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Bibleline Bibleline, here God’s word on Bibleline, here God’s truth on Bibleline. Welcome to Bibleline with Dr. Ralph Yankee Arnold, pastor of Calvary Community Church in Tampa, Florida. Clearly declaring the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the radio and the internet. Your regular prayers and monthly support make it possible for Bibleline to continue on the air. You can reach us toll-free at 1-800-576-3771. Online donations may be made by clicking on the donations link on the BibleLineMinistries.org homepage. We pray that you will enjoy our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ and that today’s message will be a blessing to you and your family.

You know there are stories in the Bible that illustrates people who go through hard times. And even though you had like a man like Elijah who did seven miracles and you have Elisha that did 14 miracles, they picked and choose who they helped. Not everybody was cured of leprosy. Not everybody had their children raised from the dead. Not everybody had, you know, everything that God did for certain people. It just, it didn’t work that away. Take your Bible and turn to 2 Kings and chapter 4.

2 Kings and chapter 4. I want to share with you a couple of ladies that were really having a hard time. You know, sometimes women really do have to go through it. This is talking about a widow, now she had lost her husband, told how to kid to raise, and things were really rough, really bad. So sometimes that happens in life and even happens today. But one of the things is that it would behoove a man if he can to try to get his house in order in case something happens.

The wife or the kids will have some way of seeing their way clear. This is one of the reasons why you should seek not to try to get so far in debt because if something happens to the person who makes the payments, if he dies in what the person do then. So it becomes very difficult up on them. In a lot of people they have a loved one that passes away and they’ve made no arrangements of any kind in advance.

And yet you know you’re going to die but you don’t want to plan on it because well if I plan on it I’ll probably die. It’s like for years I didn’t have a spare tire so I never had a flat. So as I got a spare tire I had flats. Moral of the story is don’t have a spare tire. In Second Kings in chapter 4, Luke the verse 1. Now this is a little story about a woman who comes to see a man of God.

Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets. Now she is the wife of the son of the prophets and they had like a Bible school. And she came to Elisha saying, Thy servant, my husband is dead. And thou knowest that thy servant did fear the Lord. the creditor is come to take from him my two sons to be bondsmen. So evidently somewhere along the line times were hard. Some believe that they bar of money in order to send the preachers could go to the school, you know, to a Bible college.

The sons of the prophets. Anyway, he was in debt. But what did he put up for collateral? His kids. Now doesn’t that make a lot of sense? Put your kids up for collateral. If they’re worth anything, you know, don’t mortgage your house, don’t mortgage your land, put your kids up. I think it sounds great to me. So, you know, if you don’t make your payment, it’s all on kids. I mean, it’s been nice to know you. So anyway, she says in verse 2, and the life is sitting to her, what But shall I do for thee?

Tell me what has thou in the house? In other words, what do you have?” And she said, Thine handmade hath not anything in the house. I mean, the cupboards are bare. There’s nothing there. They didn’t have anything to eat. They didn’t have money to pay the bills. Creditors were banging at the door, coming to get the kid. He says, except I got a pot of oil, you know. And sometimes the pot of oil was what they kept in case they died.

They had oil for anointing the dead and things like that. And maybe left over from Baron Erhus, but she said, oh, I got left as this little pot of oil. So he told her he told her to do something. Now remember, it seemed like God does for you what you can’t do, but He does expect you to do what you can. And always remember God promises they do not fail, but our faith at times will fail. But God doesn’t fail.

His promises doesn’t fail. So anyway, he says in verse 3, then he said, go borrow the vessels abroad and of all thy neighbors. Now, evidently they’ve already been borrowed more than they could afford. they were in debt and he says, go borrow vessels from all of your neighbors. Then that’s not a good clue that he had something that he was going to have her do. So she could go and get all of that. He said, and don’t just get a few.

He told her, get a lot, not a few, but a lot. So it says there in verse 4, and when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon the and upon thy sons and shall pour out into all those vessels and thou shalt set aside that which is full.” So she was supposed to go get all these vessels and she’s to take that one little thing of oil that she had and start filling up these vessels and filling them up full.

I would like to have a source that doesn’t run dry. You ever heard of a money tree? I gave her a woman who marries a man because he’s a sugar daddy just for the money. Anyway, poured it in there and then sent all these vessels. Now, if they had told me to do that, that wouldn’t have been room left for any more vessels in the house. I borrowed bathtubs, big buckets. Who knows? But I don’t know if she knew it in advance.

It’s just exactly what he was going to do. But then naturally she got them again. He said, now, fill them up. And look what he says. In the last part of verse four, and thou shalt set aside that which is full. So she went from him and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her and she poured out. It came to pass when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, bring me yet at a vessel.

