Miracles of Elisha… (4 things)

• 1^st – Should have gotten more pots… vs. 1-7 Read: II Kings 4:1-7
  • 1^st – A certain widow was the wife of a prophet… vs. 1
    • She came to Elisha because although her husband was a godly man…
      • When he died he left her in a lot of debt – and the collectors were coming…
      • Tradition says she was the wife of Obadiah – I Kings 18:3-6
      • And the debt that was owed was from feeding the 100 prophets he hid from Jezebel…
      • And now Jehoram was threatening to sell Obadiah’s sons to pay for the debt!
      • This was a common practice in Israel to resolve unpaid debt – Matthew 18:25
    • God has a heart for widows – and we are called to help them out…
      • If possible a widow should be cared for by her children / or grandchildren…
      • It is the responsibility of the kids to care for their parents – I Timothy 5:4…
      • In fact that is why your mom took care of you – put you through college…
      • That is why she wanted you to get a good job – earn lots of money…
      • So that when she got old – you would be able to take care of her!
    • Younger widows – under 60 – should get re-married – I Timothy 5:14…
      • There is a stigma in the culture that says a widow should not remarry…
      • But God never intended us to be alone in this life – it is normal to want a husband…
      • If a widow is under the age of 60 – the Bible says she should remarry…
      • I Corinthians 7:39 – “If her husband dies, she is free to remarry… only in the Lord.”
    • But a true widow is to be taken care of by the church…
      • A widow who trust in the Lord / takes the time to pray to the Lord…
      • A widow who is dedicated to the Lord – dedicates herself to serving the Lord..
      • That kind of a widow – is someone the church should take care of!
      • James 1:27 – “Pure and lasting religion in the sight of God our Father means that we must care for orphans and widows in their troubles…”
  • 2^nd – Elisha wanted to help – so he asked the widow what she had in her house… vs. 2-7
    • But she was VERY poor – and only had a single bottle of olive oil!
      • Elisha had her to go and borrow AS MANY empty containers as she could…
      • She then poured out the oil from her jar – and filled all the empty containers!
      • Only when all the containers were full – did the oil in her jar run out…
      • I bet you she wished she had found more empty containers!
    • So often we come to God for help – with low expectations…
      • When we had the church dedication last month – we had ice-cream after lunch…
      • Most of the kids came up with a little cup – and only got a little ice-cream…
      • Little Quincy came up with a BIG plate – and waited till it was completely filled up!
      • God does not just want to bless us – He wants to fill us up to the very top!
      • He wants to give us His whole kingdom – bless us beyond imagination – Luke 12:33
      • But when we come to him with a little cup – not expecting much from Him…
      • When we come full of our own ideas – there is not much room left…
      • We limit what God can do in our lives – instead we need to come with a BIG plate!
      • We need to come to Him empty – ready to be filled up with the oil of the Holy Spirit!
        
