First Sunday of Lent
February 21, 2010
 
  Third Sunday of Lent
March 7, 2010
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Printer Friendly Version

May 16, 2010—Ascension Sunday

Lectionary Texts: Acts 16:16-34; Psalm 97; Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21; John 17:20-26

Sermon Text: 2 Kings 4:1-7; 6:1-7; and 13:20-21

Responding to God’s Love for His People: Excerpts from the Life of Elisha

Have you ever been discouraged? Have you even felt worn down by the pressures and frustrations of life? Have things ever gone wrong for you when you were just trying to do the right thing? God still cares about you and every one of His believers. He even reminds us of our hope through the ministry of those in the Old Testament. Elisha, the prophet of the double-portion spirit, had a profound impact upon the northern nation of Israel. He spoke the word and will of God to kings and generals. Elisha also possessed a very personal ministry to individuals and families, especially those within the community of faith known as the school of prophets. Elisha’s name means, “God is salvation.” His life still brings hope and encouragement to believers as God through Elisha intervenes in the obstacles of daily life.

In our first passage, we see God bringing hope and deliverance to a seemingly hopeless financial situation. A faithful lady from the community of prophets has just endured the loss of her husband. He was a man of faith and a friend to Elisha in serving Yahweh. Bad things sometimes happen to very good people. Our faith and relationship with our Lord does not always insulate us from the events of this fallen world. This loss, however, also had huge financial ramifications. Now unable to pay their creditors, she is also faced with the loss of her sons. Their creditor wants to take the sons as slaves in payment for the past due loan. She, in her hopelessness, summons the man of God. It states that she cries out to him. Elisha immediately causes her to change her perspective. In this state of emergency, she has viewed herself as possessing nothing. Elisha asks, “What do you have in your house?” At first her response is the typical “nothing,” but his questions moves her from the realm of what she doesn’t have to the realm of what she does still possess. She replies, “except a little oil.” We must remind ourselves of he words of King David in Psalm 37:25, “I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken of their children begging bread.” By focusing on what she already possessed, Elisha exhorts her to gather as many jars as possible. He then tells her to begin pouring oil into the gathered pots. She keeps on pouring until every jar is filled and there are no more containers to be borrowed. We are told that the resulting oil was sold, all her debts were covered, and the remaining money was enough for them to live on. In the midst of even our financial needs we must:

• Take our needs to the Lord
• Trust in His promise and provision
• Tell ourselves this is not the end, God is near
• Turn our focus from what we lack to what we already possess
• Tackle the obstacle by acting in faith, one jar at a time

The next scene finds us at the banks of the muddy Jordan River. The school of prophets has been blessed and they have outgrown the current facilities. The men have gathered to work on a new and larger settlement at the riverfront. In the heat of clearing land and chopping down trees the ax head flies off of its handle and disappears in the murky waters of the Jordan River. The believer cries out in surprised horror. Not only was this a needed tool, but it was actually borrowed from someone else. Iron was an expensive commodity in those days and not easily replaced. He probably could not afford to replace it anyway. This truly was an emergency with no apparent hope of positive resolution. He tells Elisha of his untimely predicament, whereupon Elisha asks, “Where did it fall?” The man points to a spot in the midst of the muddy current, Elisha cuts off a small stick, possible the stalk of one of the reeds growing on the banks of the Jordan and throws it in. To the amazement of the man, the ax head floats to the top of the waters where he is able to retrieve it. All is once again well and they are able to return to work and complete their mission.

Sometimes when we encounter the emergency and the unexpected of life we can find ourselves questioning God and questioning ourselves. We may wonder why God in His foreknowledge could not have done something to keep this event from ever taking place. We fail to take into account all the times He may have already realigned the course of events to do just that; we never took notice and never praised Him for the uneventful day. What a wonderful opportunity to stop right now and thank Him and praise Him for His deity, His sovereignty, and His care over us. Even the emergencies are an opportunity to see the miraculous and supernatural take place before our very lives. We need to take note of His ongoing care for us. Psalm 50:15 states, “call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you.”

Also in the midst of the emergency, we must check our attitude and perspective even when life doesn’t deliver what we desire. Matthew Henry the great Bible commentator was known for his positive attitude toward life. Once, while walking down a street, he was robbed. The thieves took everything of value. Later that night, Matthew Henry wrote the following in his diary: “I am thankful that during these years I have never been robbed until now. Also, even though they took my money, they did not take my life. And although they took all I had, it was not much. Finally, I am grateful that it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed.”1 In the mist of the emergency and unexpected of life we must:

• Thank Him regularly (Even for those things for which we are not aware)
• Turn our emergencies immediately over to Him
• Trust Him to work it out
• Take the next step and keep moving forward (With the right attitude)

Following Elisha’s deathbed prophecy to King Jehoash of Israel of a limited victory over the Aramean army, the great prophet dies and is laid to rest in the tomb of his ancestors. Some undisclosed time later, a relative of Elisha passes away. While his mourners are attempting to bury the body in the family tomb, a group of Moabite raiders appear on the horizon headed toward them. Great fear falls upon the mourners as they seek to evade the robbers and flee potential death. They quickly toss the man’s body into the tomb and take off. As soon as the body of the dead man makes contact with the bones of the departed Elisha the power of God brings the dead man back to life. We leave this story with the former dead man standing on his feet looking out of the tomb. We assume that he was able to escape the robbers and return to his family. Maybe, his resurrection scared for the Moabites allowing him a safe passage to town.

So much of life seems futile and we often wonder if our lives have made any kind of impact on this world. We must take heart for those of us who serve the Lord are reminded that the power of God working through us, though we may even be departed, will live on especially in the lives of our family members. What a tremendous hope for us and the future. We have the opportunity to leave a miraculous legacy of faith if we remain in Christ Jesus the one who leads us in the path of resurrection. May the Lord say the same of us as He did of Abel in Hebrews 11:4b, “By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.” May our faith also speak beyond our lifetime. All of our works and deeds will be tested one day. They will pass through the fire to God to measure their worthiness and our motives. If they are worthy they will live on forever. In the midst of this current life we must:

• Maintain a heavenly perspective
• Make every day an opportunity to honor Christ
• Move in the direction His Spirit Leaves
• March toward your strengths and leave a legacy

We are challenged to see the hand of God and His loving care for us in the day to day trials of life. Be encouraged! God truly loves us and is at work in us and through us. Our Abba Father cares for us.

1. McHenry, Raymond. Something To Think About. Hendrickson Publishers, Inc. Peabody, Massachusetts, 1998. p.118.