1 00:00:00,760 --> 00:00:02,640 Do you have a copy of God's Word in your hand? 2 00:00:02,840 --> 00:00:05,600 Make it a habit to bring your Bible to church. 3 00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:09,840 And I am an advocate for a physical copy of God's Word. 4 00:00:10,360 --> 00:00:15,440 Do not be surprised if eventually in history this Bible 5 00:00:15,440 --> 00:00:18,040 will be recognized as a hatebook, as it has been in many 6 00:00:18,040 --> 00:00:20,440 parts of the world. And if everything becomes 7 00:00:20,440 --> 00:00:23,120 digitized, that means most things are going to be under the 8 00:00:23,120 --> 00:00:25,560 control of those who do not view the Bible the way you do. 9 00:00:26,280 --> 00:00:31,320 So carry physical copies of God's Word in your hand at home. 10 00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:35,960 It's much more difficult for that to be seized by those who 11 00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:39,920 consider this Bible to be tagonistic and hateful. 12 00:00:40,640 --> 00:00:42,120 So you have a copy of God's Word. 13 00:00:42,400 --> 00:00:45,720 There's nothing sinful about an iPad or an iPhone, But whatever 14 00:00:45,720 --> 00:00:48,800 format you have, let's come together now to Second Kings 15 00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:51,000 chapter 4. Second Kings chapter 4, 16 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:54,760 beginning in verse 38, and we will read to the end of this 17 00:00:54,760 --> 00:00:58,400 chapter. This is the final study of this 18 00:00:58,400 --> 00:01:02,440 chapter, but it is certainly not the conclusion of Elisha's 19 00:01:02,440 --> 00:01:08,000 miraculous ministry. Second Kings chapter 4, 20 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:13,160 beginning in verse 38. And Elisha came again to Gilgal 21 00:01:13,400 --> 00:01:15,200 when there was a famine in the land. 22 00:01:15,920 --> 00:01:18,840 And as the sons of the prophets were sitting before him, he said 23 00:01:18,840 --> 00:01:24,480 to his servant, set on the large pot, and boil Stew for the sons 24 00:01:24,760 --> 00:01:27,680 of the prophets. One of them went out into the 25 00:01:27,680 --> 00:01:31,400 field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered from 26 00:01:31,400 --> 00:01:35,520 it in his lap full of wild gourds, and came and cut them up 27 00:01:35,520 --> 00:01:38,680 into the pot of Stew, not knowing what they were. 28 00:01:39,440 --> 00:01:41,760 And they poured out some for the men to eat. 29 00:01:41,760 --> 00:01:44,240 But while they were eating of the Stew, they cried out. 30 00:01:44,240 --> 00:01:47,120 Oh. Man of God, there is death in 31 00:01:47,120 --> 00:01:51,000 the pot and they could not eat it, he said. 32 00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:53,800 Then bring flour. And he threw it into the pot and 33 00:01:53,800 --> 00:01:57,680 said, Pour some out for the men, that they may eat, and there was 34 00:01:57,680 --> 00:02:02,480 no harm in the pot. A man came from Bell Shalisha, 35 00:02:03,720 --> 00:02:06,760 bringing the man of God bread, bread of the first fruits, 20 36 00:02:06,760 --> 00:02:09,759 loaves of barley, and fresh ears of grain in his sack. 37 00:02:10,280 --> 00:02:13,920 And Elisha said, Give to the men that they may eat. 38 00:02:14,560 --> 00:02:17,920 But his servant said, How can I set this before 100 men? 39 00:02:18,080 --> 00:02:22,520 So he repeated, Give them to the men that they may eat. 40 00:02:22,560 --> 00:02:26,520 For thus, says the Lord, they shall eat and have some left. 41 00:02:26,920 --> 00:02:30,920 So he set it before them, and they ate and had some left 42 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:33,920 according to the word of the Lord. 43 00:02:34,400 --> 00:02:36,400 Lord, we ask that you help us in this study. 44 00:02:36,960 --> 00:02:40,120 Thank you for your presence, Lord, and we trust that this 45 00:02:40,120 --> 00:02:43,840 word is your voice, and it has the force and the power to 46 00:02:43,840 --> 00:02:48,520 infuse the graces that we need to be who you called us to be. 47 00:02:48,520 --> 00:02:51,640 So Lord, we pray for a mind that understands, a heart that will 48 00:02:51,640 --> 00:02:55,400 burn, and lives that will conform to the things that we 49 00:02:55,400 --> 00:02:57,560 will explore together by your help. 50 00:02:57,760 --> 00:03:02,400 We thank you for this provision of spiritual food, and we eat of 51 00:03:02,400 --> 00:03:04,840 it, trusting that it will nourish and strengthen us for 52 00:03:04,840 --> 00:03:08,200 your glory. In Jesus's mighty name we pray 53 00:03:08,720 --> 00:03:14,480 Amen and Amen. The fact that these two 54 00:03:14,480 --> 00:03:20,160 miracles, miracles of provision, took place in a place called 55 00:03:20,160 --> 00:03:22,600 Gilgal, should stop us in our tracks. 56 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:26,160 Why? Because we want to develop the 57 00:03:26,160 --> 00:03:32,280 ability to study reflectively, to look back and to compare and 58 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:35,480 to think and to meditate. And if we have been doing that 59 00:03:36,040 --> 00:03:39,880 in this short series of Elijah's life, then we would recognize 60 00:03:39,880 --> 00:03:43,200 something in Gilgal being mentioned here. 61 00:03:44,520 --> 00:03:47,880 What you will notice is that between Second Kings chapter 2 62 00:03:48,240 --> 00:03:53,960 and 2nd Kings Chapter 4, Elijah performed significant miracles 63 00:03:53,960 --> 00:04:00,400 in the very same locations that Elijah and Elijah travel past 64 00:04:00,400 --> 00:04:03,160 and. Through before Elijah was 65 00:04:03,160 --> 00:04:06,880 transported into heaven. Do you remember Second Kings 66 00:04:06,880 --> 00:04:12,080 chapter 2, how this pair journeyed to that destination? 67 00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:14,880 If you want to see it for yourself, go to chapter 2 and 68 00:04:14,880 --> 00:04:17,000 look at verse one. You'll realize and you'll be 69 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:22,200 reminded that Elijah and Elijah began from Gilgal. 70 00:04:23,600 --> 00:04:26,520 And in verse 2, we're told that they went from Gilgal to where 71 00:04:29,280 --> 00:04:31,720 anybody remember? What does it say in your Bibles? 72 00:04:32,440 --> 00:04:36,720 Bethel and after they traveled to Bethel, we were told that 73 00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:41,040 they went where in verse 4. The reason why I'm asking is 74 00:04:41,040 --> 00:04:42,960 because I want you to be engaged. 75 00:04:44,120 --> 00:04:46,000 Good. Jericho and then from Jericho 76 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:50,120 and verse 7 we read that they arrived at their final place, 77 00:04:50,120 --> 00:04:53,560 which was where the Jordan very good. 78 00:04:54,560 --> 00:05:00,760 Now recall and retrace the steps of Elijah's miracles. 79 00:05:01,520 --> 00:05:06,840 Right after Elijah ascended into heaven, what happened at the 80 00:05:06,840 --> 00:05:10,080 Jordan? The river split into, did it 81 00:05:10,080 --> 00:05:12,600 not? And after the Jordan he went 82 00:05:12,600 --> 00:05:16,800 where to cure the waters? Jericho. 83 00:05:18,240 --> 00:05:23,400 After Jericho, what happened there was a miracle of judgment 84 00:05:23,960 --> 00:05:28,960 that was proclaimed against a large group of young boys, and 85 00:05:28,960 --> 00:05:34,600 it took place where Bethel. And now we come to our study in 86 00:05:34,600 --> 00:05:38,120 Second Kings chapter 4, and we are about to see what God is 87 00:05:38,120 --> 00:05:42,720 going to work in and through Elijah in a place called Gilgal. 88 00:05:44,120 --> 00:05:49,320 So the series of supernatural events took place in the reverse 89 00:05:49,320 --> 00:05:54,840 order of the original journey that Elijah and Elijah shared. 90 00:05:55,240 --> 00:05:58,680 Is that significant? Yes, it is significant. 91 00:05:59,640 --> 00:06:01,720 Why is it important to recognize that? 92 00:06:02,200 --> 00:06:05,520 I believe because the Lord miraculously moving in these 93 00:06:05,520 --> 00:06:11,360 places was His way of validating Elijah's ministry in the very 94 00:06:11,360 --> 00:06:16,440 same areas where Elijah once had influence. 95 00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:22,000 And so this would first of all strengthen Elijah in the 96 00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:26,440 beginnings of his ministry, but it would also encourage the 97 00:06:26,440 --> 00:06:31,200 people of God, namely the sons of the prophets who were located 98 00:06:31,200 --> 00:06:35,840 and studying in these precise places, to see how God 99 00:06:35,840 --> 00:06:41,720 demonstrated this important truth that his work continues 100 00:06:41,920 --> 00:06:47,880 even though his men pass on. God's work and his program 101 00:06:47,880 --> 00:06:51,800 advances with or without his men. 102 00:06:52,880 --> 00:06:57,480 If his men pass on into glory faithfully, or if some of those 103 00:06:57,480 --> 00:07:02,360 ministers were disqualified due to unfaithfulness, God's work 104 00:07:02,600 --> 00:07:05,960 goes on. And that's the overarching 105 00:07:05,960 --> 00:07:08,720 lesson by that simple observation. 106 00:07:09,160 --> 00:07:11,800 But we have been learning these past few weeks that with each of 107 00:07:11,800 --> 00:07:14,480 these miracles there is a message. 