WHEN RESOURCES ARE GONE (2 KINGS 4:1-7)

 

WHEN RESOURCES ARE GONE

BIBLE PASSAGE: 2 KINGS 4:1-7

Picture taken from Google

Lesson Prepared by: Krisha of Solomon’s Wisdom FB page

Lesson ideas taken from: https://tonyEveansSermon/ http://www.sermonnotebook.org/

 

JULY 24, 2022

MEMORY VERSE

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

MATTHEW 6:33

 

INTRODUCTION:

Long time ago, during devotions, I asked a young people what's her greatest fear and she was replied that losing their family’s resources is one of her greatest fears. Honestly that’s true, right? What if your business collapse? What if you’re fired from work? What if your properties are gone? What if your health declines and you can’t work anymore? What if the breadwinner in the family is gone? There are many “ifs” and these make us worry. I remember the year when our father died, he was the breadwinner in the family. I couldn’t imagine the life we’re going to face – financial dilemma but God made a way we didn’t expect.

In our passage, there was despair in the family. In verse 1 the word “cried” means “to moan; to weep uncontrollably; to shriek out of grief.” This word identifies the sound of a broken heart. This woman comes to the man of God at the lowest moment of her life. She is in desperate state. There was death in the family – She was married to one of the “sons of the prophets”. These were the men who were in training under Elisha to be the prophets and preachers in Israel. Her husband, her friend, her provider, her protector, had been taken away from here in death. She is broken because a loved one has been taken away. Do you have the same situation as hers? There was debt in the family – Since her husband is dead she cannot pay her bills. As a result, her creditors are coming to take her sons away as slaves so they can work off the debt. This was allowed under the Jewish Law, Lev. 25:39.

“And if thy brother that dwelleth by thee be waxen poor, and be sold unto thee; thou shalt not compel him to serve as a bondservant:”

Losing her husband and now she is about to lose her sons as well. She is over her head in debt and she doesn’t see how she can make it. Have you experienced the same way?

We may not have the same and exact situation as the widow woman but like her, we also have financial dilemma. In this kind of situation, we easily get irritated and angry. WHEN RESOURCES ARE GONE, LET’S…

LESSON OUTLINE:

1.  RECOGNIZE IT’S NOT JUST A FINANCIAL ISSUE; IT’S A SPIRITUAL ISSUE.

Have we been in debt? The Bible says in Proverbs 22:7, “… the borrower is servant to the lender. Imagine a single parent who cannot pay her bills especially today the consumed per kilowatt is higher nowadays. I know every one of us can relate to this. Now her sons needed to work for the debt. They would live in debt. I don’t know if you’ll agree but living in debt is outside God’s will.

The widow woman in great desperation went to prophet Elisha for help. Why she didn’t go to a bank or any establishment that caters money?  There are some issues in our lives that we need to look at and most of the times there are spiritual problems God wants us to consider. During your spiritual meditation, ask God for wisdom to open your minds.  When will we consider a problem a trial or discipline by God? If you are faithful in every aspect of your spiritual life and then problem comes, then that’s a trial. But what if that’s not the case? What if there’s aspect of our spiritual life that we miss?

I know most of us here in Sunday School already knew about the debt that we have. Why we reached to that point? Aside from wrong decisions, I had not been faithful in my giving. Because of too much debt, it’s hard to give your tithes faithfully and also offerings. Then I had failed to pay the house rental in full then after months, it accumulated to 20k or more. Imagine that and a lot more problems came; it all piled up. We moved to a small house to lessen the expenses. To the worst, not just thousands and at the end it’s almost a million because of the business we entered to. That’s the end of the rope; we cannot hold this anymore. We prayed so hard and asked God for wisdom and thank God for the wisdom. I promised to give what I owed to the Lord and gave us the wisdom for the right decisions. Some told me to continue and fight but I said “No, I’ll stop at this point.” Some said, “That’s not good, you don’t have the resources to pay, and they will sue us.” But I said, “Let it be” but at the back of my mind God would be at our side just follow even it is hard. To make it short, we are still paying the debt but thank God for the deliverance from slavery of debt; God continues providing the payment. So you see with our experience, some problems come in connection with our spiritual condition.

