don't know how long this took, but I find it amazing that when
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God was ready to provide for this woman, He called her to
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participate in the process. We saw this back in Second Kings
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Three with the three kings and their armies, that God was going
34:09
to meet their need, but He also asked him to do something in the
34:11
process. And it's no different with this
34:14
widow. Why?
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Because the same rule applies to all.
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And what is that law that if you want to see God move, guess
34:22
what? You must be willing to move.
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God's power is designed to work alongside with our
34:30
participation. So listen whenever there's a
34:33
crisis, whenever there's a tragedy, whenever there's a
34:35
great need, you have to be willing to pray.
34:39
You have to be willing to praise.
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You have to be willing to plan. You have to be willing to seek.
34:44
You have to be willing to send, must be willing to receive as
34:49
you wait on the Lord to come through and do what only He can
34:52
do. I actually want to challenge you
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to look at most miracles in the Bibles and realize that even in
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the New Testament with Jesus, He calls for the participation of
35:02
those involved in the need that they are seeking Him for.
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And we see it here. She was working and God was
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going to come and work for her. Let's read verse 5.
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So she went from him and shut the door behind herself and her
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sons, and as she poured, they brought the vessels to her.
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So an undisclosed period of time passes, and this woman and her
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sons, they felt as though they had gathered enough vessels.
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And their obedience continues to shine in this text because they
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honor the latter portion of Elisha's instructions, which
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were what look back at verse four.
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It wasn't just to gather them into, gather many of them, but
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to go and shut the door behind yourself and your sons and pour
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into all these vessels, and when one is full, set it aside.
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Is there any idea why God wanted this to be a private matter?
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We're not explicitly told, but let me give you one major
36:01
reason. I think it was to protect her.
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Was she vulnerable? Very vulnerable.
36:06
Were there vultures around her? Yeah, we got a hint of it with
36:08
this creditor willing to take advantage of her.
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So I believe in part of the reason why this was supposed to
36:13
be done with closed curtains and a closed door was so that she
36:18
wouldn't be taken advantage of as she was receiving from the
36:21
riches of heaven. But besides that, we may not be
36:26
getting a full explanation. There is one undeniable
36:30
observation about the fascinating ways of God in this
36:33
situation. Here it is.
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He does miracles behind closed doors.
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I love to hear what God is doing in people that I know through
36:49
them for them. It moves me when I get a text or
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when I meet somebody after the service or an e-mail, or even
36:56
when I watch something on YouTube and I hear how somebody
36:58
came to Christ or how somebody experienced a miracle.
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It always moves me. But when studying the Bible,
37:03
especially with miracles like this, I am encouraged and called
37:06
to be stirred about what God is doing without me knowing.
37:10
In other words, He's always moving.
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I just like to envision it. Here you have a woman with her
37:20
sons and they have a pouch of oil and they have these empty
37:24
jars surrounding. They can't even move an inch,
37:27
and they're just squeezing this oil out.
37:29
I mean, that's work in itself, right?
37:31
And then once one jar came to the brim with rich oil.
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And listen, I believe God provided the riches of oil, just
37:37
like when Jesus provided the best wine in cana.
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This wasn't cheap oil. This wasn't the good stuff.
37:44
And so she pours this out and then one son moves in, another
37:47
one brings an empty vessel. And all of that was taking place
37:52
while the neighbors cutting his grass while the others are doing
37:58
dishes. Nobody knew about it except for
38:03
this small family and the prophet who gave them the
38:06
instructions. And with this exciting thought
38:11
comes another observation. While these instructions were
38:16
unique to a particular individual, the idea of God
38:18
doing something special in seclusion is not uncommon for
38:24
you and I, you know, you might be sitting here thinking, I
38:26
would love to see God do something spectacular like that
38:28
in my life. And I'm here to tell you,
38:30
though, this is again a unique instance.
38:34
You have a similar invitation. Say, what are you talking about?
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I'm talking about what Jesus said about you and the privacy
38:43
of your own home. My mind went to Matthew 66.
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But when you pray, what are you supposed to do?
38:52
Go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who
38:57
is in secret and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
39:00
There are many things to take about from Jesus words here.
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One of the things is that when the Lord sees you and I willing
39:12
to set time apart to leave distractions and agendas at the
39:17
door and give Him your full attention, He will reward you.
39:25
Let that be one of the incentives to get you planning
39:29
and disciplined for that time with the Lord.
39:33
He will reward that. It moves the father to see his
39:40
child stepping into that bedroom, closing the door,
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stepping into that car with nobody else, with no podcast
39:48
playing and talking to him. He will reward you.
39:57
He will pour something into your life.
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Can I tell you one of the rewards?
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I can say with great confidence and with complete boasting in
40:06
the Lord that one of the rewards of that in my life is that He
40:09
has kept my heart soft toward Him, and He has opened my eyes
40:18
to treasures in His Word, and He has helped me solve situations
40:26
where I almost felt like Daniel and Daniel.