He says unto her, there is not a vessel more, there’s not any more vessels. Then you’ll notice and the oil state are stopped. So the oil stopped because there was no more vessels. And sometimes we failed to picture that what God says in his word is, open thy mouth wide and I will fill it. Do you ever ask God for anything? And when you do, is it something really simple and small and you couldn’t tell if he ever answered your prayers or not?

Or do you ask for something really gigantic that if he did it, you know God had to do that? Well, that’s kind of like stories in the Old Testament that helps us to understand in the New Testament some things that God promises to us. Look what else he says. This says in verse 7, and she came and told the man of God and he says, go sell the oil, the dead and live thou and thy children on the rest.”

Now, wouldn’t you like to find that little thing of oil that she had? But you know, he did what she couldn’t do. But God does expect us to do what we can do and look for a miraculous way for God to work. I kind of wrote down on my little note here, God may not send you a miracle but mercy if you trust him, mercy if you trust him and we should trust him. Sometimes we expect, you know, God, well, he’s not going to do anything anyway, so you don’t ask for anything, don’t expect anything.

Now in the very next story is a story about another woman. Look what he did for this woman. You see the Bible says that God says you’re supposed to look after the widows and so forth and those that don’t have a husband and there’s just certain things in scriptures that says to that and so here’s a man of God and he has been given the ability by God to perform miracles. So let there in verse 8 and it fell on a day that Elisha passed through Shunim where was a great woman.

And she constrained him to eat bread. Now, we don’t know exactly how great she was, but there’s some things in history that the rabbis got a few things, but we don’t have time for that right now. But believe it, she was a good woman, a godly individual. And so it was that as off that he passed by, he turned in there to eat some bread. And she said unto her husband, behold now, I perceive that this is unholy man of God, with past love.

us by us continually. So she must have some spiritual discernment. I proceed, this is a holy man. Remember now, he’s the one that had the school of the prophets. So he taught these young prophets, you know, the word of God, and thing to do, not to do, and so on. And so she says, let’s do something special for him. So when he come by, you know, he didn’t have a place to stay, but she would give him something to eat.

So she says verse 10, Let us make a little chamber. I pray thee on the wall and let us sit for him. They’re a bed and a table and a stool and a candlestick and it shall be when he come to us that he shall turn into there. But notice those little items that she prepared for him, a bed, a candlestick as a table, a stool so that whenever he comes by he’s got a place to stay. So he was a woman that was taken care of this man’s, she believed, to be a holy man of God and let’s let him have a place to stay.

So it says there in verse 11 and it fell on a day that he came to the other and he turned into the chambers and he lay there. And he said to Gahazi his servant, call this a suenah might and when he had called her she stood before him, he said unto him, say now unto her, Behold thou have been careful for us with all this care. In other words, you’ve taken care of us, you’ve met our needs and blah, blah, blah, blah.

What would you like? You want me to put in a good word for you put a king or maybe somebody else you know I can put in a good word for you you know I’m I’m Elijah so he says there in verse 13 behold thou has been careful for us with all this care what is to be done for thee wouldest I be spoken for to the king or the captain of the host and she answered I like where I’m at I’ll just stay right here and this is fine so anyway you think that I’m Okay, well, what can I do for a person that doesn’t want anything?

And she says, you know, my husband is old and she’s maybe younger, I guess. It says that he was old. So in verse 14, he said, what then is to be done for her? And Gahadi answered, very, she hath no child and her husband is old. And he says, call her. And when he had called her, she stood in the door. And he says, got some good news for you. It didn’t say that she wanted this good news, but she was going to get some good news.

According or about this season, according to the time of life, thou shall embrace a son. And she says, what? She says, no. May my Lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thy hand. made. Now, it’s not so much that she didn’t want a child, but she didn’t want at that stage of life to have a child and then lose the child. If you’re going to give me one, let me have one that can carry on after I’m dead.

And so it was interesting. In verse 17, and the woman conceived and bear a son at that season that Elijah had said unto her according to the time of life, which is what? Nine months. I’m glad y’all do that. Now there’s a problem. Seemed like good things turn into bad things. So in verse 18 says, and when the child was grown, and when Dr. Todd might be grown, grown, grown, maybe six years old or something like that, you never know, but it was still a child.

And when the child was grown, it fell on a day and he went out to his father’s to the reapers. So he had to be big enough to go out. And maybe in the hot sun, maybe he got a stroke. Nobody knows exactly what the problem was, but he says, my head, my head. Got a headache. Hurting. Maybe dizzy. But anyway, he said to a lad, carry him to his mother. So he had a lad who was not a grown man, carry the child so I don’t think a little lad would carry a grown man.