 

In Luke 16:10 – 11 says,

¹⁰ He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. ¹¹ If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?

¹⁰ Ang mapagkakatiwalaan sa maliit na bagay ay mapagkakatiwalaan din sa malaking bagay; ang mandaraya sa maliit na bagay ay mandaraya rin sa malaking bagay. ¹¹ Kaya kung hindi kayo mapagkakatiwalaan sa mga kayamanan ng mundong ito, sino ang magtitiwala sa inyo ng tunay na kayamanan?

 

May these verses remind us of our spiritual condition and let us desire to be faithful in least things so that we can be trusted in many things.

 

The widow woman is in the right decision to ask prophet’s help and didn’t go to someone else. Most of the times, Christians go to their friends, lender or anyone before going directly to God in prayer. Also, God uses pastors to remind and guide us. Whether we accept it or not sometimes we think that talking and asking pastor’s counsel is not the best way. We ignore that there are spiritual implications we need to think about. We always say “these are only trials” but unknowingly, God wants to correct something in us or warn us. 

 

2.  ESTABLISH AS GOD AS YOUR SOURCE

Sometimes God takes the source we trusted so that we can realize that God is the ultimate source we need. Like the widow woman, the source was her husband. In their culture, women on that time stayed in houses to take care of everything. I don’t know how you can relate to this but honestly that is a great desperation. Imagine your resources are gone. You can no longer pay your bills. Thank God if we have members of the family who supported us but remember GOD is the ultimate source. He can reverse everything you have right now.

When the widow woman was asked by Elisha in verse 2, “What hast thou in the house?” She replied she had not anything in the house. Sometimes we see what we don’t have or focusing on the things we don’t have. And also, sometimes we have blessings but it doesn’t reflect on our countenance and words. We always say, “This is only what we have” and in food “Ito lang ulam namin eh.” This happens right? That’s why I correct myself too.

At the end of verse 2 she said she had a “pot of oil.” Elisha is not the “Genie” who gave your wish to be granted on that moment. She was given instructions what to do and she responded and followed. When the pots were all filled up the oil stopped. Then she needed to sell those pots of oil. It means she needed to work. What personal lesson we can learn from this? If all the family members have no work and you pray for blessings to come on your doorstep, what do you think is the problem? God wants us to work and He’ll guide and give us energy to work (Deu. 8:18)

But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.

As a proof that we are seriously believing that God is our source, let’s give our tithes and offerings (Malachi 3:10). The tenth of what we receive is not ours it’s for God. Malachi firmly states that we rob God every time we take what is supposed to Him. Let’s think, who will bless a thief? If we rob God, how can He bless us? Psalms 50 says,

¹⁴ Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High: ¹⁵ And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.

This verse reminds us to pay our vow and then call upon Him. He won’t hear us if we keep on robbing Him. In 2 Corinthians 8:3 and 5, like we always hear about Macedonians, they gave beyond their power. How can they do that? First, they gave their own selves to the Lord. Giving is an expression on what you feel about God. We also hear from our pastors and preachers that money is the indicator of our spiritual condition.

CONCLUSION:

The woman and her sons filled one vessel after another until every vessel they had borrowed was full. She began that day with nothing, she ended it with everything! That is what our God can do.

“Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest” (Leviticus 4:7)

One of the lessons we can learn from this story is that God will do exactly what He has promised to do. Elisha promised that the Lord would fill the vessels, v. 4, and He did! It’s the Lesson of God’s provisions. He will keep all of His promises to you too! Not a single word in a single promise will fall to the ground unfulfilled! God will do everything He had promised to do. He meant everything He said! He will do everything He has promised.

Hebrews 6:18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:

Tagalog:  Hindi nagbabago at hindi nagsisinungaling ang Diyos tungkol sa dalawang bagay na ito: ang kanyang pangako at sumpa. Kaya't tayong nakatagpo ng kanyang kalinga ay panatag ang loob na umaasa sa mga pangako niya.

 

 Matthew 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

 

The oil flowed until the vessels ran out. When the day was done, every vessel was filled to the full. There was no limit on the amount of oil. The only limit was on the number of vessels. God’s provision knew no limits in the widow’s case, and it knows no limits in your case! God is able to meet every need, move every mountain, and solve every problem. His provision is limited by nothing but our faith. God stands ready to give all that you make room for in your life, no more and no less! We need to be faithful because He is faithful. I remember the chorus of the song of the choir “WHAT A FATIHFUL GOD HAVE I!” Amen! Let’s also remember the verse in Matthew 6:33.