40:28
Chapter 2, where Revelation came in an emergency, hasn't happened
40:36
much, but when it happened, it's enough to mark you forever.
40:41
There are rewards that await us with our faith in private.
40:47
If your only interaction with the Lord is public, you're
40:50
missing out on many rewards. Many rewards.
40:55
But take this truth from Matthew 6/6 and believe that every time
40:59
you go in there, something is happening, whether you realize
41:02
it or not. Famously, if somebody once said
41:06
that prayers may not always change things that you're
41:09
praying for, but it's definitely changing you, that's what you
41:14
can always come out with. There might be delay.
41:17
They're not, might be immediate answers or solutions or
41:20
provisions. But one thing is for certain,
41:23
you getting before the presence of God will not leave you the
41:26
same. You may not notice it.
41:29
Just like Solomon's temple when they built it, they did not hear
41:32
the sound of hammers clinging against stones.
41:35
It may not be immediately perceived, but you can believe
41:37
Matthew 6/6. He will reward you.
41:42
So here's this woman with her two sons in the privacy of their
41:45
home, ready to experience a miracle.
41:48
And I'd like to believe that whenever I get before God, that
41:51
privilege in itself is a miracle.
41:55
I have an audience with the resurrected, ascended Jesus
42:00
Christ of Nazareth. If you want one thought that can
42:03
recalibrate you while you're trying to pray, but you're
42:05
thinking about your laundry, pause and remember that you are
42:09
speaking to Jesus Christ of Nazareth, who died on the cross
42:14
for your sins, who existed and walked on this earth, who
42:18
conquered death, who one day is coming back.
42:21
But also in the meantime, promise if you ask in my name,
42:24
I'll answer it. That kind of revelation will
42:31
make you less anxious about your homework that day and give some
42:34
quality time before God. Let's continue in these final
42:42
verses. Verse 6, when the vessels were
42:47
full, she said to her son, bring me another vessel.
42:52
And he said to her that there is not another.
42:55
Then the oil stopped flowing. Oh, there's so much to say about
42:58
this verse, but I want to connect it with verse 7.
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Let me stop here and ask this. Imagine now in your excitement,
43:09
I mean, you don't mind. You were ready to lose your sons
43:12
to be slaves. And here you are pouring out of
43:14
this pouch oil and you're not even looking.
43:17
You're just mesmerized by this miracle.
43:20
And you ask for another vessel, and your son says there's no
43:24
more. And you look and you see the
43:25
glistening golden oil all around you.
43:29
What thoughts would come to mind if you knew that in I can use
43:34
this language, if you won the lottery, what what would happen?
43:43
What plans, What dreams, what relief, what excitement?
43:47
What, what would happen to you? Where would you go?
43:52
Who would you call? What would be your next move?
43:57
This woman is remarkable. You're saying why?
44:02
Look what she does in verse 7. She came and told the man of
44:06
God. In other words, she was such a
44:11
careful listener when Elijah told her.
44:14
Go to all your neighbors, ask for empty vessels, don't get too
44:17
few of them, and then go into the privacy of your home and
44:21
pour into it. When it's full, you'll get
44:23
another one. Fill it up.
44:25
She understood that there was no instructions after that.
44:30
And So what does she do? She goes to the man of God who
44:34
initially helped her and asked for further guidance.
44:37
But here's the picture. It's very easy to cry out to God
44:43
in your want. It's not common to cry out to
44:46
God when you got it. It's very easy to cry out to God
44:55
when you're experiencing a season of poverty.
44:58
It's less common to come before God as she does before Elijah in
45:02
your plenty. And This is why she's so
45:08
inspiring, because she's now asking, what do I do with all of
45:13
this? So here you are.
45:14
You've been asking God for a house and He gave you the house.
45:17
Now has your praying stopped? Here you are asking God for a
45:21
spouse, and He and His goodness provides a spouse.
45:24
Have you stopped crying out to Him?
45:26
Here you are asking God for a job, and He provided you that
45:29
job. Are you as eager and desperate
45:31
to get before Him when you were looking for something that would
45:33
help you and sustain you and provide for you?
45:38
This woman asks, she receives, but she doesn't stop asking and
45:43
seeking her God. She's just as eager to know what
45:49
to do in her prosperity as she was in her poverty.
45:58
Unfortunately, that is not the case with many.
46:00
They get drunk almost with the excitement of even blessings.
46:08
You remember how many lepers were healed by Jesus and the
46:11
gospel of Luke 10 of them, how many came back and gave thanks
46:13
to Him? Consider that ratio.
46:20
Make it a conviction early on that you will not just be
46:25
intense in your prayers, but you'll be just as intense with
46:28
your praise, not just in your supplication, but in your
46:33
Thanksgiving, not just when you need something, but oh, come to
46:38
God with whatever He has granted you.
