2 Kings 8 - God Uses Us Unexpectedly and In Relationships

2 Kings 8

I want to start with a cute story about how the kids in Sunday school say some funny things, like “Mr Keef, Mr Keef, can we do a dance challenge today?”   Or how so often, even this Sunday, they show me their owees and I get to pray for them, right then and there, and say, “Lord bless it, dear Lord heal it”.  Julie and I chuckle all week as we banter back and forth about the cute stories from Sunday school, “did you hear what so and so said?”  In fact we still chuckle over some things the kids said from 12 or 13 years ago.  We do the same thing with things our own kids said as well.

What does any of that have to do with the study tonight?   You’ll see...

2 Kings 8:1-6
These stories from the Old Testament are historical, real stories that happened.   We have this follow-on story about the Shunamite woman whose son had been restored to life by Elisha.   The note I put in my margin here says, "the story continues..."   Just the story itself on face value, tells us a lot about the nature of God.     We’re going to learn about that.

POINT 1: God can use you unexpectedly
Here in the text, we get to see how Elisha ministers to this same woman again.   Elisha is getting pretty old by this time.   In chapter 13, we see Elisha’s final hours on earth.   In God’s economy though, there is no such thing as retirement.   We can be used by God whenever and wherever He wants.   We can even be used after we’re dead and gone.   That’s what the men are learning about at the quarterly Men’s Legacy breakfasts.   My point though is; don’t just be open to God’s assignments, pray for them. Ask for Him to give you a task for the day, and then watch for the opportunity He places in front of you.

POINT 2: More often than not, God uses us in the context of relationships.
Elisha and this woman already have a strong relationship.   Remember how the woman had asked her husband to build a little room with a desk and a lamp and a cot for Elisha to stay in, whenever he passed through town?   I can tell you from experience that God uses me mostly in the context of existing relationships.   For example, more than once, people have come by my cubicle at work, to tell me of a problem they’re going through, and we’ve prayed together right there.   Also, this reminds me of Life Group.   We develop relationships; we laugh together and cry together and encourage each other.

POINT 3:  God's Nature
On the one hand, God is holy, righteous and just, and He called for the famine.   On the other hand, God is rich in mercy and full of compassion and God spares this woman from losing her son, again.   God, through Elisha, gives this woman the heads-up, "hey get out of town, there's a famine coming".  We want to receive inside information just like she got.  We might not have an Elisha nearby, but what’s stopping us from inquiring of the Lord.  Proverbs 25:2 It is] the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings [is] to search out a matter.

QUESTION: What are some causes of famine?
ANSWERS: drought, pestilence, war
QUESTION: From behind the scenes, what are some causes of drought, pestilence and war?
ANSWERS: It could be a judgement for sin, or a warning wake-up call for revival.

If we offend God by sinning against Him, there will be consequences.   Remember, we learned in Romans chapter 8, “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”.   But, Galatians 6:7 says, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life”.

God can and does use natural events, such as famine for punishment, or correction.   In general though, not every bad thing that happens is for punishment or correction.   Bad things in the form of tribulations are promised to us by Jesus.   Just living in a fallen world; sometimes there will be collateral damage, but God is absolutely in control, and He will use those things for His purposes.

POINT 4: God’s Timing is Impeccable
Whenever we’re in the middle of some trial or tribulation, God’s timing is never to our liking.   But notice how at the right time (there are no coincidences with God), just as the Shunamite woman heads to the King to make an appeal for her house and land, Gehazi is in with the king, and the king asks, Gehazi to tell him all the great things Elisha did.   So Gehazi starts telling the story of the Shunamite woman whose son had been restored to life, and right then the woman shows up.   Gehazi is like, “and this is her”.

Rewind for a second, some two, three or four years earlier, the Shunamite woman is living among the Philistines; certainly not God’s favorite people, and almost certainly the woman herself was discriminated against, possibly bullied.  Away from family, friends and her home, she was put in an uncomfortable situation, to say the least.   All that to say, in the midst of the difficult times, when you’re under severe stress and pressure undergoing trial and tribulation, that is a time for you to exercise your spiritual muscle of “faith”.   We think of exercise as putting in the ear buds and getting on the treadmill, or the low-impact elliptical machine.   But it’s not always like that.  Let me give you a silly analogy from something recently in my own life.   I’ve been doing some concrete work around my house.   You know, if it’s a place where weeds grow, why not just fill it in with cement…   Anyways, I jokingly told Julie at the end of the project, those 80 pound bags of concrete were starting to get light.   It wasn’t fun during the project, but the more I used my muscles, the less they objected.   Those bags of concrete weren’t light, but they were lighter.   So it is in trials and tribulations, God is putting our faith to the test, and we come out the other end with stronger faith.   So, God would have us trust Him in His timing.