But anyway, says in verse 20. And when he had taken him and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon and then died. So if the scripture says he died, guess what? He died. I’ll have some people say, well I don’t know if he was really dead. The Bible says he died. And the Bible says he died. He died. And verse 21 and she went up and lay on the bed of the man of God, laid him on the bed of the man of God.

and shut the door upon him and went out. Now, evidently she hadn’t told her husband yet. So in verse 22, she called unto her husband and said, send me, I pray thee, one of the young men and one of the asses that I may run to the man of God and come again. And he said, where for, well, thou go to him today? It is neither new moon or Sabbath. And she says, it shall be well. Now, she may have heard about somebody else that got her son raised from the dead, but see, this is what she was worried about in the beginning to have a child and lose the child.

So sometimes in life, you know, it doesn’t always come with roses. It’s just sometimes there’s thorns and then you live your own life and you seem like a lot of things go wrong and you don’t plan. And why did this have to happen? remember this in verse 24 then she settled an ass and said to her servant drive and go forward. Slack not by writing for me except I bid. In other words we’re in a hurry. Make this thing so she jumped in her for Rahri and she sped down the highway.

And says in verse 25 and she went and came unto the man of God the Mount Carmel. And it came to pass when the man of God saw her, a far off that he said to God’s of his servant. Behold, Yonder is that Shunamite. Run now, I pray thee, to meet her and say unto her, Is it well with thee? Is it well with thy husband? Is it well with the child? And she answered, It is well. Everything’s fine.

Now she’s telling the truth. No, she’s not telling exact her. Now, she’s outwardly she’s saying the right things. Have you ever asked somebody, hey, how you doing? Fine, fine. And they’re not doing fine. But they don’t want to tell you how they really think or how they really feel or what’s really going on. No, it’s sometimes just a standard greeting, fine. And sometimes underneath, you know, your turmoil. And everything’s not fine and you’re hurting. So what’s going on in her little mind?

It doesn’t really say, but knowing that she was no doubt grieving, she was hurting. In verse 27, and when she came to the man of God, to the heel, she caught him by the feet. But God, he came near to thrust her away. Now remember, she didn’t wanna tell her husband, she didn’t wanna tell this servant, but now she’s gonna tell the man of God. Because she remembered, I told you this at the very beginning. I said, no, don’t do this to me by bringing something into my life that’s wonderful and joyous and then take him away from me.

So he says here in verse 26, it is well. And when she came to the man of God, and he says, and the man of God said, let her alone, for her soul is vexed within her so he could perceive more than the servant could. Outwardly, it is well. Inwardly, it was not. And that’s why sometimes you have to try to read people, sometimes you can read them wrong, but trying to discern really what they’re going through, even though they sometimes tell you.

A lot of people are hurting. I believe we have people in the ministry here that are hurting in a lot of ways. And you may not know that if you don’t get to know some people and talk to them, you can share things. And so it’s just confident to know that somebody does know and is praying for you. But look what he says here. And he says, and the Lord hath hid it from me and hath not told me.

The Lord has not told me. So the man of God doesn’t know everything. He doesn’t even know yet that the son is dead because she didn’t tell him here. And all she wanted was, I want you to come to my house because I want you to see my son. But he told his servant, you go with her. And she says, I want you. So it says in verse 28, and she says, did I desire a son of my Lord?

Did I not say do not deceive me? Didn’t I say that? So he knows there’s a problem, right? Verse 29, then he said to Gahazi, Gurd up by loins and take my staff in thine hand and go thy way, if thou meet any man, salute him not, and if any salute thee, answer him not again, and lay my staff upon the face of the child. Lay my staff upon the face of the child. So he wasn’t planning on going.

He wanted the servant to go. But what did she want? Well, that’s not exactly what she wanted. So he says in verse 30, and the mother of the child said, as the Lord liveth and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee and he arose and followed her. You know, some women are just persistent. They’re just plain persistent. And here’s a man of God and he did what this woman said to her. He went and she said, and remember, I told you, I told you because she evidently didn’t know the Bible says something in a book of Job, where Job says, the things that I feared have come upon me.

So sometimes in the Christian life, things that you fear comes upon you because God wants you to deal with that fear or that lack of trust that you need in your life. And those were the yelty says down here. And so he says they’re in verse 31, and God he passed on before them and laid the staff upon the face of the child. But there was neither voice nor hearing. Wherefore he went again to meet him and told him says, the child is not awakened.

And when Elijah was come into the house, behold, the child was dead and laid upon his bed. He went in therefore and shut the door and upon them too and prayed unto the Lord. Don’t you think that’s a good idea when you don’t know everything God hasn’t told you everything you sometimes just need to maybe talk to the Lord about something. And when the Lord told him everything what to do it’s amazing that some of the things that he did I think has some medical that people could hate even to the state.

