Page 5 - Preacher of Righteousness Magazine

This is one of the most life-changing passages of scripture to me. I often think about going to Heaven. When I get there, I plan to visit with certain people I have on a special list. On my list are people from the Bible whose courage and love for my God inspired me to live my life to be all that I can be. There are people on my list from my own lifetime on the earth who have changed my life forever, and I want to visit with them and tell them what their life and ministry meant to me.
There are three women in particular I want to thank. I pray they are in Heaven. All three of them were courageous, and all three brought the blessing of God upon their life and extended their life in the midst of troubled times.
The first woman is the woman from Shunem (2 Kings 4:8-17). I have heard messages preached about the Shunammite woman; in fact, I have preached about her many times in the last four decades. In case you are not familiar with her, this is the woman who, with her husband’s permission, had an apartment built onto her house so that the holy man of God (Elisha) could have somewhere to stay when he was in that region. She sowed a natural seed but received a supernatural miracle. Not bad—she sowed a bedroom and received a son from a barren womb, all by the intervention of the Almighty God. Once I learned this from this great woman, I have seen my God move miraculously every time I sow what I call a “Shunammite offering.”
The second woman is the widow God called to take care of Elijah (1 Kings 17). After he had declared to the palace and the king that there would be no more rain until he said so, God told him to go hide alongside a certain brook. God promised to take care of him there, and He did. He sent ravens every day to supply food.
As the brook dried up, God told him to get up and go to Sarepta, where He had commanded a widow to take care of him. This has always stood out to me as a great story because God had already commanded the ravens and this widow before the prophet ever knew about it. I learned that the supply is attached to the heavenly vision; and unless you are on the wrong side of the brook or out of the will of God, He is going to move on your behalf and make provision for all your needs to fulfill His plan.
As this widow obeyed the prophet of God, the Almighty God supplied for her. As this widow, with all her courage, obeyed the man of God and shared her remaining food with him, God multiplied her meal and her oil; and she and the boy lived on. Thank God for His supply and His miraculous sustenance. Thank God this prophet was bold enough to put a demand on this woman. Thank God she was submitted to God enough to obey, even though it was the worst day of her life.
The third woman is the one we just read about in 2 Kings 4. She came to the prophet for help; and as she obeyed the word of the prophet of God, everything in her life changed.
Let’s make a list of the most important points we learn from these scriptures:
1. This is the wife of a man who revered God.
2. Not only did her husband serve God, but he served
with Elisha, the prophet.
3. She declares how desperate she is, that she cannot pay her bills, and that they’re coming to take her sons to be slaves.
4. The prophet asked her what she had in her house, rather than going to see what he had in the ministry treasury.
5. She obeyed what the prophet told her to do, even though it made no sense to go borrow “empty” jars.
6. It couldn’t have been easy for her to take the little bit of oil she had and pour it into the other jars.
7. As long as she was pouring, Heaven was pouring. But when she stopped, the divine, supernatural supply from Heaven also stopped.
Let’s take a look at each one of the seven points and what they may mean to us:
1. This is the wife of a man who revered God.
We learn swiftly that the many things that belong to God’s people do not belong to the sinner and will not work for them. They must first give their life to Christ in order to partake of the covenant and receive the blessing of God. This woman started right out declaring that she had married a man who revered God.
2. Not only did her husband serve God, but he served with Elisha, the prophet.
She also declared that he not only revered God but served with Elisha. I have learned that many times people who attend the local church and are a part of the ministry team believe they should also be called
a dependent to the prophet or have access to the church treasury. Usually this only hurts them and stops them from seeing the miracle supply of God.
3. She declares how desperate she is, that she cannot pay her bills, and that they’re coming to take her sons to be slaves.
This woman is desperate. This is not someone just looking for some gas in the car to continue a journey. This is a tragedy and a legitimate crisis. She absolutely did the right thing to go to the prophet of God.
4. The prophet asked her what she had in her house, rather than going to see what he had in the ministry treasury.
This is the most unusual thing. It must have been just as difficult for the prophet as it was for the widow.
I was born and raised in poverty, and it is extremely difficult for me to turn away anyone who is having deep financial problems. I may see a flashback to when I was young and desperate for a handout. However,
CONTINUED ON PAGE 7 PAGE 5