2 Kings 8:7-15
In their culture, if you were going to show honor to someone, you’d bring them a gift (in this case a camel-load of gifts).   Elisha tells Hazael that BenHadad will recover from this sickness, buuuuut he’s gonna die.   Huh?   That’s a strange thing to say.   What he’s saying is the sickness isn’t going to kill him, but something else will.   Then Elisha stares Hazael down; almost as if to look into his soul.   Hazael loses the staredown, and Elisha weeps, knowing what Hazael is going to do.   In New Testament terms, Elisha has a “word of knowledge “.   But Hazael makes this kinda strong denial, saying, “What am I a dog, that I should do this gross thing?”   How much are we like this?   Even as Christians, when God reveals to us some area of sin or depravity, my first inclination is denial.   We don’t want to hear it.   Jeremiah 17:9-10 says, “the heart of man is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked, who can know it?   Then the answer comes “I the Lord search the heart, and I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings”.   So, as I grow as a Christian, I become more aware of how sinful I am.   I do become more sensitive to my sins, failures, missteps, etc.    But not so with Hazael, and he kills Benhadad by smothering him with a wet towel.

POINT 5: It is God Who Reveals Things
We need to understand whatever we know, we know it's because God has revealed it.

Mark 4:21-23 NASB — And He was saying to them, “A lamp is not brought to be put under a fnbasket, is it, or under a bed? Is it not brought to be put on the lampstand? “For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light. “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Deuteronomy 29:29 — The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.

Proverbs 25:2 — It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.

POINT 6: The Gospel of “the Kingdom” is Foreshadowed in the Old Testament (specifically here in Kings)

One of my guiding, principles in understanding the Bible is from Psalm 40:7 (ref. Hebrews 10:5-9).   So, If I see Jesus on every page, it’s because He’s there.   So, one of the characters in this chapter is referred to as the "son", and that son was “restored to life” AKA “resurrected”, does it remind you of someone?   We can take this even further, after the son is restored to life, he’s taken away for a time, and when he returns He will take rightful ownership of what is His.

So, when it says in First Corinthians 15:1-4 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.   3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures

So my question to you is where in the scriptures is it foretold that Jesus would rise from the dead on the third day?

With that in mind I want to go through some new testament scriptures about the resurrection:

Matthew 16: 21, From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.

John 10:17 “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. 18 No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.”

Acts 13:33 God has fulfilled this for us their children, in that He has raised up Jesus. As it is also written in the second Psalm: ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.’ 34 And that He raised Him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, He has spoken thus: ‘I will give you the sure mercies of David.’ 35 Therefore He also says in another Psalm: ‘You will not allow Your Holy One to see corruption.’

Romans 1:3-4 Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, 4 and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.

1 Corinthians 15:12 Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. 14 And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. 15 Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise. 16 For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. 17 And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! 18 Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.

John 11:25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

Philippians 3:10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death

Suicide is not an option

This is the obit of a friend of mine.    Sad, sad, sad...

Christopher David Ward Dec. 28, 1967-Aug. 2, 2009

Christopher David Ward was born on December 28, 1967 in St. Louis, Missouri to Phillip Albert and Van Pearl Ward. He was the youngest of 10 children. Chris spent his childhood in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. In 1986 he joined the navy and in 1990, he was stationed in to Seattle, Washington where he made his home. Most of his career was in the mortgage industry. For the last five years he was a valued employee at Mortgage Advisory Group in Everett, WA. His love of God and family was of utmost importance in his life. Chris' many hobbies included motorcycling, crabbing, fishing, scuba dive, hunting, fishing, snowboarding, and vacations with his family. Chris was always quick to lend a helping hand to those that needed it, without asking for anything in return. Chris was an important part of many people's lives and will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved him. He leaves behind his wife, Amber of six years; sons, Alex 11, and Gabriel 5; and daughter, Lyvia 3. Chris also leaves behind his parents, Phillip Albert and Van Pearl Ward; six sisters, Teresia Rushing, Angela Williams, Cindy Williams, Laura McGee, Vicki Rayfield and Terrie Stone; and three brothers, Jason Rushing, Joseph Rushing, and Phillip Ward; along with numerous nieces and nephews as well as many friends. Services will be held for Chris at 3 p.m., Friday August 7, at North Shore Christian, 5700 23rd Dr. W. Everett, WA. Reception is to follow. All are invited. In lieu of flowers, donations will be accepted at Mortgage Advisory Group in Everett for Alex, Gabriel and Lyvia Ward at 2902 Colby Ave. Everett, WA 98201.

Published in The Herald (Everett) from Aug. 6 to Aug. 7, 2009.