108 00:07:14,480 --> 00:07:16,960 There are other truths that we draw from them. 109 00:07:17,200 --> 00:07:20,360 And that is certainly the case with these final miracles in 110 00:07:20,360 --> 00:07:23,680 this chapter. And so I want us now to closely 111 00:07:23,680 --> 00:07:28,760 examine what we can take from these two brief accounts and 112 00:07:28,760 --> 00:07:31,480 trust that the Lord will speak to us as he always does. 113 00:07:31,800 --> 00:07:35,200 But listen, the the way that we're going to properly 114 00:07:35,200 --> 00:07:38,960 interpret and apply what we just read together is by 115 00:07:38,960 --> 00:07:43,360 acknowledging a very crucial ingredient and detail that is 116 00:07:43,360 --> 00:07:46,080 brought to our attention in the very first sentence of what we 117 00:07:46,080 --> 00:07:49,600 read. Look back at verse 38 and Elisha 118 00:07:49,600 --> 00:07:55,360 came again to Gilgal when there was a famine in the land. 119 00:07:55,360 --> 00:07:59,400 If you read too quickly, you'll miss so much of the depth of 120 00:07:59,400 --> 00:08:01,280 what we will discover with these miracles. 121 00:08:02,320 --> 00:08:07,840 This condition sets the stage for these interventions from God 122 00:08:08,720 --> 00:08:11,680 to carry meaning and greater impact and understanding of who. 123 00:08:11,680 --> 00:08:15,160 He is and what he asked of us. There was a famine in the land. 124 00:08:15,560 --> 00:08:18,760 And it's very likely that this famine is the same one that's 125 00:08:18,760 --> 00:08:23,000 described in Second Kings chapter 8, verse 1. 126 00:08:23,360 --> 00:08:25,440 So look at Second Kings chapter 8, verse one. 127 00:08:25,440 --> 00:08:28,920 We read this in part last in last week's study, but let's be 128 00:08:28,920 --> 00:08:35,480 reminded in Second Kings 81. Now, Elijah had said to the 129 00:08:35,480 --> 00:08:40,960 woman whose son he had restored to life, Arise and depart with 130 00:08:40,960 --> 00:08:44,039 your household and sojourn wherever you can. 131 00:08:44,280 --> 00:08:48,120 For the Lord has called for a famine and it will come upon the 132 00:08:48,120 --> 00:08:49,520 land. For how long? 133 00:08:50,240 --> 00:08:53,040 Seven years. That's a long time. 134 00:08:54,280 --> 00:08:56,520 A few key points to take away from this. 135 00:08:56,520 --> 00:08:59,240 Number one, we're told the duration of this famine, and it 136 00:08:59,240 --> 00:09:03,640 was, as you said, seven years when Elijah was the chief 137 00:09:03,640 --> 00:09:07,360 prophet in Israel. There was also a famine that 138 00:09:07,360 --> 00:09:09,520 Israel experienced. How long was that famine? 139 00:09:10,840 --> 00:09:14,560 A little over three years, James tells us three years and six 140 00:09:14,560 --> 00:09:18,920 months. So we have here another famine 141 00:09:19,160 --> 00:09:24,040 with Elijah's successor, and it was double the time of the 142 00:09:24,040 --> 00:09:29,560 famine under Elijah's ministry. Secondly, we're told, who is 143 00:09:29,560 --> 00:09:32,680 responsible for this famine? What did Elijah say? 144 00:09:32,960 --> 00:09:36,960 He said for the Lord has called for a famine. 145 00:09:38,320 --> 00:09:43,760 Famines were not a regular occurrence, nor were they normal 146 00:09:43,760 --> 00:09:47,840 events in the life of Israel under the Old Covenant. 147 00:09:49,080 --> 00:09:52,560 Why is that? Because the Law of Moses tells 148 00:09:52,560 --> 00:09:56,440 us that the presence of a famine is a manifestation of God's 149 00:09:56,440 --> 00:10:01,400 judgement against His people for their unrepentant idolatry. 150 00:10:02,800 --> 00:10:05,680 And if you need a proof text which you should have, turn to 151 00:10:05,680 --> 00:10:10,040 the book of Deuteronomy and notice what is told in verse 11 152 00:10:10,040 --> 00:10:12,480 or Chapter 11 rather, and verse 16. 153 00:10:13,120 --> 00:10:15,320 It makes it explicitly clear. This one of the clearest 154 00:10:15,320 --> 00:10:19,120 warnings about famines in the Bible, especially for those who 155 00:10:19,120 --> 00:10:21,800 are under the Old Covenant. Deuteronomy 11, verse 16. 156 00:10:23,840 --> 00:10:26,760 Notice what Moses says before the people even entered into the 157 00:10:26,760 --> 00:10:29,040 land of promise. Take care lest your heart be 158 00:10:29,040 --> 00:10:33,000 deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship 159 00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:35,200 them. Then the anger of the Lord will 160 00:10:35,200 --> 00:10:39,040 be kindled against you, and he will shut up the heavens, so 161 00:10:39,040 --> 00:10:42,880 that there will be no rain, and the land will yield no fruit, 162 00:10:43,240 --> 00:10:46,360 and you will perish quickly off the good land that the Lord is 163 00:10:46,360 --> 00:10:51,000 giving you. So whenever there was a famine, 164 00:10:52,160 --> 00:10:56,880 it was chastisement from heaven. And it was a way in which God 165 00:10:56,880 --> 00:10:59,680 caused the people to experience discomfort so that they would 166 00:10:59,680 --> 00:11:02,400 repent and turn to men, be restored to His perfect and 167 00:11:02,400 --> 00:11:05,880 goodwill for them. So stepping back now and 168 00:11:05,880 --> 00:11:09,080 connecting these insights, understanding Elijah's ministry 169 00:11:09,080 --> 00:11:12,080 in the famine under his ministry and during his ministry now, 170 00:11:12,160 --> 00:11:15,120 Elijah's ministry and the seven-year famine, what can we 171 00:11:15,120 --> 00:11:18,120 take away from this concerning the people of Israel? 172 00:11:19,040 --> 00:11:23,160 A very disheartening truth that despite the triumphant, 173 00:11:23,160 --> 00:11:29,440 miraculous, massive miracle that took place on Mount Carmel that 174 00:11:29,440 --> 00:11:31,320 brought victory to the name of the true God. 175 00:11:32,400 --> 00:11:37,480 And conquered Baal ISM. The people did not truly repent. 176 00:11:39,360 --> 00:11:42,480 They didn't truly repent. It was momentary, it was 177 00:11:42,480 --> 00:11:43,560 undeniable. It was. 178 00:11:43,560 --> 00:11:47,880 Moving it was impressive, but it did not produce what God is 179 00:11:47,880 --> 00:11:53,040 after lasting repentance. And because they did not truly 180 00:11:53,040 --> 00:11:57,720 repent from their sins after such an incredible demonstration 181 00:11:57,720 --> 00:12:01,040 of His grace, the Lord will discipline them further. 182 00:12:01,040 --> 00:12:03,400 And how would he do that? He's going to now bring another 183 00:12:03,400 --> 00:12:05,400 famine that will last twice as long. 184 00:12:07,080 --> 00:12:11,640 Twice as long. And this is an important lesson 185 00:12:11,640 --> 00:12:17,720 for us, you see, To revisit sins that we have vowed to never 186 00:12:17,720 --> 00:12:22,400 entertain invites greater discipline from our loving 187 00:12:22,720 --> 00:12:28,720 Father. The Lord God loves us too much 188 00:12:28,720 --> 00:12:33,240 to keep us in our sin and to keep us in a state where we 189 00:12:33,240 --> 00:12:40,520 don't learn from our past sins. And this is especially true for 190 00:12:40,520 --> 00:12:42,760 the sins that He has disciplined us about. 191 00:12:44,080 --> 00:12:46,960 You know, there are some people who deceive themselves in 192 00:12:47,160 --> 00:12:50,080 potentially entertaining things that they have done before, 193 00:12:50,800 --> 00:12:55,400 thinking that they are able to survive the consequences of sin 194 00:12:55,400 --> 00:12:59,320 that they faced before. That wasn't so bad. 195 00:12:59,360 --> 00:13:01,240 I mean, it was a little bit embarrassing. 196 00:13:01,640 --> 00:13:05,560 It hurt me a little bit. It caused me to forfeit the 197 00:13:05,560 --> 00:13:07,600 trust of some people that I love. 198 00:13:07,600 --> 00:13:09,560 But here I am. It's not so bad. 199 00:13:10,360 --> 00:13:15,480 Maybe I can do it again. Maybe I can try harder, try 200 00:13:15,480 --> 00:13:19,800 better. Maybe I can I can be successful 201 00:13:19,800 --> 00:13:22,680 this time around. It's amazing what our minds are 202 00:13:22,680 --> 00:13:24,800 capable of thinking when it comes to sin. 203 00:13:25,920 --> 00:13:27,720 And what I want to tell you remind you is that this is an 204 00:13:27,720 --> 00:13:30,840 example that if you truly belong to the Lord, He will not treat 205 00:13:30,840 --> 00:13:34,720 you so indifferently. He won't. 206 00:13:36,400 --> 00:13:41,640 So they rebelled, time went on, they didn't learn the only 207 00:13:41,640 --> 00:13:44,000 increase in their apostasy. So the Lord said, OK, you didn't 208 00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:47,360 learn with 3 1/2 years, let me bring 7 years and let's see if 209 00:13:47,360 --> 00:13:52,120 this will change you now. So the Lord is very calculating 210 00:13:52,120 --> 00:13:55,880 in how He deals with us as His children, and He loves us too 211 00:13:55,880 --> 00:14:01,040 much to leave us alone or to not change things in order to change 212 00:14:01,040 --> 00:14:06,080 you. However, that's not the only 213 00:14:06,080 --> 00:14:07,360 thing that we learned from this famine. 214 00:14:07,360 --> 00:14:10,720 Let's go back to our text, our main text, and I want you to see 215 00:14:10,720 --> 00:14:15,040 that in verse 38 we are reminded that there is a remnant alive 216 00:14:15,040 --> 00:14:17,120 during this destitute time. How do we know that? 217 00:14:17,600 --> 00:14:20,920 Because we read here that the sons of the prophets were 218 00:14:20,920 --> 00:14:23,680 sitting before Him, being Elisha. 219 00:14:25,520 --> 00:14:28,600 We talked enough about the sons of the prophet to know who these 220 00:14:28,840 --> 00:14:31,200 group of people are. They're prophets in training. 221 00:14:31,200 --> 00:14:33,720 They are ministers in training. And the fact that they were 222 00:14:33,720 --> 00:14:35,600 sitting before Elijah tells us what? 223 00:14:35,840 --> 00:14:38,920 Well, to sit before somebody is a consistent posture in the 224 00:14:38,920 --> 00:14:43,440 Bible that denotes the humble reception of instruction. 