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

Sometimes or most of the times, Christians only see the last part of this verse “…and all these things shall be added unto you.” We always quote without realizing the first part which is seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness… We quote even we evidently see with our eyes how unfaithful we are in small things like going to church, like giving your P10 as your tithes. So, you see, the Bible already indicates how to be blessed and how things would be added unto us. IT’S NOW OUR DECISION.

 

LIFE IN SERVICE (2 SAMUEL 1:11; 2:18-21,26)

 

LIFE IN SERVICE

BIBLE PASSAGE: 1 SAMUEL 1:11; 2: 18-21, 26

Picture taken from Google

Lesson Prepared by: Krisha of Solomon’s Wisdom FB page

Lesson ideas taken from: https://becomingchristians.com/

AUGUST 28, 2022

MEMORY VERSE

Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

EPEHSIANS 5:16

 

INTRODUCTION:

Let me ask you a question, when did you start in the ministry? Let’s see who among here has been in the ministry for so long and also who has just started. I’ve asked that because I have a second question – “Have you thought that ‘Life in God’s Service’ is already your life?  This is a hard question because you don’t know what will be your attitude in the next season of your life but I know all of us would agree that is what we pray for, right? Bible says in Psalms 27:4

“One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple.”

 

 

 

To achieve this, Bible says in 2 Timothy 3:14, “But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;” DON’T JUST SAY that I’ll be in the ministry all the days of my life, DO IT. Bible warns us, “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” Pastors, preachers, leaders and teachers of the Bible are not exempted to this. They fail and so do we.  Let’s always remember that we can’t do it in this life without GOD.

 

In our passage today, you already know the character we’re going to talk about. Just for recap, Samuel’s story began with his mother Hannah who was a barren or childless woman. Hannah could not have a child and became very distraught over the fact that she could not conceive children. She begged God to give her a child and in return she would place the child in his service. God honored her request and allowed her to become pregnant. After she had given birth to Samuel, she took care of him for the early years of his life. By the time Samuel was a teenager, he was given to the care of a priest named Eli. Once he was placed in Eli’s care, he learned about God’s ways and by the time he was a teenager God had appointed him to his future position as a prophet and leader in Israel.

 

In Samuel’s service, we can see that things weren’t always smooth in the service for God. Today, let’s learn some lessons we can get from his service.

LESSON OUTLINE:

1.  LIFE IN SERVICE HAS NO AGE LIMIT

“And she vowed a vow, and said, O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.” (1 Samuel 1:11)

 

If you notice at the last line of this verse, “…then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life…” That caught my attention and I’ve come up to this question – who among here wants her or his children to be found in the service of the Lord all their lives?

But how can parents do that if they, themselves, are not in the service? I imagine a life of a family who takes the ministry for granted and that is a failure. For sure, the enemy gives you so many hindrances in life in order for you to say “I can’t commit on this.”

 

Parents have the great responsibility in leading their children in the right path. This should be the joy of all Christian parents, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth” (3 John 1:4). One of the ways to be aware of spiritual matters in early age is bring them in Sunday School, that’s the first step. At early age teach them the Bible and don’t teach your kids principles which is against the teaching of the Bible.

 

In Samuel’s case, Hannah, his mother, prepared him in the ministry. The life of Samuel shows us that we can never be too young to serve God. Surely, God has given us talents and the abilities that we can use to play a role in God’s work. The words of King Solomon should ring true in our lives today:

“Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;” (Ecclesiastes 12:1)

 

Service at work or outside the church has age limit but in God’s vineyard, there’s no age limit. We can serve GOD whatever age we have, therefore, don’t say, “I am old I can’t make it in the ministry” because whatever your situation or your age, there are ministries fitted for us in the vineyard.

