The Reward of Honor
Text (2 Kings 4:8-37)
One day Elisha went to Shunem. And a well-to-do woman was there, who urged him to stay for a meal. So whenever he came by, he stopped there to eat. She said to her husband, "I know that this man who often comes our way is a holy man of God. Let's make a small room on the roof and put in it a bed and a table, a chair and a lamp for him. Then he can stay there whenever he comes to us." One day when Elisha came, he went up to his room and lay down there. He said to his servant Gehazi, "Call the Shunammite." So he called her, and she stood before him. Elisha said to him, "Tell her, 'You have gone to all this trouble for us. Now what can be done for you? Can we speak on your behalf to the king or the commander of the army?' " She replied, "I have a home among my own people." "What can be done for her?" Elisha asked. Gehazi said, "Well, she has no son and her husband is old." Then Elisha said, "Call her." So he called her, and she stood in the doorway. "About this time next year," Elisha said, "you will hold a son in your arms." "No, my lord," she objected. "Don't mislead your servant, O man of God!" But the woman became pregnant, and the next year about that same time she gave birth to a son, just as Elisha had told her. The child grew, and one day he went out to his father, who was with the reapers. "My head! My head!" he said to his father. His father told a servant, "Carry him to his mother." After the servant had lifted him up and carried him to his mother, the boy sat on her lap until noon, and then he died. She went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, then shut the door and went out. She called her husband and said, "Please send me one of the servants and a donkey so I can go to the man of God quickly and return." "Why go to him today?" he asked. "It's not the New Moon or the Sabbath." "It's all right," she said. She saddled the donkey and said to her servant, "Lead on; don't slow down for me unless I tell you." So she set out and came to the man of God at
Introduction
In the preceding messages in this series, dealing with what it means to follow Jesus in our relationships, we have learned five important principles:
· Godly relationships are providential, not accidental. (vs. 12-15)
· Godly relationships prioritize His purposes more than our comfort. (vs. 16-19)
· Godly relationships will always be at odds with an ungodly world. (vs. 20-26)
· Godly relationships require doing right, even in the face of wrong (vs. 27-38)
· Godly relationships are grounded in honesty, respect, and humility.
· Godly relationships are the fruit of godly hearts and godly lives. (vs. 43-44)
· Godly relationships are nourished by godly tongues (vs.45)
o Godly tongues are the result of godly hearts.
o Godly tongues speak godly words.
§ Love, not hate.
§ Blessing, not cursing.
§ Faith, not doubt.
§ Truth, not lies.
§ Kindness, not harshness.
§ Forgiveness, not revenge.
§ Reconciliation, not separation.
o Godly tongues leave some things unsaid.
· Godly relationships will stand the test of time and survive the trials of life (v.46-49)
The REward of Honor
Today, we are going to lay a foundation for our study of Chapter seven, particularly how to walk out relationships involving either the exercise of authority or the right response to authority, by going back into the Old Testament to the story of the Shunnamite woman.
1. She honored his spiritual authority.
She valued his spiritual status more than her own socio-economic status.
· By her humility
· By her hospitality
· By her generosity (unsolicited, God later more than repaid her)
2. She did not presume upon his proximity.
3. She saw beyond his humanity.
4. She refused to let go of her destiny.
When the devil tried to destroy it,
· She acted discretely.
· She acted confidently
· She acted quickly
· She acted persistently (I will not leave you…!)
Notes:
One common way we sin with our tongues is through gossip and slander…
"20 Without wood a fire goes out; without gossip a quarrel dies down. 21 As charcoal to embers and as wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife. 22 The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to a man's inmost parts. 23 Like a coating of glaze over earthenware are fervent lips with an evil heart." (Proverbs 26:20-23, NIV)
"22 The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to a man's inmost parts." (Proverbs 26:22, NIV)
Listening to a gossip (someone who tells you someone else's secrets) is about as foolish as dating a girl behind another guy's back. After all, if she betrayed him to go out with you, she will betray you to go out with someone else…!
Paul lists gossip right up there with other, shocking sins, even listing it a sign of a reprobate mind…!
"28 Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them. " (Romans 1:28-32, NIV)
How should we respond when slandered?
Be sure that it is slander and not simply criticism…! (1 Peter – be sure that you are suffering for righteousness's sake and not as an evil-doer…!)
Jesus was reviled, but reviled not again…! (Did not return slander for slander…!)
When we defend ourselves, God cannot defend us. If we commit ourselves and our reputations to Him, He will defend us ("every tongue that will rise against us in judgment we will condemn…", etc.)
The point is not our reputation when we are slandered, but the impact those things have on other, innocent people (It is not about the man, it is about the plan…!)
Another particularly insidious way we sin with our tongues is through what the Scripture calls, "scorn" or "mockery."
Scorn is a form of disrespect and dishonor, particularly as it is expressed through words. Scripture has much to say about this kind of speech.
"10 Drive out the mocker, and out goes strife; quarrels and insults are ended." (Proverbs 22:10, NIV) (KJV – "scorner")[1]
One of the most infamous examples of scorn in the Scripture is that of Shimei, who cursed David, pelting him with stones and throwing dirt on him as he fled Jerusalem before his rebellious son, Absalom (2 Samuel 16:5-17). Abishai wanted to cut his head off, but David forbade him from doing it. Later, when David was restored to the throne, Abishai came to him before anyone else, begging his forgiveness, and David allowed him to live. (2 Samuel 19:16-23). Before he died, though, David told his son Solomon to keep his eye on Shimei (1 Kings 2:8-10). Why? I think it was because David knew that it is very difficult for someone like Shimei to change their attitude toward an authority toward which they have developed an attitude of scorn…! Solomon told Shimei to build a house in Jerusalem
Beware the flattering tongue, especially if pretends to be prophetic…!
"17 I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. 18 For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people." (Romans 16:17-18, NIV)
- I am amazed, by the way, at how many people fall for false prophets and false prophecies simply because they are flattering in nature…!
- 1 Kings 22 tells the end of Ahab, how he had four hundred false prophets around him who told him what he wanted to hear. There was only one true prophet, Micaiah, who told him what he needed to hear…!
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