225 00:14:44,640 --> 00:14:49,080 So though there is a national drought, you have the sons of 226 00:14:49,080 --> 00:14:53,840 the prophets in Gilgal. Doing what school is still in 227 00:14:53,840 --> 00:14:58,280 session. They are humbly and with 228 00:14:58,280 --> 00:15:03,560 eagerness, wanting to receive wisdom and insight and knowledge 229 00:15:03,560 --> 00:15:08,240 concerning who their God is. And Elijah was faithful and 230 00:15:08,240 --> 00:15:13,080 loving enough to provide it. And so as there is hunger going 231 00:15:13,080 --> 00:15:17,240 on, we see that there is a spiritual feast taking place at 232 00:15:17,240 --> 00:15:20,640 the same time. And the posture of the sons of 233 00:15:20,640 --> 00:15:23,640 the prophets reminds us of a truth that you and I know by 234 00:15:23,640 --> 00:15:27,200 heart. It's found in a statement that 235 00:15:27,200 --> 00:15:30,000 the Lord gave to His people Israel before they entered their 236 00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:32,920 promised land, and Jesus echoed it in the early stages of his 237 00:15:32,920 --> 00:15:37,280 ministry. Man cannot survive on bread 238 00:15:37,280 --> 00:15:41,280 alone. But what by every word that 239 00:15:41,280 --> 00:15:46,760 comes from the mouth of God? You know what that truth doesn't 240 00:15:46,760 --> 00:15:49,720 teach? That food is unnecessary to 241 00:15:49,720 --> 00:15:53,120 life. That's not what the Lord is 242 00:15:53,120 --> 00:15:56,160 saying by sharing that. What He is saying, though, 243 00:15:56,160 --> 00:16:03,840 instead, is that you cannot know the fullness of life if your 244 00:16:03,840 --> 00:16:10,760 life is merely about materialism and provision and prosperity. 245 00:16:12,240 --> 00:16:17,040 You can only unlock what Jesus calls the abundant life when you 246 00:16:17,040 --> 00:16:23,600 know how to position yourself with constant nourishment of 247 00:16:23,600 --> 00:16:27,760 His. Word, you and I know many people 248 00:16:27,760 --> 00:16:31,760 who make their life about living by bread alone. 249 00:16:33,600 --> 00:16:36,200 And such individuals, unfortunately, no matter what 250 00:16:36,200 --> 00:16:39,200 they possess, no matter what they enjoy, we'll never tap into 251 00:16:39,520 --> 00:16:41,560 all that God wants to grant them. 252 00:16:42,560 --> 00:16:46,160 Unless they are willing to believe what this word has to 253 00:16:46,160 --> 00:16:51,520 offer and engage with it to the degree that they experience it. 254 00:16:54,960 --> 00:16:58,600 So people often ask, like, how? How do I get myself to be 255 00:16:59,000 --> 00:17:02,800 consistently and uninterruptedly devoted to the Bible? 256 00:17:02,800 --> 00:17:04,000 How? How do I get there? 257 00:17:04,000 --> 00:17:06,680 How do I stay there? And my answer is always the 258 00:17:06,680 --> 00:17:08,599 same. It never changes. 259 00:17:08,800 --> 00:17:13,480 Here it is. I'm convinced that I can't truly 260 00:17:13,480 --> 00:17:18,319 live without it. I'm convinced of that. 261 00:17:19,680 --> 00:17:21,839 It's not a matter about what I feel, it's about what I know. 262 00:17:21,839 --> 00:17:26,920 I'm convinced of that truth, that I am the most alive when I 263 00:17:26,920 --> 00:17:30,520 am the most. Invested in His word and you 264 00:17:30,520 --> 00:17:31,960 know what it's like. Have you ever been through a 265 00:17:31,960 --> 00:17:33,960 season where you've distanced yourself from the word? 266 00:17:34,200 --> 00:17:37,240 You feel how you shrivel up inside, do you not? 267 00:17:38,520 --> 00:17:42,040 Temptation becomes stronger, worldliness becomes more 268 00:17:42,040 --> 00:17:46,040 alluring, your flesh flares up with greater strength and 269 00:17:46,040 --> 00:17:50,080 tenacity. There is something powerful 270 00:17:50,080 --> 00:17:54,280 about the Word, every word that comes from God. 271 00:17:55,200 --> 00:17:57,080 So people say, how do you do it? I'll tell you how I do it. 272 00:17:57,200 --> 00:18:00,400 I can't survive without it because the Bible tells me if I 273 00:18:00,400 --> 00:18:03,880 just live by bread, saving up for bread, accumulating more 274 00:18:03,880 --> 00:18:06,360 bread, finding different ingredients for bread, if that's 275 00:18:06,360 --> 00:18:10,040 what my life is about, then I will not truly be alive. 276 00:18:10,040 --> 00:18:12,200 I'm, I'm existing, but I'm not living. 277 00:18:14,160 --> 00:18:18,040 And with that, I have never, ever, ever watched somebody who 278 00:18:18,040 --> 00:18:22,840 lived by bread alone and was attracted to their way of life. 279 00:18:23,320 --> 00:18:28,120 Have you ever, ever. In fact, such people come off as 280 00:18:28,120 --> 00:18:32,840 lifeless to me, Lifeless. The vanity that they're devoted 281 00:18:32,840 --> 00:18:37,560 to the emptiness. While those who feast on the 282 00:18:37,560 --> 00:18:40,360 Word of the Lord, I'll tell you, they are radiant, are they not? 283 00:18:42,560 --> 00:18:46,720 They are energized by and satisfied with what God has 284 00:18:46,720 --> 00:18:50,520 provided us, His eternal Word. And before we move on, there's 285 00:18:50,520 --> 00:18:51,960 something else that we need to address. 286 00:18:51,960 --> 00:18:58,240 From verse 38, though, you have this remnant that is showing us 287 00:18:58,240 --> 00:19:00,640 the preciousness of God's Word as they sit at the feet of a man 288 00:19:00,640 --> 00:19:04,520 who represented God's Word. You learned that they were still 289 00:19:04,520 --> 00:19:06,920 somewhat impacted by this famine, right? 290 00:19:10,520 --> 00:19:13,440 How do I know that? Look at the menu of what's there 291 00:19:13,440 --> 00:19:16,040 at the seminary in Gilgal. What does Elijah instruct? 292 00:19:16,320 --> 00:19:19,400 Set on the large pot and boil Stew for the sons of the 293 00:19:19,400 --> 00:19:22,000 prophets. This is not a gourmet meal. 294 00:19:23,400 --> 00:19:27,160 This is not a banquet. And if you're not convinced of 295 00:19:27,160 --> 00:19:29,720 that because, well, it's a large pot, look at the ingredients. 296 00:19:29,720 --> 00:19:32,440 Look at the scarce resources in verse 39. 297 00:19:32,920 --> 00:19:34,800 One of the sons of the prophet had to go out into the field and 298 00:19:34,800 --> 00:19:36,800 try to find somebody to throw in there to make it a little bit 299 00:19:36,800 --> 00:19:40,200 more meaty. So what I'm trying to tell you 300 00:19:40,200 --> 00:19:42,400 here, what I'm trying to bring your attention to is that these 301 00:19:42,400 --> 00:19:46,080 faithful men of God, these people who represented the, the 302 00:19:46,080 --> 00:19:53,200 small remnant in Israel, we're not completely exempt from the 303 00:19:53,200 --> 00:19:58,440 sufferings around them. And I was thinking about this 304 00:19:58,440 --> 00:20:01,040 and, and, and I thought like, Lord, you, you could have 305 00:20:01,040 --> 00:20:04,240 preserved this remnant the way you did with Israel and Egypt. 306 00:20:04,240 --> 00:20:06,800 You set up a whole city and you protected, it was called Goshen 307 00:20:06,920 --> 00:20:08,960 while everything crazy was going on around them. 308 00:20:09,600 --> 00:20:12,040 Why is that the why is that not the case here? 309 00:20:12,840 --> 00:20:14,800 Why are the cupboards a little bit emptier? 310 00:20:15,600 --> 00:20:18,280 What's going on? And here's the lesson, a lesson 311 00:20:18,280 --> 00:20:21,120 that you know very well that the Lord will sometimes allow even 312 00:20:21,120 --> 00:20:24,000 his most faithful to taste a little bit of the sufferings of 313 00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:26,640 this world for sanctifying purposes. 314 00:20:27,920 --> 00:20:31,240 He will permit that, He will allow that from time to time, 315 00:20:31,240 --> 00:20:33,960 yet at the same time we could take comfort in the fact that He 316 00:20:33,960 --> 00:20:35,920 will never abandoned us in such a condition. 317 00:20:36,600 --> 00:20:40,160 He will never allow us to drift away in such circumstances. 318 00:20:40,760 --> 00:20:46,680 He will always be near and close enough to provide and to move on 319 00:20:46,680 --> 00:20:50,880 your behalf because He is good and He promised to be by us. 320 00:20:51,640 --> 00:20:53,440 And that's what we see with this miracle. 321 00:20:55,720 --> 00:20:58,920 So Elijah tells his servant, remember, look, he says he said 322 00:20:58,920 --> 00:21:02,000 to his servant, it's very likely that his servant was who, what's 323 00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:07,120 his name, such as the letter G Ghazi. 