 

2.  LIFE IN SERVICE HAS UPS AND DOWNS

God doesn’t promise that life in the world is peaceful and so in the ministry but the best thing is, He’s with us. In Samuel’s service had ups and downs:

v Samuel received favor from God and man: 1 Samuel 2:26 “And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favour both with the Lord, and also with men.”

v God anointed Samuel to the position of prophet and judge (1 Samuel 3:4-11)

v Samuel became a famous prophet throughout Israel:  1 Samuel 3:20 “And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the Lord.”

v Samuel led the forces of Israel against the Philistines at Mizpah: 1 Samuel 7

v Samuel as judge of Israel: 1 Samuel 7:15 “And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.”

v Samuel was rejected: 1 Samuel 8:7 “And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.”

v God anointed Saul as king and told Samuel about his decision: 1 Samuel 9:17 “And when Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said unto him, Behold the man whom I spake to thee of! this same shall reign over my people.”

v God told Samuel to reject Saul as king: 1 Samuel 15:26 “And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath rejected thee from being king over Israel.”

v Samuel anointed David as king: 1 Samuel 16:13 “Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.”

We know that in the ministry has ups and down and we can see that in the life of Samuel. Time comes that when people see that he was no longer needed as a prophet and judge in Israel and they wanted another. Imagine the feeling of rejection but God comforted him in 1 Samuel 8:7. So you see that’s part of the ministry.

Also, times come that we are used the systems in the ministry and we are not careful in our attitude and something caught you off guard. The enemy surprises you and you need to be careful. Bible warns in 1 Corinthians 6:3

2 Corinthians 6:3 – “Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed:”

Tagalog: Na di nagbibigay ng kadahilanang ikatitisod sa anoman, upang ang aming ministerio ay huwag mapulaan;

 

Sad to hear to see or hear that after 39 years in the ministry, you found yourself trapped in the things you were not careful. It’s impossible to get out of that situation, unless the power of God overshadowed that situation. We see pastors, leaders and teachers are trapped and so everyone are not exempted. The enemy tries everything in order for us not by God properly in the field of God’s ministry.

 

If you do your best in the ministry and lean on God everyday of your life, the Bible encourages us in 1 Corinthians 15:58 (Let’s recite).

 

3.  LIFE IN SERVICE MEANS ‘TILL THE END

 

We need to realize the importance of redeeming the time. May I ask young people here to stand. As young people in the Church, you will never know when your life ends. You will never know what tomorrow will bring. Also, please stand to those who are not young people anymore. The same is true for everyone. Planning our lives apart from God is like aimlessly sailing in the middle of the vast ocean.

 

We need to develop a SENSE OF URGENCY. Remember that today is the first day of the rest of your life. Each passing day brings us closer to God’s coming Kingdom. It is a tragedy to chase the wrong things in life because, at the end, the only thing that will matter is the relationship we build with God.

 

All the physical things in this world will just fade away and be dissolved (II Peter 2:11). With this being said, the Apostle Peter asked a question, “What manner of persons ought you to be?”

 

Pastor said, “I have heard a lot of older people in the church who wished they have been called in the church in an earlier age. I am one of them. I have seen first-hand the joy and blessings of living God’s way of life in a very young age and how I wish that I was in the church during an earlier time.”

 

Each day of our lives, we are getting older. There is no better way to spend the prime of our years than to do God’s work. We should not delay answering the call of God because each passing day we waste is an also opportunity to live a blessed life.

“There is no better way to spend the prime of our years than to do God’s work.”

I hear some young people that they would serve God after finishing their studies; after they are stable enough to start a family; and after they have enough money to be independent. This is a HUGE delusion that Satan has cast on the minds of our young people! There is no better time to serve God than TODAY!

Samuel had been in the service since the day his mother offered him in the temple and until the day of his death (1 Samuel 28:3).

CONCLUSION:

Have you asked yourself, “How would you rather be found?” If time comes that your life ends what are you doing? Bible says in Matthew 24:26,

“Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.”

 

JOURNEY AS GOD'S PEOPLE (EZRA 8:1 - 36)

 

JOURNEY AS GOD’S PEOPLE

Picture taken from Google

 

BIBLE PASSAGE: Ezra chapters 7 - 8:15-21

INTRODUCTION:

When we were a child, we had no responsibilities to think about. We just focused on ourselves and we were dependent to our parents. But now, as adults we have so many things to think about especially to our future. We think about plans and decisions we need to do. Whether we like it or not we need to stand for ourselves. We need to be independent. In our journey in life, we just don’t do anything we think in instant, we need to sit down and think about the plans.