46:40
Say now what, Lord? Where do you want me to go from
46:42
here? What do you want me to do with
46:43
this? You've given it to me.
46:45
You gave me this marriage. You gave me this kid, these
46:47
kids. You gave me these blessings.
46:49
What do you want from me, Lord? Now, aren't you moved by this
46:54
woman? I'm moved by this woman.
46:56
I'm moved by something else. As we close in a moment here,
47:00
notice the instructions that Elijah gives her.
47:03
Go sell the oil and pay your debts.
47:09
That's a good principle. If you and I are in debt, it
47:12
should be our duty as men and women of character of followers
47:16
of Jesus Christ. Romans 13/8 says no, Oh no one
47:19
anything. So seek to deal with those debts
47:24
as your duty. But notice what he says next.
47:26
Go sell the oil and pay your debts and you and your sons can
47:30
live on the rest. Connect us with her faithfulness
47:38
and her obedience to the initial instructions.
47:41
What if she had only taken a few vessels?
47:46
Let's just imagine, what if she only had half a room full
47:50
because she was getting tired? Or she's like, I don't want to
47:53
do this anymore. She might have been able to
47:58
cover her debts, but she might have lost the overflow.
48:04
It's one thing to be saved from debt, but if you don't have
48:06
anything to help you and sustain you moving forward, and you can
48:08
return back into debt. But she obeyed God to the extent
48:14
that she was able not just to escape this predicament, but
48:17
stay out of it. What's the lesson here?
48:20
The lesson is the importance about full obedience.
48:26
Some people are satisfied with partial surrender to the Lord.
48:32
Oh yes, they're out there or they reflect and they look at
48:37
their lives and they, they comfort and soothe their
48:39
conscience because they say, well, I'm obeying the Lord here,
48:41
here, here. I know I'm not obeying the Lord
48:43
here, but at least I'm doing something.
48:46
You might feel like you are gaining something from such a
48:50
mindset, but understand that you are robbing yourself of the full
48:54
reward of obedience when there is not full obedience.
48:59
Can I ask you something in closing?
49:02
Is there any area in your life that you are aware of where you
49:04
have not surrendered to the Lord, but you're comfortable
49:07
because you're doing this and you're trusting Him here and
49:11
you're obeying that part? You're missing out.
49:18
You may not see it now, but just like this woman, you may realize
49:23
it down the road. And I don't want you to realize
49:24
it in that way. I want you to realize it in the
49:28
positive that this is what obedience and complete surrender
49:31
has brought me to. Is there anything, any area
49:38
that's been nagging your conscience?
49:42
Seek to obey Him fully. That is the only way to know
49:48
complete blessing. More can be said, but let's
49:55
close our Bibles and now turn to the Lord in prayer.
50:16
Lord, we thank You that there is indeed a message behind every
50:22
miracle recorded in Your Word. And at this time, Lord, we pause
50:30
to reflect on these things and we ask that You would make them
50:35
real to us. Show us where they apply and
50:40
help us conform ourselves to complete obedience.
50:48
Make us true men and women of God.
50:52
Help us get a right understanding of what that means
50:55
and how to live that out. Lord, we thank you for the Lord
51:00
Jesus Christ who paid all our debt.
51:03
And even in this miracle do we have a vignette of the gospel?
51:09
We're under the law, we are in trouble, but you come and you
51:12
rescue us from it. Lord, we pray that tonight you
51:17
would receive our praise, our honour, our Thanksgiving,
51:21
because your word is alive. And every week You never fail to
51:25
speak to us. Thank you, O Lord, that history
51:28
cannot but confirm that what we have before us is the truth.
51:35
Thank you that we are in the truth now.
51:38
Lord, help us live it. Help us discover more of it.
51:42
Help us to enjoy it, to herald it, to declare it without shame.
51:46
Help us to obey it when our neighbors may not understand it.
51:51
And help us trust, O God, that you will honor us.
51:54
Help us rediscover the joys of the secret place, closing that
51:59
door, meeting with you and believing that there is a reward
52:01
that awaits us. But we honor you tonight.
52:04
We give you all the glory and all the praise, and we ask and
52:09
pray for these things in Jesus name, Amen.
52:12
Amen. If the praise team can come up,
52:16
please, I want to invite you to just
52:29
take your time to seek the Lord this evening.
52:33
And this is the purpose of these Bible studies, not just to
52:35
accumulate knowledge and interesting connections in the
52:39
Bible, but for the Word to connect with your heart.
52:42
Ultimately, if you need to take some time before we even play,
52:45
if we can just get even just a minute of gentle music to just
52:48
focus our own hearts before the Lord, and then we'll stand and
52:51
sing and give him praise, can we do that?
52:55
Don't distract anybody to your left, to your right.
52:56
Just meet with your God and we will close soon.