324 00:21:07,120 --> 00:21:08,920 It's very likely that he's addressing Ghazi and he's 325 00:21:08,920 --> 00:21:12,800 telling Ghazi, Ghazi, I want you to prepare something for these 326 00:21:12,800 --> 00:21:14,720 students. So as Ghazi is. 327 00:21:14,720 --> 00:21:17,360 Preparing to do that you have one of the sons of the prophets 328 00:21:17,360 --> 00:21:20,640 who takes it upon himself to help he's not asked to help 329 00:21:20,640 --> 00:21:23,240 they're going to be served but he says you know what I want to 330 00:21:23,640 --> 00:21:26,480 I want to do this and we see a wonderful heart in this man 331 00:21:26,480 --> 00:21:28,920 right verse 39 one of them went out into the field to gather 332 00:21:28,920 --> 00:21:34,120 herbs so as he's making this initiative as he's trying to aid 333 00:21:34,600 --> 00:21:38,360 he goes out and we read here that he finds a wild vine and 334 00:21:38,360 --> 00:21:42,520 gathered from it in his lap full of wild gourds what are wild 335 00:21:42,520 --> 00:21:45,240 gourds a family of vegetables that. 336 00:21:45,720 --> 00:21:50,680 Are like cucumbers and squashes those kind of vegetables that 337 00:21:50,920 --> 00:21:54,760 perhaps helps with the imagination of the story and it 338 00:21:54,760 --> 00:21:58,680 explains why he got so excited because he just fills his shirt 339 00:21:58,680 --> 00:22:01,280 with it and he wobbles back to the site and he. 340 00:22:02,040 --> 00:22:04,640 Is excited about this discovery and he doesn't wait to cut them 341 00:22:04,640 --> 00:22:07,400 up and to throw them into the soup. 342 00:22:09,120 --> 00:22:12,000 And everything looks well until you read the ominous final words 343 00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:14,160 of that verse. Look at the last few words of 344 00:22:14,160 --> 00:22:22,160 verse 39, not knowing what they were, unfortunately, as you and 345 00:22:22,160 --> 00:22:25,800 I read. These are harmful vegetables, 346 00:22:25,840 --> 00:22:30,360 and they will end up poisoning the source of food that these 347 00:22:30,360 --> 00:22:35,000 men are ready to eat. And I believe that there are a 348 00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:37,640 few lessons to draw from this. There are some practical lessons 349 00:22:37,640 --> 00:22:40,880 and there are some spiritual ones, and I want us to consider 350 00:22:40,880 --> 00:22:43,360 both. On the functional side, it's 351 00:22:43,360 --> 00:22:48,800 important to take something from this concerning those who are 352 00:22:48,800 --> 00:22:52,600 devoted to studying God's Word. Here it is. 353 00:22:52,880 --> 00:22:56,440 The pursuit of spiritual knowledge should not cause us to 354 00:22:56,440 --> 00:23:00,440 overlook our pursuit of gaining practical wisdom. 355 00:23:03,720 --> 00:23:07,920 You have some good hearted Christians who might have a 356 00:23:07,920 --> 00:23:11,280 passion for theology or might even have their vocation in the 357 00:23:11,280 --> 00:23:16,240 ministry, but they excuse. Himself to be neglectful of real 358 00:23:16,240 --> 00:23:18,840 life skills and general knowledge of this world. 359 00:23:21,200 --> 00:23:24,840 It's actually common. So again you have these good 360 00:23:24,840 --> 00:23:29,720 hearted believers who justify ignorance in matters of this 361 00:23:29,720 --> 00:23:33,000 life that hinder them in many ways. 362 00:23:34,040 --> 00:23:36,200 And they justify it because, like the sons of the prophets, 363 00:23:36,200 --> 00:23:40,280 they are serious students of God's word or they are very 364 00:23:40,280 --> 00:23:42,640 seriously dedicated to the service of the Lord. 365 00:23:43,160 --> 00:23:45,960 And So what happens? They they become disabled in 366 00:23:45,960 --> 00:23:48,400 other crucial areas of life. They they don't know how to 367 00:23:48,400 --> 00:23:54,360 manage their finances. They don't have social skills. 368 00:23:54,360 --> 00:23:56,400 They don't have social skills in the church, and they certainly 369 00:23:56,400 --> 00:23:58,840 don't have social skills outside engaging with the world. 370 00:24:00,280 --> 00:24:02,080 They don't know how to plan for the future. 371 00:24:02,600 --> 00:24:05,640 They don't know how to discern a fraud or a scam. 372 00:24:06,280 --> 00:24:08,880 They don't know how to accomplish basic life skills. 373 00:24:09,480 --> 00:24:13,680 Why all under the pretense of spirituality? 374 00:24:13,720 --> 00:24:17,280 Because you have over the years sheltered yourself from real 375 00:24:17,280 --> 00:24:21,720 life world and then you struggle in the world. 376 00:24:24,440 --> 00:24:26,640 And this is again far too common. 377 00:24:26,640 --> 00:24:30,320 And I assure you that if you are somebody who is like that, you 378 00:24:30,320 --> 00:24:34,040 will eventually hurt yourself. You will eventually harm others, 379 00:24:34,240 --> 00:24:38,000 so you must quickly learn that being spiritual does not mean 380 00:24:38,000 --> 00:24:41,240 God calls you to be ignorant of your dealings with the affairs 381 00:24:41,240 --> 00:24:50,400 of society and of life itself. On the spiritual side. 382 00:24:51,160 --> 00:24:55,480 What we can take from this from the student at Gilgal is that 383 00:24:55,480 --> 00:24:58,840 you cannot make judgements by mere appearance. 384 00:25:00,360 --> 00:25:04,880 So he saw these vegetables and he thought they looked good, and 385 00:25:04,880 --> 00:25:07,600 without much investigation he just took them and he threw them 386 00:25:07,600 --> 00:25:11,720 and he ate them with 100 other men, and they put themselves in 387 00:25:11,720 --> 00:25:12,520 Great. Peril. 388 00:25:14,360 --> 00:25:15,640 So here's a spiritual application. 389 00:25:15,640 --> 00:25:19,320 Just because a minister looks good, just because a ministry 390 00:25:19,320 --> 00:25:23,160 sounds good, does not mean that you should, without filtration, 391 00:25:23,400 --> 00:25:27,320 digest everything that they have to offer or even put it in your 392 00:25:27,320 --> 00:25:32,440 mouth to begin with. If you're not careful, the trap 393 00:25:32,440 --> 00:25:35,920 that this man fell into physically is a trap that many 394 00:25:35,920 --> 00:25:37,880 have ensnared themselves with spiritually. 395 00:25:39,200 --> 00:25:44,040 They've allowed themselves to be caught up in things, to invest 396 00:25:44,040 --> 00:25:48,000 in things, expose themselves to things that put them in great 397 00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:49,960 danger. You know, Paul told us in 2nd 398 00:25:49,960 --> 00:25:55,680 Corinthians 11 that the servants of Satan masquerade themselves 399 00:25:55,800 --> 00:25:58,040 as servants. Of righteousness. 400 00:25:59,440 --> 00:26:01,480 False teachers. You know what that means? 401 00:26:01,480 --> 00:26:04,560 That means that there are many false teachers out there that 402 00:26:04,560 --> 00:26:11,200 come off as genuine, that seem to be holy, that will claim that 403 00:26:11,200 --> 00:26:15,120 they align themselves with the truth when in fact they are 404 00:26:15,200 --> 00:26:21,800 agents of the devil. Why should have this man, when 405 00:26:21,800 --> 00:26:27,160 he stumbled upon this wild vine, at least at least been 406 00:26:27,160 --> 00:26:29,200 suspicious? Any idea? 407 00:26:34,880 --> 00:26:40,000 There was nothing else meaning what we read in Second Kings 81, 408 00:26:40,360 --> 00:26:47,720 The Lord called for a famine that at least should have caused 409 00:26:47,720 --> 00:26:51,160 him to stop and think. Where is this coming from? 410 00:26:51,920 --> 00:26:55,200 What is this all about? But because he let his guard 411 00:26:55,200 --> 00:26:58,440 down, he was a mindful of the word of the Lord in that moment. 412 00:27:00,280 --> 00:27:05,360 He introduced himself and others into something that was harmful, 413 00:27:07,440 --> 00:27:11,720 and it's no different to how many people react and expose 414 00:27:11,720 --> 00:27:15,480 themselves to spiritual, spiritually dangerous food. 415 00:27:15,520 --> 00:27:21,040 I recently read a comment from a man who was writing on a video 416 00:27:21,080 --> 00:27:25,520 on an unfortunate video of a minister who was recently 417 00:27:25,520 --> 00:27:30,360 exposed for being verbally and physically abusive to what his 418 00:27:30,360 --> 00:27:32,160 family and his adult children are now. 419 00:27:32,160 --> 00:27:37,000 Exposing him out in the public and to many people wasn't a 420 00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:39,360 surprise because this individual, when he preached 421 00:27:39,360 --> 00:27:45,960 from the pulpit, came off very, very aggressive. 422 00:27:46,040 --> 00:27:51,400 Very demeaning, ugly, harsh. He preached verses, he actually 423 00:27:51,400 --> 00:27:53,840 preached books from the Bible. But when he would, when he would 424 00:27:53,840 --> 00:27:59,720 teach it, it was woven with a crude language and harshness in 425 00:27:59,720 --> 00:28:04,880 his tone and condemnation. But what moved me about this 426 00:28:04,880 --> 00:28:07,600 comment was that this man admitted that he had followed 427 00:28:07,600 --> 00:28:12,440 this minister. 'S preaching for years and 428 00:28:12,440 --> 00:28:14,800 throughout the years, he discovered. 429 00:28:15,560 --> 00:28:18,920 Based on what people said around him, the closest people, namely 430 00:28:18,920 --> 00:28:23,640 his family, he was becoming angrier, he was becoming more 431 00:28:23,640 --> 00:28:27,120 critical, he was becoming more arrogant. 432 00:28:27,880 --> 00:28:31,200 And by the grace of God, it was illuminated to him that the 433 00:28:31,200 --> 00:28:35,040 connection between his behavior was what he was connected to in 434 00:28:35,040 --> 00:28:41,320 terms of his spiritual diet, and he separated himself from it and 435 00:28:41,320 --> 00:28:45,320 it changed him. To think that you and I can just 436 00:28:45,640 --> 00:28:49,480 eat anything that's presented to us, that's offered to us, that's 437 00:28:49,480 --> 00:28:52,960 popular, that's known, is as silly as believing that you can 438 00:28:52,960 --> 00:28:55,280 put any kind of food in your mouth and not expect it to 439 00:28:55,280 --> 00:29:00,920 affect you. So we are called to be careful, 440 00:29:01,920 --> 00:29:04,680 not be mindless, not be careless, to be discerning, to 441 00:29:04,680 --> 00:29:09,880 be slow, to be brains. If the apostle Paul had some of 442 00:29:09,880 --> 00:29:12,840 his audience take his word and compare it to the scriptures, 443 00:29:12,960 --> 00:29:14,800 how much more everybody else that's running around with a 444 00:29:14,800 --> 00:29:16,440 microphone and an Instagram page. 445 00:29:18,880 --> 00:29:21,960 So we read this and we were supposed to also learn something 446 00:29:21,960 --> 00:29:23,840 else about it. It's so important to see it in 447 00:29:23,840 --> 00:29:26,160 this way as well. What if you have been somebody 448 00:29:26,160 --> 00:29:29,680 who throughout the years have exposed yourself to spiritual 449 00:29:29,680 --> 00:29:31,880 junk? What happens if? 450 00:29:31,880 --> 00:29:41,120 You have not been careful with what you eat if that is 451 00:29:41,440 --> 00:29:44,400 something that you are aware of about yourself. 