• 2^nd – A prophet’s reward… vs. 8-17 Read: II Kings 4:8-17
  • 1^st – One day Elisha went to the town of Shunem (by Mt. Tabor)… vs. 8-10
    • A rich (better interpreted Godly) woman who lived there invited him for dinner…
      • From then on every time Elisha passed by Shunem – he would eat at her house…
      • The Godly woman told her husband she believed Elisha was a prophet…
      • So they made a small room upstairs for him to stay in every time he passed by!
    • We are commanded to care for others – the widows – even strangers…
      • When we take the time to give food the hungry and a home to the stranger…
      • We show the Love of God to others – the goodness of God – John 13:35
      • Through which we are given the opportunity to tell them about Jesus!
      • More than that – we when we care for strangers we actually minister to Jesus!
      • Matthew 25:40 –  “[Jesus] will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’”
  • 2^nd – One day Elisha was staying in the room… vs. 11-17
    • He decided to do something nice for the woman…
      • He called her up – and asked her if there was anything she needed…
      • Elisha could put in a good word for her with the King of Israel…
      • But her family took good care of her – there was nothing she needed…
      • Yet Elisha noticed she had no children – next year at this time you will have a child!
    • The woman was a bit upset – ‘do not lie to me like that’…
      • Apparently she was unable to have children – so she had a hard time believing Elisha…
      • But sure enough – she became pregnant – and the Lord gave her a son!
      • Our gifts to God – whether given to the widows / or strangers – are like seeds…
      • The more we plant – the more of a harvest of blessing we will reap from God…
      • If we are ‘cheap’ and choose to only plant a couple of seeds – a little harvest…
      • But if we sow bountifully – we will also reap bountifully!
      • We will never out give the Lord – the more we give / the more we will be given!
      • Matthew 10:41 – “He who receives a prophet… shall receive a prophet’s reward.”
• 3^rd – Raising the dead… vs. 18-37 Read: II Kings 4:18-21 / 32-35
  • 1^st – One day the son of the Godly woman had a head ache… vs. 18-20
    • He was helping with his dad in the harvest – and had to be sent home…
      • Perhaps overcome by sun stroke (hot in Israel) / or perhaps an aneurism…
      • By noon the young boy had died in the arms of his mother…
      • She brought his body upstairs – laid him on Elisha’s bed – and shut the door…
      • I am sure there was a temptation to be bitter – as if Elisha / God had failed!
    • But God was not taking away her son – he was testing her faith…
      • If you go to the Market and want to buy some mangos – you want good ones…
      • Problem: how to know which are best – the outside might look good…
      • But unless you test the fruit you do not know what it is like on the inside!
    • The same is true of our walk with Jesus…
      • We can say all the right words – we can make the outside look really good…
      • Cause when things are going well – no problems – it is easy to look like a Christian…
      • But to really know what we are made of – we need to be tested…
      • When things get difficult – that is when see who we really are!
  • 2^nd – The woman asked her husband to take her to Elisha… vs. 21-26
    • He was confused – why did she want to go – he did not know his son was dead…
      • The wife simply told her husband that ‘everything was all right’!
      • So she made the 6 hour journey to Mt. Carmel as quickly as she could…
    • Elisha saw her in the distance – and sent his servant to greet her…
      • He asked the woman what was wrong – again she said – ‘everything was all right’!
      • The Lord had given her a son – and she was confident God would make it all right!
      • When I was a kid my father gave me toy for Christmas – I LOVED that toy…
      • But one day I was playing a little too rough – and the toy broke – I was devastated…
      • Until I took that toy back to my Dad – and he was able to fix it up like new!
      • If we focus in life on our problems – we will quickly become discouraged…
      • Joy does not come as a result of our situations – how good or bad things are…
      • Joy is when we get our eyes off our problems – and focus on our Father in heaven…
      • Because He is the one who can pick up the pieces and make everything like new!
  • 3^rd – The woman fell down at the feet of Elisha… vs. 27-28
    • Elisha could tell something was wrong – but the Lord had not told him what…
      • The only way Elisha knew what was wrong – was because the woman told him…
      • Men are pretty famous for being oblivious – we tend to miss things…
      • When Jen is not happy about something – it can take me forever to notice!
      • Yet we do tend to expect others to know when we are hurting…
      • People expect a their spouses / pastors to somehow read their minds…
      • But in truth we need to learn to be honest – and tell people what is going on inside!
    • The woman reminded Elisha – ‘I did not ask for a son’…
      • The moment she said that Elisha realized what had happened…
      • Although we cannot read minds – that does not mean we should not pay attention…
      • When we see people who are acting ‘funny’ – ask them what is going on…
      • With a little bit of effort – we can be the lifeline to help people in their time of need!
  • 4^th – Elisha sent his servant ahead – had him lay his staff on the boys face… vs. 29-37
    • This seems a bit unusual – why lay a staff on the face of the boy…
      • The common assumption is Elisha wanted to check if the boy really was dead…
      • Possibly the mother over reacting – perhaps the boy just fainted / or was faking…
      • So by laying the staff on his face – it might ‘wake him up’…
      • But the servant obeyed – and there were no signs of life!
    • Elisha quickly followed and found the boy lying in the upper room – dead!
      • He laid down on top of the boy – mouth to mouth / eyes to eyes / hands to hands…
      • And the body of the boy began to grow warm again (he had been dead for hours)…
      • Essentially Elisha was performing CPR – trying to resuscitate the boy…
      • When God heals He often does so in very natural ways…
      • He gives wisdom to the doctors / he gives knowledge to the pharmacists…
      • Yet even though it is not ‘supernatural’ – it is no less God doing the work!
    • Elisha got up and walked around – then laid down on the boy again…
      • This time the boy sneezed 7 times – then opened up his eyes!
      • Elisha called the mother – and she came in and picked up her little boy!
      • If doctors and meds can not heal someone – it does not mean there is no hope…
      • God is not limited to the natural – He does not have to use hospitals…
      • God does not even have to do things in a way that we can explain…
      • Sometimes God chooses to do something ‘supernatural’ – even raise the dead!

We are going to find that our lives become more and more like Jesus!

4^th – A famine in the land… vs. 38-44 Read: II Kings 4:39-44

1^st – One of the prophets prepared a stew for dinner… vs. 38-41

So he gathered some herbs from the field – and a handful of wild gourds…

What he did not know was that they gourds were poisonous…

So when the prophets tried to eat it – they cried out ‘there is death in the pot!’

Elisha put some flour in the pot – and asked them to try again…

Miraculously the poison was gone – and they were able to eat the soup!

It was not the flour that made the food safe – it was giving thanks to God…

All God asks us to do is give thanks for providing – ‘Say Grace’ – I Timothy 4:4-5

Therefore eat whatever you want to – food is meant to be eaten!

I Corinthians 6:13 – “Food is for the stomach, and the stomach is for food.”

Not that I recommend eating poison food – but certainly God can protect you!

2^nd – A man brought a 20 loaves of bread for the prophets… vs. 42-44

Elisha told him to use it to feed over 100 hungry prophets (there was a famine)…

The man baulked – 20 loaves was not nearly enough for so many men!

Elisha assured him it would be enough – and there would even be some left over!

Not accidentally – very reminiscent of the feeding of the 5000…

Because when we care for widows and strangers…

And when we take the time to find out why others are hurting…