So he says here in verse 34, remember, there’s natural means are in our power, supernatural means are in God’s power. So sometimes God wants you to do what you can do and he does what he can do. So he says here in verse 34, and he went in and laid up on the child and put his mouth upon his mouth. Now what would we call that today? mouth to mouth resuscitation That’s what Elijah was doing and then he said and his eyes upon his eyes and his hand upon his hands And he stretched himself upon the child now Why would you do that because he the body is getting cold and He’s laying his body on the body of this child Then he returned and walked in the house to and fro Have you ever seen a cat, two and fro, a dog, two and fro, a person, two and…

Have you been to a waiting room? I hate sitting by the hour. I got to give him a pace. I walk. Well, anyway, it’s interesting if you look in verse 35, then he returned and he walked in the house, two and fro, and went up and stretched himself upon him and the child sneezed seven times. the child opened his eyes. You know, I got a thing in the mail one day that said if you feel like you’re going to have a heart attack, start coughing.

You might have heard that. Start coughing because it jars your body and jars your heart and jars everything and it can revive you and keep you from having a heart attack. Now I didn’t know that if I read that. And They also say that sneezing can help do something to the head. When I start sneezing, almost every time I will sneeze four times, I don’t sneeze just one time, very strong one time. I’ll sneeze four times. If I sneeze three times, I know I got another one coming.

It’s not here yet, but it’s on its way. And sure enough, I’ll sneeze four times. That means I was over halfway to death and I sneezed four times and came back to life. So sneezing re-vives. The disorders in the head. That’s what I’ve heard medical doctors say. I don’t know. But whatever happens, remember Elisha did what Elisha could do, and God does what God can do. And he says he opened his eyes and in verse 36, and he called Gahazah and said, call this Unimite.

So he called her and when she was come in unto him. He says, take up thy son. So we know it was a young child. Then she went in and fell at his feet, bowed herself to the ground and took up her son and went out. Now, they’re just nice little stories in the Old Testament. But do you realize that as you live your life, it’s also in little blocks of stories? And yet, if you stand back from all of these little stories and incidents that happens in your life, further you get back, you begin to see a pattern.

You see how the Lord has worked and moved in your life. When I used to be going through some trial and tribulations, I didn’t think about that past and I didn’t think about that future, but in the beginning of my Christian life, all I saw was this moment. That’s all I saw, this little block of time. And that’s why the Bible talks about and in the process of time, time has been processed. God’s even cut it down to days and years, months, weeks, hours.

So there’s little blocks of time. But you see, all these things here is time. And when you step back and you begin to look at your life and you realize, look how God has worked in my life. And you see where these stories in your life all fit and they can run together. And you have learned things throughout your life that by the time you get over here to what we call old age or as most people like senior citizens, we’re supposed to be wise.

But what? I don’t go in the coronary artery, I think. We’re supposed to be wise. Do you think it’s wise for people when you get up in age to write motorcycles? All of a sudden, he said, oh, you hit home. I told Ben, I said, honey, I want to get a motorcycle. She says, when I’m dead, you can have one. But she’s going to live to 90, and what, but a 90 year old man going to do with a motorcycle?

I’ll have to have one with the trainer wheels on it. Stay out of this. So you’re going through your life in periods of time. And the older we get, we’re supposed to be wiser because of all the experiences God has brought us through. So don’t curse any of these experiences in life because that’s how you get to be wise. And that’s where you’re headed, that’s what you want, right? So God is working in your life. He is putting things into your life because he knows what he wants to make out of you.

So understand that God did the same thing in the Old Testament, he was doing it in a New Testament, and he’s still doing it today. You’ve been listening to Bibleline, a teaching ministry of Calvary Community Church in Tampa, Florida with Dr. Ralph Arnold. We pray that you are blessed by today’s message. If you have enjoyed our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ, you can reach Bibleline and pledge your support to keep us on the air in your area by Dye-Link Tool Free, 1-800-576-3771.

That’s 1-800-576-3771. To listen to today’s message again or to obtain a free download of any of our Bibleline programs, just go to our homepage at BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the Radio Broadcast link. If you are in the area, we welcome you to visit us. The address for Calvary Community Church is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. Our Sunday morning services begin at 10-30, and at six o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by clicking on the Calvary Community Church link at BibleLineMinistries.org.

Thanks for joining us on Bibleline, and now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friend, one day it will happen. The trumpet will sound, and we will be changed. caught up to meet the Lord in the air. So live today and every day, believing that the Lord is coming soon and just keep looking up.