452 00:29:44,560 --> 00:29:47,400 The next two verses give us the exemplary solution. 453 00:29:47,400 --> 00:29:50,840 What happens verse 40 and they poured out some for the men to 454 00:29:50,840 --> 00:29:53,200 eat, but while they were eating of the Stew, they cried out, O 455 00:29:53,200 --> 00:29:55,200 men of God, there is death in the pot. 456 00:29:55,200 --> 00:29:56,760 How do they figure that out? We're not told. 457 00:29:56,920 --> 00:29:58,720 I wonder if some people started getting sick. 458 00:29:58,880 --> 00:30:01,920 I wonder if some who knew of the vegetation tasted and they said, 459 00:30:01,920 --> 00:30:03,720 whoa, whoa, whoa, this is this is not good. 460 00:30:04,080 --> 00:30:08,480 This is the deadly stuff. However it occurred, they cry 461 00:30:08,480 --> 00:30:10,560 out to the man of God. And why is that important? 462 00:30:10,560 --> 00:30:13,040 Because the man of God at this time was a representative. 463 00:30:13,040 --> 00:30:15,720 He was God's conduit. Of the Word of God. 464 00:30:16,720 --> 00:30:19,280 He symbolized the word of God. Do you remember what Jehoshaphat 465 00:30:19,280 --> 00:30:22,720 said in Second Kings 312 when they were stranded in the desert 466 00:30:22,880 --> 00:30:25,440 and somebody mentioned, hey, Elisha is not too far from you. 467 00:30:25,440 --> 00:30:29,360 He said, let's go to him, for the word of the Lord is with 468 00:30:29,360 --> 00:30:33,640 him. So these sons of the prophets 469 00:30:33,640 --> 00:30:36,120 knew where to go. They went to the man who had the 470 00:30:36,120 --> 00:30:38,880 word of the Lord, trusting that he would have the solution to 471 00:30:38,880 --> 00:30:41,640 their trouble. And they were right. 472 00:30:41,840 --> 00:30:45,840 What does Elisha do? He said in verse 41, bring flour 473 00:30:45,840 --> 00:30:48,000 and they threw it into the pot and said pour out some for the 474 00:30:48,000 --> 00:30:51,080 men and that they may eat and there was no harm in the pot. 475 00:30:52,480 --> 00:30:54,440 Talk about an act of faith on the part of the sons of the 476 00:30:54,440 --> 00:30:55,960 prophet. Imagine realizing that there's 477 00:30:55,960 --> 00:30:58,760 poison in it and all your teacher does is take flour, 478 00:30:58,760 --> 00:31:00,640 throw it in there, says it's OK, now you can eat. 479 00:31:02,760 --> 00:31:04,440 Would you be hesitant? To take another bite. 480 00:31:06,880 --> 00:31:08,440 Well, again, they trusted the word of the Lord. 481 00:31:08,440 --> 00:31:11,560 Ultimately, if they didn't trust in the flour, they didn't trust 482 00:31:11,560 --> 00:31:15,000 necessarily in Elisha. But in whom Elisha represented 483 00:31:15,000 --> 00:31:19,640 and spoke on behalf of. What's the solution here? 484 00:31:20,800 --> 00:31:24,440 The word of the Lord and the word of the Lord from Elisha's 485 00:31:24,440 --> 00:31:27,840 mouth is no more powerful than the written word of God that you 486 00:31:27,840 --> 00:31:29,600 have open in your hands right now. 487 00:31:31,480 --> 00:31:35,000 I love that verse in Ephesians 526 where we are told about 488 00:31:35,000 --> 00:31:39,040 Christ's love for the church, that He has sanctified her by 489 00:31:39,040 --> 00:31:41,400 cleansing her. How? 490 00:31:41,800 --> 00:31:45,080 Through the washing of what? The Word. 491 00:31:46,600 --> 00:31:48,280 That's how He sanctifies His bride. 492 00:31:49,400 --> 00:31:52,720 The cleansing of the washing of the Word. 493 00:31:52,920 --> 00:31:57,720 Jesus said in John 1717. Sanctify them by the truth. 494 00:31:57,720 --> 00:32:07,640 Your Word is the truth. Have you again grown up in a 495 00:32:07,640 --> 00:32:11,880 church setting, or probably a different faith altogether and 496 00:32:11,880 --> 00:32:15,000 your mind is still cloud? It's difficult to grasp certain 497 00:32:15,000 --> 00:32:16,760 things. You don't have the joy that the 498 00:32:16,760 --> 00:32:18,520 Bible promises. You don't have the security that 499 00:32:18,520 --> 00:32:21,000 the Bible promises. You don't have the confidence of 500 00:32:21,000 --> 00:32:24,920 the Bible promises. Are you somebody besides 501 00:32:24,920 --> 00:32:27,080 doctrinally? Are you somebody that has a mind 502 00:32:27,080 --> 00:32:37,040 fogged by filthy thoughts, by self sabotaging ideas? 503 00:32:38,760 --> 00:32:42,600 If so, the solution is the same, the nourishing and the cleansing 504 00:32:42,600 --> 00:32:45,480 power of the word of God. And, and you know that and I've 505 00:32:45,480 --> 00:32:47,880 talked to people say I know that, but I can't seem to 506 00:32:47,880 --> 00:32:50,320 escape. I can't seem to, to get over 507 00:32:50,480 --> 00:32:53,880 these false notions of who God is, of what he's done for me or 508 00:32:53,880 --> 00:32:58,360 these immoral dark ideas. Why can't I overcome them? 509 00:33:00,440 --> 00:33:02,360 And I, I think this is a helpful picture. 510 00:33:02,360 --> 00:33:05,680 Have you ever taken a cup filled to the brim with a different 511 00:33:05,680 --> 00:33:10,720 substance, maybe even a dirty cup, brought it to a running 512 00:33:10,720 --> 00:33:12,960 faucet and allow it to sit under there? 513 00:33:14,640 --> 00:33:17,360 Have you ever seen a cup filled with such substance substance, 514 00:33:17,360 --> 00:33:20,440 the moment it is touched with one drop of that clean water, 515 00:33:20,760 --> 00:33:23,080 transformed and become completely clear itself? 516 00:33:24,640 --> 00:33:27,080 If so, I want to know what kind of water supply you get because 517 00:33:27,080 --> 00:33:30,000 I've never seen it. You know what does happen as you 518 00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:33,640 keep that water positioned patiently under that running 519 00:33:33,640 --> 00:33:37,280 faucet? Over time it goes from dark to 520 00:33:37,280 --> 00:33:42,240 less dark comes clear until it shares the same substance of 521 00:33:42,240 --> 00:33:45,840 that clean source. OK, you're engaging with the 522 00:33:45,840 --> 00:33:47,320 word of God. Let me add this. 523 00:33:47,720 --> 00:33:53,960 Give the word time to work. To cleanse your conscience, to 524 00:33:53,960 --> 00:33:57,840 cleanse your subconscious so I know you might be visited by 525 00:33:57,840 --> 00:34:03,160 dreams that you don't want. Give the word time to clean you 526 00:34:03,160 --> 00:34:05,800 up. Be patient with the Word. 527 00:34:06,760 --> 00:34:09,440 You know, Timothy was told to be patient in the preaching of 528 00:34:09,440 --> 00:34:13,199 God's Word. So as much as it is possible for 529 00:34:13,199 --> 00:34:16,679 a truth in a sermon or in your own personal reading to change 530 00:34:16,679 --> 00:34:19,120 you and to shift you, that's possible. 531 00:34:19,239 --> 00:34:21,840 Just like Elijah's one time word over that Stew. 532 00:34:22,719 --> 00:34:26,600 More common than that is the faithful commitment to your 533 00:34:26,600 --> 00:34:29,480 exposure to God's Word and it healing you and restoring you 534 00:34:29,480 --> 00:34:33,239 over time. It has cleansing power. 535 00:34:33,239 --> 00:34:35,679 Trust in it. Trust that it can do something 536 00:34:35,679 --> 00:34:38,719 in you right away and trust that as you invest in it for the rest 537 00:34:38,719 --> 00:34:40,520 of your life, it will change you day by day. 538 00:34:42,920 --> 00:34:45,159 Now here's what's interesting. The sons of the prophets were 539 00:34:45,159 --> 00:34:47,239 not the only remnant in Israel at this time. 540 00:34:47,239 --> 00:34:55,360 Look at verse 42, we read a man came from Bal Shalisha bringing 541 00:34:55,360 --> 00:34:59,200 the man of God bread of the firstfruits, 20 loaves of 542 00:34:59,200 --> 00:35:01,720 barley, and fresh ears of grain in his sack. 543 00:35:01,720 --> 00:35:04,600 And Elijah said, give to the men that they may eat. 544 00:35:04,880 --> 00:35:07,720 But his servant said, how can I set this before 100 men? 545 00:35:07,920 --> 00:35:11,280 So he repeated, give them to the men that they may eat. 546 00:35:11,280 --> 00:35:14,880 For thus says the Lord, they shall eat and have some left. 547 00:35:17,120 --> 00:35:20,760 I told you not too long ago that whenever you and I come across a 548 00:35:20,760 --> 00:35:24,160 town or the name of a region in our Bibles, to trust that it's 549 00:35:24,160 --> 00:35:27,400 been included there to invite you to explore it further. 550 00:35:27,560 --> 00:35:31,160 Because if you are faithful in that, it can most definitely 551 00:35:31,160 --> 00:35:32,880 enrich your understanding of God's Word. 552 00:35:33,120 --> 00:35:35,320 See. Listen, much of what people 553 00:35:35,320 --> 00:35:37,120 desire. Depth in the knowledge of 554 00:35:37,120 --> 00:35:42,960 Scripture requires the discipline to dig you will never 555 00:35:42,960 --> 00:35:46,200 plummet the depths of Scripture if you're engaging with the word 556 00:35:46,200 --> 00:35:52,360 of God is you version verse of the day you're not the Bible was 557 00:35:52,360 --> 00:35:54,720 not meant to be read and studied like a fortune cookie. 558 00:35:56,480 --> 00:35:59,480 So when you come to a text like this and here's what here's what 559 00:35:59,480 --> 00:36:01,360 happened to me. I'm reading this earlier today 560 00:36:01,360 --> 00:36:05,120 and I find a man came from thou Shalisha and I think I I know of 561 00:36:05,120 --> 00:36:08,520 some place in the Old Testament notable names that are repeated. 