 

Just like in our own personal life, spiritual journey is hard when we don’t have plans ahead. In my own experience, I’ve been in the church for so long since 1991 so I saw how leaders and pastors manage the church or the ministry in different ways. Truly Proverbs 29:18 which says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he,” is a great verse to consider for leaders.

 

This chapters give us a more particular narrative of Ezra's journey to Jerusalem. Ezra's mission was to further the spiritual and religious restoration of the Jewish community in Jerusalem and to rebuild the temple. Ezra is introduced as a skilled scribe and a priest, "a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses, which the LORD, the God of Israel, had given." Let’s see what preparations Ezra considered in their journey.

 

LESSON POINTS:

1.    THE IMPORTANCE OF CAREFUL PLANNING (Ezra 8:1-21)

We know the importance of careful planning but most of the times we don’t do it. Some of us we have the attitude of doing the planning when it’s already near and so we are in a rush situation. In Ezra’s case, they were preparing for a 900-mile journey from Babylon to Jerusalem. Approximately, it was a four-month journey. They gathered all the people (who was all making the journey) and approximately, 5000 people who would include in the journey. When they were in a three-day journey, Ezra discovered that no sons of LEVI included in the journey. Levites were needed to assist the priests in the temple. We don’t know exactly what are the possible reasons why there were no Levites in the journey but King Artaxerxes made a decree in the previous chapter, 7:13, that anyone of the Israelites who were willing to go with the journey were allowed to go. It means that the Levites didn’t volunteer themselves in that important journey. Maybe they prefer to remain in Babylon rather than fulfill the role in the temple. Possible, they were already comfortable in Babylon and they think of the hardness of long trip.

 

It's never okay to abandon God’s purposes in our lives in this journey. What did Ezra do? He sent a group of men, men of understanding unto IDDO, the chief of the place (Ezra 8:16-17) to send them workers of what they needed; God provided In verse 18, Ezra recognized God’s hands in their journey.

 

And by the good hand of our God upon us they brought us a man of understanding, of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel; and Sherebiah, with his sons and his brethren, eighteen;

 

Ezra understands that God is sovereign over everything even in individual decision of Levites. He understands their dependence on the Lord that every good and perfect gift comes from the Lord.

 

In our journey, we have plans on where we’re going and how to get there but we need to include God in our journey. WE can plan, we can prepare, we can lay out the best vision BUT WITHOUT THE LORD IT IS NOTHING.

 

2.   THE NECESSITY OF FASTING AND PRAYER (Ezra 8:21-23)

Everything was ready: materials, people and others and in verse 21, Ezra proclaimed a fast. In fact, Ezra didn’t ask the king for soldiers and horsemen in order for them to defend from enemies. He thought that God would defend them. So, he asked the people to fast. They did this to humble ourselves before God and ask Him for a safe journey for them and their children, with all their possessions. He turned to the ONE Who is far more capable; he turned to the Lord. Only the hand of the Lord can make our goals happen. In verse 23, God answered their prayers.

 

In our church, our pastor planned to build a three-story building. The church and the prayer team are busy including this plan in prayers. There are plans, and preparations are doing but only God can make this plan happens.

 

Personally, whatever our plans, ask God and trust Him. Include him in everything we do.

 

3.   THE WISDOM OF FINANCIAL ACCOUNT (Ezra 8:24-34)

In chapter 7, King Artaxerxes loaded with them up with all their needs in travelling and their purpose in Jerusalem – in rebuilding the city and most especially the temple. When they arrived, they weighed all their valuables and listed all and gave to the right people in the temple.

 

CONCLUSION:

In verse 35, they don’t forget the Lord. They burnt offerings unto the Him. They grew up in Babylon but the very first time, they are in the temple and having the opportunity to worship. We can see in their journey that there so many things we need to do to make our journey successful but the most important thing to do is don’t forget God. Consider Him in our journey. He will give wisdom on how our journey becomes smooth.

 

Whatever part of our journey of life we are in at this moment, always be sensitive to God’s call and don’t ever neglect the reminders of God on His Word. KEEP ON!