Death In The Pot Series

2 Kings 4:38-41

Introduction: We will be looking at the four in our miracles thru throughout the Bible series. The main character outside the Lord is the prophet Elisha. As you may recall, Elisha was the man God choose to replace Elijah. Where Elijah’s ministry was marked with great events such the praying for a drought for three and half years, the battle between Elijah and the prophets of Baal, we find entirely different type of prophet in Elisha. I believe he was a quieter man than Elijah was. What marked his ministry was his great desire to do something great for God.

Before Elijah was taken into heaven, he asked Elisha what he wanted of the Lord. Elisha told him that he wanted a double portion of his spirit. Elijah told him that this was a hard thing. What Elijah did not say was this: Jeremiah 32:17 “Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee” Thank God we serve a God who is all-powerful. There is not outside the scope of God except that which is outside His will.

When Elisha saw Elijah taken up to heaven in the whirlwind and he took the mantle of God, he did not stop and ponder whether or not God had granted his petition. He picked up the mantle and went to work for God.

Part of the lesson of this Biblical account is this. Too many people ask the Lord for good valid tools for the ministry and then sit around waiting to see God granted their petitions. God gives only the best to His children. They do not have to wait to see the flag of victory. They have victory now. They don’t have to wait unto they die to enjoy Jesus. They can enjoy Him now. They do not have to wait for boldness in their witness. We can be bold for Jesus now. The disciples prayed for boldness in their witness for Jesus Christ. They got off their knees and started speaking boldly for the Lord Jesus. They did not wait for some heavenly lighting bolt to strike to confirm they had boldness. They just walked in believing God and He blessed their faith.

Elisha accounts for fourteen miracles of the Bible. That is double what Elijah had. We could list these miracles. That would be a long process that will fill in time but really does not anything to be a blessing and help to us.

This account of the death in the pot takes place in a place called Gilgal. Gilgal is just northwest of Jericho and about ten to twelve miles east of Jerusalem.

Once again, we find our man of God with those young men called the "sons of the prophets". As I said a few weeks ago, this was the Bible College of that day. What better teacher could these young men have other than Elisha-- the great man of God. I believe Elisha was the quiet man of prayer who believed God so that God could show Himself powerful and real in the lives of His people.

When looking for illustrations to build messages, it is better to use the Bible in that it has the authority and indisputable evidence of God. Our experiences, though good, do not carry the weight of the examples of the Bible.

Let’s look at this miracle--DEATH IN THE POT

I. DEARTH IN THE LAND Vs.38

“there was a dearth in the land”

What is dearth? It is a severe famine in the land. The Lord promised this. Five hundred and fifty years before this day, Moses was standing with the children of Israel overlooking the land of milk and honey- the Promised Land. It was a place that they had walked toward, longed for and waited to enter for the past forty years.

There were several conditions. We serve a God of promises. But before you can reap the benefits of the promises, you have to meet the qualifications or precepts written down. Let me illustrate with one verse of scripture. Jeremiah 33:3 says "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not." If you want God to answer and show great and mighty things, then you must call unto Him. Another verse that I believe is falls in with this verse of scripture is John 16:13 which tells us. “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.”

The Holy Spirit can reveal wondrous truths if we ask him to do so. That is one of the parts of His "job description" so to speak.