562 00:36:08,720 --> 00:36:10,800 I don't remember ever reading about a place called Thou 563 00:36:10,800 --> 00:36:15,200 Shalisha. So I just thought is there 564 00:36:15,200 --> 00:36:19,680 another place where Bal Shalisha is referenced and I discovered 565 00:36:19,680 --> 00:36:22,120 there is not one place where Bal Shalisha is mentioned. 566 00:36:22,920 --> 00:36:26,880 But there is a place where Shalisha is mentioned and only 567 00:36:26,880 --> 00:36:30,080 in one other place. So turn with me to First Samuel 568 00:36:30,080 --> 00:36:32,840 Chapter 9 and I want you to see this reference. 569 00:36:32,840 --> 00:36:35,200 This is the only place where you'll find this name Shalisha. 570 00:36:35,200 --> 00:36:37,720 And you'll discover that it's not a town, it's actually a 571 00:36:37,720 --> 00:36:39,840 district. It's a region. 572 00:36:49,600 --> 00:36:53,160 First Samuel 94 If you are one to take notes in your Bible, I 573 00:36:53,160 --> 00:36:56,680 would as a reminder maybe write this reference First Samuel 9 574 00:36:56,680 --> 00:36:59,600 four by Second Samuel 442 so that you would never forget it. 575 00:36:59,880 --> 00:37:02,200 Look what it says here. And he passed through the Hill 576 00:37:02,200 --> 00:37:06,960 Country of Ephraim, and passed through the land of Shalisha, 577 00:37:08,040 --> 00:37:10,400 but they did not find them, and they passed through the land of 578 00:37:10,600 --> 00:37:12,600 Shalim. But they were not there. 579 00:37:12,760 --> 00:37:15,240 They passed through the land of Benjamin, but did not find them. 580 00:37:15,240 --> 00:37:17,840 This is talking about Saul when he went to go find. 581 00:37:18,280 --> 00:37:21,760 His father's donkeys notice that's where Shali Shah is 582 00:37:21,760 --> 00:37:25,400 mentioned, only there. So we study First Samuel and 583 00:37:25,400 --> 00:37:27,400 we've probably passed through that, didn't consider Shali 584 00:37:27,400 --> 00:37:28,880 Shah. Now we come to the second Kings 585 00:37:28,880 --> 00:37:34,680 and we see that OK. Balshali Shah is mentioned now 586 00:37:34,680 --> 00:37:38,240 if Balshali Shah, this is where we find some insight. 587 00:37:38,440 --> 00:37:42,920 If Balshali Shah is the same region as Shali Shah First 588 00:37:42,920 --> 00:37:46,800 Samuel 9, then we discover yet another heartbreaking 589 00:37:47,840 --> 00:37:51,320 realization of the decline of Israel's fidelity to the Lord. 590 00:37:52,120 --> 00:37:54,680 Why? Because Shali Shah over time was 591 00:37:54,680 --> 00:37:59,000 renamed. Shali Shah was renamed from the 592 00:37:59,000 --> 00:38:04,960 days of Samuel the Prophet to Elijah the Prophet in a way that 593 00:38:04,960 --> 00:38:11,360 honored false deities. Shali Shah was confirmed to mean 594 00:38:11,360 --> 00:38:14,120 thrice. So it's very likely that Baal 595 00:38:14,120 --> 00:38:20,960 Shali Shah means Thrice Great Lord, and it's very possible 596 00:38:20,960 --> 00:38:24,880 that this was a worship center to false demonic deities. 597 00:38:27,160 --> 00:38:29,160 So it's. Come to the point now where you 598 00:38:29,160 --> 00:38:38,440 have Israel renaming designated places to honor false gods, and 599 00:38:38,440 --> 00:38:43,520 that might discourage us until you realize that a man came 600 00:38:43,800 --> 00:38:46,040 from. Baal Shalisha to do what? 601 00:38:46,560 --> 00:38:52,080 To help the remnant, to help the ministers of God who remained in 602 00:38:52,080 --> 00:38:54,160 Israel. Now there's a keyword. 603 00:38:54,160 --> 00:38:59,080 I'm going to ask you what it is in this man's introduction that 604 00:38:59,080 --> 00:39:01,000 should cause us to dig even deeper. 605 00:39:01,120 --> 00:39:04,640 What word stands out to you about his offering? 606 00:39:06,760 --> 00:39:09,120 Very good. He didn't just bring food. 607 00:39:09,120 --> 00:39:12,400 He didn't just bring supplies. We're told that he brought the 608 00:39:12,400 --> 00:39:16,320 first fruits of his bread. Now first, first to cause you to 609 00:39:16,320 --> 00:39:21,040 think, why is it that this man not only brought his supplies, 610 00:39:21,240 --> 00:39:23,960 but the first of whatever harvest he was able to gather 611 00:39:23,960 --> 00:39:27,640 during this famine? Then you realize that there are 612 00:39:27,640 --> 00:39:31,320 many, many, many instructions and laws in the Old Testament 613 00:39:31,520 --> 00:39:35,080 that asked for the first fruits from the people of Israel. 614 00:39:35,760 --> 00:39:38,680 And here's one of them, Deuteronomy chapter 18. 615 00:39:39,040 --> 00:39:44,080 Let's turn there to see what possibly this man was observing 616 00:39:44,080 --> 00:39:46,440 in terms of his obedience to God's Word. 617 00:39:46,560 --> 00:39:47,320 The 1st. Fruits. 618 00:39:47,320 --> 00:39:50,400 He came with the first fruits. Look what we're told here about 619 00:39:50,400 --> 00:39:53,320 the first fruits of the common people of Israel and one of the 620 00:39:53,320 --> 00:39:56,560 responsibilities with it, Deuteronomy 18, verse three. 621 00:39:56,560 --> 00:40:00,600 Are you there with me? And this shall be the priest do 622 00:40:00,600 --> 00:40:04,000 from the people, from those offering a sacrifice, whether an 623 00:40:04,000 --> 00:40:06,840 ox or a sheep. They shall give to the priest 624 00:40:06,840 --> 00:40:09,600 the shoulder and the two cheeks and the stomach. 625 00:40:09,600 --> 00:40:11,160 Pause. So whenever they went to the 626 00:40:11,160 --> 00:40:13,320 House of God and they were to bring an offering to the Lord, 627 00:40:13,560 --> 00:40:16,600 there was a portion of that animal sacrifice that was 628 00:40:16,600 --> 00:40:18,720 designated to the Levitical priest. 629 00:40:19,520 --> 00:40:22,680 That was their way of being compensated by the Lord through 630 00:40:22,680 --> 00:40:25,120 the offerings of God's people. But it didn't stop there. 631 00:40:25,440 --> 00:40:30,360 First four, the first fruits, not the leftovers, the first 632 00:40:30,360 --> 00:40:35,120 fruits of your grain, of your wine, and of your oil, and the 633 00:40:35,120 --> 00:40:38,440 first fleece of your sheep you shall give him. 634 00:40:39,920 --> 00:40:43,480 For the Lord your God has chosen him out of all your tribes to 635 00:40:43,480 --> 00:40:47,920 stand and minister in the name of the Lord, him and his sons 636 00:40:48,080 --> 00:40:53,440 for all time. So every Israelite, whenever 637 00:40:53,440 --> 00:40:57,880 that season came, they were to take the first fruits, set it 638 00:40:57,880 --> 00:41:03,000 apart, go to the House of God, give it as an offering, but also 639 00:41:03,200 --> 00:41:06,920 give some of their crop to the priest themselves. 640 00:41:07,680 --> 00:41:09,200 And I believe. That's what this man is doing 641 00:41:09,200 --> 00:41:10,680 here. But here's what's interesting. 642 00:41:11,120 --> 00:41:16,600 He gave it to Elijah. Who's he supposed to give it to? 643 00:41:18,600 --> 00:41:20,480 So why isn't he giving it to the priest? 644 00:41:24,160 --> 00:41:25,880 Do you guys? Remember what happened after the 645 00:41:25,880 --> 00:41:30,560 Kingdom split into two? What happened to the Levites and 646 00:41:30,560 --> 00:41:33,360 the priests who lived in the northern part under the reign of 647 00:41:33,360 --> 00:41:37,240 Jeroboam? They moved where? 648 00:41:38,280 --> 00:41:39,880 To the southern Kingdom, to the Kingdom of Judah. 649 00:41:39,880 --> 00:41:41,600 Why do they move to the Kingdom of Judah? 650 00:41:44,160 --> 00:41:48,160 Because that's where the temple resided and they were not going 651 00:41:48,160 --> 00:41:52,160 to buy into this false worship. And Dan and Bethel, they, even 652 00:41:52,160 --> 00:41:55,400 if they had to pack their bags, even though it was inconvenient, 653 00:41:55,600 --> 00:41:58,880 they made their way towards Jerusalem so that they can honor 654 00:41:58,880 --> 00:42:01,080 God the way he called them to be honored. 655 00:42:03,120 --> 00:42:08,000 And so it's very possible that this man with great challenges 656 00:42:08,880 --> 00:42:13,520 could not find his way to Jerusalem and he could not find 657 00:42:13,520 --> 00:42:17,080 any priests left in Israel. And if there were any priests, 658 00:42:17,080 --> 00:42:20,120 they were very likely corrupt, They were very likely 659 00:42:20,120 --> 00:42:21,760 compromised. And he believed that they 660 00:42:21,760 --> 00:42:26,160 weren't worthy of his aid, of his donation, of his offering. 661 00:42:27,200 --> 00:42:29,440 And so listen, what you find here with this man from Baal 662 00:42:29,440 --> 00:42:33,520 Shalisha is that he is he is seeking to try to obey what God 663 00:42:33,520 --> 00:42:37,600 asked of him to the best of his. Ability and what he he sought to 664 00:42:37,600 --> 00:42:41,800 do is to find Elijah, who was a faithful minister, and to give 665 00:42:42,080 --> 00:42:44,960 that portion of his first fruits to him and the sons of the 666 00:42:44,960 --> 00:42:50,080 prophets. So many people in the Bible are 667 00:42:50,080 --> 00:42:56,280 not named and yet move me deeply, this man included. 668 00:42:57,880 --> 00:43:02,280 If there was anybody who had an excuse not to obey the law, 669 00:43:02,320 --> 00:43:05,040 particularly this law, it was this man. 670 00:43:05,560 --> 00:43:06,760 Why? Two factors. 671 00:43:06,760 --> 00:43:11,000 One, no priest around. Most of the leaders are 672 00:43:11,000 --> 00:43:16,640 compromised 2 When did he give the first fruits? 673 00:43:17,680 --> 00:43:20,360 What happened in verse 38 that's going to that sets the stage for 674 00:43:20,360 --> 00:43:23,000 how these miracles take place. There's a famine. 675 00:43:23,720 --> 00:43:28,600 There was a famine. Imagine what you could have told 676 00:43:28,600 --> 00:43:29,880 yourself to soothe your conscience. 677 00:43:30,280 --> 00:43:32,120 OK, look, the Kingdom is split in two. 678 00:43:32,160 --> 00:43:34,920 I, I don't think the law of Moses foresaw this. 679 00:43:34,920 --> 00:43:36,440 I think this is just something that happened. 680 00:43:36,440 --> 00:43:38,480 And, you know, I can't really do anything. 681 00:43:38,520 --> 00:43:41,120 There's no clear instructions of what should I do at this point. 682 00:43:41,120 --> 00:43:42,560 And on top of that, there's a famine. 683 00:43:42,840 --> 00:43:45,720 Very, very scarce resources. I, I can't, I can't do this at 684 00:43:45,720 --> 00:43:47,000 this point. I'll do it at another time. 685 00:43:47,080 --> 00:43:48,720 He didn't want to honor God another time. 686 00:43:48,720 --> 00:43:54,440 He wanted to honor God now. And so he thinks, OK, what can I 687 00:43:54,440 --> 00:43:56,480 do? Elijah is here, the sons of the 688 00:43:56,480 --> 00:44:00,240 prophets are here. I can, I can express my devotion 689 00:44:00,240 --> 00:44:03,920 to the Lord in this way and trust that God will be pleased 690 00:44:03,920 --> 00:44:09,320 with it. You know, this man serves as a 691 00:44:09,320 --> 00:44:15,040 rebuke for all of us who make excuses for our disobedience. 692 00:44:17,200 --> 00:44:22,520 Because let me put it this way, worship, true worship, boils 693 00:44:22,520 --> 00:44:25,880 down to this. If you really want to honor God, 694 00:44:26,200 --> 00:44:28,120 you're going to do all that you can to honor God. 695 00:44:29,600 --> 00:44:34,200 It just comes down to that. You know, Paul, when he wanted 696 00:44:34,200 --> 00:44:38,480 to visit the Thessalonians, it came to the point that he tried 697 00:44:38,840 --> 00:44:42,440 over and over again until he learned and he let the people 698 00:44:42,440 --> 00:44:44,560 know. In Thessalonica, Satan hindered 699 00:44:44,560 --> 00:44:48,480 me. It took Satan himself, not his 700 00:44:48,480 --> 00:44:50,320 minions, not his hordes of demons. 701 00:44:50,760 --> 00:44:55,640 It took Satan himself to stop Paul from going and being with 702 00:44:55,640 --> 00:45:03,920 the brethren in Thessalonica. If Satan stops you and you have 703 00:45:03,920 --> 00:45:07,360 no control over the matter, OK, that's a legitimate reason. 704 00:45:09,560 --> 00:45:12,200 This man shows us here that God is worthy. 705 00:45:12,840 --> 00:45:16,440 God is worthy to bulldoze over every excuse so that He would be 706 00:45:16,440 --> 00:45:22,240 recognized and honored. He's inspiring. 707 00:45:23,160 --> 00:45:24,720 And I praise God for this church. 708 00:45:25,080 --> 00:45:27,480 I praise God for this church. Here's a very small example. 709 00:45:27,840 --> 00:45:30,920 Our circumstances here in our location are not the best. 710 00:45:32,440 --> 00:45:34,480 We don't have parking. We don't have the most 711 00:45:34,480 --> 00:45:36,480 convenient service time on a Sunday. 712 00:45:37,680 --> 00:45:40,280 And yet people come because they want to come and worship God. 713 00:45:40,280 --> 00:45:42,120 They want to honor God. And that moves me every single 714 00:45:42,120 --> 00:45:45,280 time because in these past years, I've never heard one peep 715 00:45:45,280 --> 00:45:48,040 from one person about the difficulty of these 716 00:45:48,040 --> 00:45:50,720 circumstances, which in reality and in comparison to what our 717 00:45:50,720 --> 00:45:52,800 brethren are suffering in the world is not a problem. 718 00:45:53,560 --> 00:45:56,080 Right? There are believers in China who 719 00:45:56,080 --> 00:46:01,480 walk miles to get to a service. And we see that with this man. 720 00:46:01,840 --> 00:46:04,440 And he's not the only inspiring person in this brief report. 721 00:46:05,280 --> 00:46:10,440 Elisha, Elisha shines yet again with his Christ like character. 722 00:46:10,440 --> 00:46:15,120 In what way this man from Bal Shalisha bringing him the bread 723 00:46:15,120 --> 00:46:17,240 of his first fruits? And how does Elijah respond at 724 00:46:17,240 --> 00:46:20,760 the end of verse 4042? And Elijah said, give to the men 725 00:46:20,840 --> 00:46:25,800 that they may eat. How tempting it would have been 726 00:46:25,800 --> 00:46:28,720 to say thank you and just, you know, stuff it in your pocket 727 00:46:28,720 --> 00:46:30,600 and have Gehazi hide a little bit more. 728 00:46:31,560 --> 00:46:34,840 The first thing, the reaction of this man of God is what about 729 00:46:34,840 --> 00:46:37,360 these students? Listen, that's what true 730 00:46:37,360 --> 00:46:41,160 leadership looks like. To aspire to be a leader and to 731 00:46:41,160 --> 00:46:44,640 occupy any position of leadership means that you are 732 00:46:44,640 --> 00:46:48,960 devoted and have been gifted to take care of those who are under 733 00:46:48,960 --> 00:46:52,040 your leadership. You don't pursue any position of 734 00:46:52,040 --> 00:46:54,000 leadership so that you can be served. 735 00:46:54,680 --> 00:46:57,920 If you have that desire, it's because you are eager to be a 736 00:46:57,920 --> 00:47:02,440 blessing to those who would benefit from how God has 737 00:47:02,440 --> 00:47:05,920 empowered you to be a leader. And that's what Elijah is 738 00:47:05,920 --> 00:47:08,600 demonstrating here. He he immediately, as a reflex 739 00:47:08,600 --> 00:47:11,640 says, what about them? How can we take care of them? 740 00:47:12,640 --> 00:47:17,480 And the response is common. We've seen it in the New 741 00:47:17,480 --> 00:47:18,840 Testament on more than one occasion. 742 00:47:18,840 --> 00:47:22,000 But his servant said, how can I set this before 100 men? 743 00:47:22,960 --> 00:47:26,160 So we know that there are 100 students in Gilgal and he only 744 00:47:26,160 --> 00:47:30,120 had what, 2020 loaves of barley? And he says this isn't going to 745 00:47:30,120 --> 00:47:34,920 happen. And Elijah repeats, set it 746 00:47:34,920 --> 00:47:36,240 before them, they're going to eat. 747 00:47:38,240 --> 00:47:40,640 And he honors that word, and a miracle takes place. 748 00:47:40,640 --> 00:47:41,800 And not only that, there's leftover. 749 00:47:41,800 --> 00:47:43,080 Does this miracle sound familiar, by the way? 750 00:47:43,080 --> 00:47:45,360 It should if you read the Gospels. 751 00:47:46,200 --> 00:47:48,840 But before I get there, let me say this. 752 00:47:50,040 --> 00:47:54,960 This multiplication, this wonderful intervention from 753 00:47:54,960 --> 00:47:58,480 heaven would not have been possible had that man from Bao 754 00:47:58,480 --> 00:48:02,960 Sha Li Sha not obeyed God. Do you realize that? 755 00:48:03,880 --> 00:48:06,840 What if this man stayed home? What if this man thought to 756 00:48:06,840 --> 00:48:10,320 himself, yeah, this first, first thing, it's not going to work. 757 00:48:10,680 --> 00:48:12,200 There's division. There's a drought. 758 00:48:12,200 --> 00:48:14,360 That's it's it's pointless. What if he had done that? 759 00:48:16,400 --> 00:48:18,720 He doesn't do that. He goes out to the best of his 760 00:48:18,720 --> 00:48:20,520 ability. He provides what he is able to 761 00:48:20,520 --> 00:48:23,600 provide. And I am certain that he didn't 762 00:48:23,600 --> 00:48:26,000 think I'm going to bring this to Elijah and he's going to do 763 00:48:26,000 --> 00:48:27,760 something and it's going to multiply and feed everybody 764 00:48:27,760 --> 00:48:31,640 else. Never underestimate what your 765 00:48:31,640 --> 00:48:34,560 obedience can do, especially your obedience and trying in 766 00:48:34,560 --> 00:48:40,000 difficult times, especially when excuses run. 767 00:48:40,000 --> 00:48:45,760 Through your mind, I hesitate to share testimony, personal 768 00:48:45,760 --> 00:48:48,120 testimony. Sometimes I hesitate because my 769 00:48:48,160 --> 00:48:52,080 my desire anytime I get up on this pulpit is for every eye and 770 00:48:52,080 --> 00:48:56,760 every ear to be targeted towards the Lord and to be placed on the 771 00:48:56,760 --> 00:48:58,840 Lord himself. But from time to time, I hope it 772 00:48:58,840 --> 00:49:00,960 encourages you. I remember one time when I was 773 00:49:00,960 --> 00:49:05,880 first saved, didn't have a car. The first church that I was 774 00:49:05,880 --> 00:49:08,800 attending faithfully was a bigger church and the only way 775 00:49:08,800 --> 00:49:10,120 to get there was through commute. 776 00:49:10,120 --> 00:49:12,000 I had to take more than one bus and. 777 00:49:13,640 --> 00:49:15,080 I don't know what. It was, I was trying to think, 778 00:49:15,080 --> 00:49:17,480 even today, what was it that made me late for church that 779 00:49:17,480 --> 00:49:20,520 day? But I was late for church that 780 00:49:20,520 --> 00:49:23,200 day. And I remember, though I can't 781 00:49:23,200 --> 00:49:25,680 remember the reason, wrestling of whether or not I should go to 782 00:49:25,680 --> 00:49:28,960 church. And we're commanded to be with 783 00:49:28,960 --> 00:49:35,240 the people of God, right? So whatever was there, I swatted 784 00:49:35,240 --> 00:49:39,200 away. I put my big boy clothes on and 785 00:49:39,200 --> 00:49:42,800 I made my way to church. And as I got there, I arrived, 786 00:49:42,800 --> 00:49:44,880 obviously late, the service already started. 787 00:49:45,560 --> 00:49:46,840 But I'm walking towards the entrance. 788 00:49:46,840 --> 00:49:48,680 And I'm, as I'm walking towards the entrance, there's somebody a 789 00:49:48,680 --> 00:49:51,440 few feet away from the entrance, a young man who's leaning 790 00:49:51,440 --> 00:49:54,240 against the wall of the church and smoking. 791 00:49:56,320 --> 00:49:58,360 And he caught my attention because I've been there long 792 00:49:58,360 --> 00:50:01,320 enough to recognize the young people there and, and who 793 00:50:01,320 --> 00:50:03,280 consistently go. So I knew that he was a visitor. 794 00:50:03,280 --> 00:50:07,360 So I was already late, but I thought, I just want to ask who 795 00:50:07,360 --> 00:50:09,600 this guy is at least. And so I introduced myself and 796 00:50:09,600 --> 00:50:11,600 he was kind enough to introduce himself. 797 00:50:11,600 --> 00:50:14,080 And we got talking and he told me that he was visiting, told me 798 00:50:14,080 --> 00:50:17,120 that he was going to church that day because his mom made him go 799 00:50:17,120 --> 00:50:21,360 to church. And so we talked a little bit 800 00:50:21,360 --> 00:50:24,960 and at that point I began to share a just a brief version of 801 00:50:24,960 --> 00:50:26,600 my testimony. I said, look, the service is 802 00:50:26,600 --> 00:50:27,920 still going on. Would you like to go and sit 803 00:50:27,920 --> 00:50:29,520 together? And I usually don't sit where he 804 00:50:29,520 --> 00:50:30,960 end up sitting. I usually sit close to the 805 00:50:30,960 --> 00:50:32,120 front. But I said, would you like to 806 00:50:32,120 --> 00:50:33,400 sit together? And he said, sure. 807 00:50:34,480 --> 00:50:39,200 So we go and we sneak in a little bit and sat in a specific 808 00:50:39,200 --> 00:50:41,600 row. And I didn't know who we came 809 00:50:41,600 --> 00:50:42,720 with. I knew who his mother was. 810 00:50:42,720 --> 00:50:45,480 But as a service ended, we get up and I shook his hand again. 811 00:50:45,480 --> 00:50:48,000 So it was nice meeting you. And his mom was on the other 812 00:50:48,000 --> 00:50:50,560 side and she introduced herself and we got talking. 813 00:50:51,000 --> 00:50:58,080 And very quickly she opened up and she told me that she had a 814 00:50:58,080 --> 00:51:01,640 brain tumor and she recently discovered it. 815 00:51:02,040 --> 00:51:05,440 And she was terrified. And so in that moment, I was 816 00:51:05,440 --> 00:51:08,160 talking to her and I was talking to the sun at the same time, but 817 00:51:08,160 --> 00:51:11,720 my attention was mainly on her. And I just shared about How I 818 00:51:11,720 --> 00:51:13,960 Met her son. And as she was opening her 819 00:51:14,000 --> 00:51:15,560 heart, Is it OK if we can pray together? 820 00:51:15,560 --> 00:51:18,080 Can we pray for you right now? And she welcomed that. 821 00:51:18,920 --> 00:51:22,600 So we prayed and we got connected online. 822 00:51:22,600 --> 00:51:25,120 From time to time, that mother would message me and she would 823 00:51:25,800 --> 00:51:27,600 tell me to continue to pray for her son. 824 00:51:27,600 --> 00:51:30,840 And she was so excited that we were able to meet and she would 825 00:51:30,840 --> 00:51:34,080 send encouraging messages from time to time. 826 00:51:34,080 --> 00:51:37,600 And she was a blessing to me in many ways. 827 00:51:39,200 --> 00:51:41,160 I remember leaving church that day and I thought to myself, 828 00:51:41,160 --> 00:51:45,800 what if I stayed home? What if I just stayed home? 829 00:51:48,560 --> 00:51:50,560 I don't know where she is. I don't know where her son is. 830 00:51:54,600 --> 00:51:59,280 Don't let excuses through obedience sabotage potential 831 00:51:59,280 --> 00:52:06,160 testimonies. This man came with 20 loaves and 832 00:52:06,160 --> 00:52:14,130 it fed 100 men. Jesus multiplied food, did he 833 00:52:14,130 --> 00:52:17,410 not? It's hard to read a story like 834 00:52:17,410 --> 00:52:19,930 this and not think about the Lord Jesus. 835 00:52:21,930 --> 00:52:25,160 And as much as there are resounding similarities, there 836 00:52:25,160 --> 00:52:28,240 are notable differences. Look back again here at verse 837 00:52:28,720 --> 00:52:31,480 42. A man came from thou, Shalisha, 838 00:52:31,480 --> 00:52:34,800 bringing the men of God, bread of the first fruits. 20 loaves 839 00:52:34,800 --> 00:52:39,160 of barley. 20 loaves of barley 20 loaves that multiplied and 840 00:52:39,160 --> 00:52:43,160 fed 100 men. Did Jesus have more or less food 841 00:52:43,160 --> 00:52:45,440 to work with? Less. 842 00:52:47,920 --> 00:52:49,240 Now, what about the people that he had to feed? 843 00:52:49,240 --> 00:52:51,360 We read here that there was a hundred that Elijah had to take 844 00:52:51,360 --> 00:52:52,400 care of. How much for Jesus? 845 00:52:52,400 --> 00:52:55,880 Well, on two separate occasions, 14000, one 5000, and we're just 846 00:52:55,880 --> 00:52:57,360 talking about the men. We're not including the woman or 847 00:52:57,360 --> 00:52:59,000 the children. So we're talking about in the 848 00:52:59,000 --> 00:53:02,760 thousands. And yet when you come to the 849 00:53:02,760 --> 00:53:05,840 Gospels with this background in mind, because you read through 850 00:53:05,840 --> 00:53:08,560 your Old Testament, you realize something about Jesus. 851 00:53:09,160 --> 00:53:18,040 He's greater than all the prophets, effortlessly able to 852 00:53:18,040 --> 00:53:22,560 feed the multitudes with even less than when Elijah had. 853 00:53:23,680 --> 00:53:27,880 And not only is he greater in every way, but when you connect 854 00:53:27,880 --> 00:53:30,200 the new with the old and you realize that Jesus didn't just 855 00:53:30,200 --> 00:53:31,320 appear on the scene out of nowhere. 856 00:53:31,320 --> 00:53:36,920 He always existed. He was the source of every 857 00:53:37,240 --> 00:53:42,080 powerful miracle and every act of supernatural provision. 858 00:53:42,480 --> 00:53:52,320 That's who Jesus is. This man obeyed God's word and 859 00:53:52,320 --> 00:53:57,000 God did a miracle through it. A little boy came up to Jesus 860 00:53:57,200 --> 00:54:01,920 selflessly, and God honored his selflessness and did a miracle 861 00:54:01,920 --> 00:54:07,120 with it. Do not think so small of your 862 00:54:07,120 --> 00:54:11,720 small obedience. Do not think so little of what 863 00:54:11,720 --> 00:54:15,600 consistent consecration can do for the glory of God. 864 00:54:17,280 --> 00:54:20,160 Do not think that every time we gather, every time we do 865 00:54:20,160 --> 00:54:22,280 something in the name of the Lord, Whatever ministry you're a 866 00:54:22,280 --> 00:54:24,720 part of, that is just another day. 867 00:54:27,120 --> 00:54:30,280 Sunday school teachers, those are not just a few kids stuffed 868 00:54:30,280 --> 00:54:33,520 in a classroom. God can multiply that in ways 869 00:54:33,520 --> 00:54:36,840 that you can imagine. Hospitality team that feeds us 870 00:54:36,840 --> 00:54:39,440 every week. Don't think so little of that 871 00:54:39,440 --> 00:54:42,000 food. You have no idea how that can 872 00:54:42,000 --> 00:54:45,400 bless somebody in a time of need or you have no idea how that 873 00:54:45,400 --> 00:54:48,680 food was the means by which somebody stayed and received the 874 00:54:48,680 --> 00:54:51,800 fellowship and the council that would change the trajectory of 875 00:54:51,800 --> 00:54:55,440 their life. Bible study leader, There's 10 876 00:54:55,440 --> 00:55:00,560 people that show up. There's a famous minister who 877 00:55:00,560 --> 00:55:05,360 was invited last second to preach at a youth crusade and 878 00:55:05,360 --> 00:55:09,560 when he preached it, the gospel, only one person respond to that 879 00:55:09,560 --> 00:55:12,840 message. And that one person was warned. 880 00:55:12,840 --> 00:55:17,040 Weirsby, who became the pastor, at least one of the pastors at 881 00:55:17,040 --> 00:55:20,520 Moody Church and wrote many commentaries, One person 882 00:55:20,520 --> 00:55:24,320 responded out of hundreds of people and that person became a 883 00:55:24,320 --> 00:55:28,320 man of God. These stories have been 884 00:55:28,320 --> 00:55:33,320 preserved for us to encourage us, to strengthen us to believe 885 00:55:33,320 --> 00:55:36,120 that the God of miracles here is still the God of miracles today. 886 00:55:36,760 --> 00:55:39,400 Amen. Let's thank him for his 887 00:55:39,400 --> 00:56:07,240 goodness. We're moved by these 888 00:56:07,920 --> 00:56:14,720 testimonies, and we trust that you've intended to keep them in 889 00:56:14,720 --> 00:56:18,160 your eternal word so that throughout the ages, your people 890 00:56:18,160 --> 00:56:20,960 would hear what you have to say for their own lives. 891 00:56:21,800 --> 00:56:23,040 And we've heard your voice today. 892 00:56:23,040 --> 00:56:28,280 Oh God, help us be like this man from Bal. 893 00:56:28,280 --> 00:56:34,400 Shalisha, we recognize that we live in a city that glorifies 894 00:56:34,400 --> 00:56:41,160 death, that dishonors the sanctity of marriage, that is 895 00:56:41,160 --> 00:56:47,080 growing in greater corruption. Regardless, help us honor you 896 00:56:47,080 --> 00:56:51,200 the way we can honor you, to bless you the way you deserve to 897 00:56:51,200 --> 00:56:53,880 be blessed despite obstacles or hindrances. 898 00:56:54,400 --> 00:56:56,640 So, Lord, may there be no excuses culturally. 899 00:56:56,640 --> 00:57:01,280 May there be no excuses personally that would rob us of 900 00:57:01,280 --> 00:57:03,520 the potential of being a source of blessing. 901 00:57:05,080 --> 00:57:07,880 We thank you again for everything that's been shared. 902 00:57:07,920 --> 00:57:12,680 We pray that they would resonate and that they would marinate our 903 00:57:12,680 --> 00:57:17,200 hearts that these things would bleed into our lives and be 904 00:57:17,200 --> 00:57:21,440 lived out as a sweet smelling fragrance unto you. 905 00:57:22,360 --> 00:57:24,320 We worship you and we give you thanks. 906 00:57:24,320 --> 00:57:28,120 Again, in Jesus name we pray. Amen. 907 00:57:28,520 --> 00:57:31,720 Amen. Let's worship the God who can 908 00:57:31,720 --> 00:57:34,840 multiply and do miracles, shall we? 909 00:57:35,480 --> 00:57:37,840 Praise team, can you help us as you have so wonderfully helped 910 00:57:37,840 --> 00:57:39,520 us before this Bible study began? 911 00:57:40,680 --> 00:57:43,240 And let's sing with all our hearts, all our minds, as we 912 00:57:43,240 --> 00:57:44,480 close the service together.