2 Kings 4:38-41 (NKJV)
Serve It Again
October 03, 2010
We begin today with Elisha returning to Gilgal. Returning to his holy place where he was taught by his father in ministry Elijah. Returning to his element, among the sons of the prophets, teaching them, and, now as their father in ministry, feeding them food for their body and food for their souls. For they were well fed and well taught. They knew the difference between a good pot of stew and a bad pot of stew because they had tasted good stew from this prophet before. ILLS: Have you ever gone to a restaurant, and they have new items on the menu? If you are hungry you don’t want to risk being disappointed by trying a new meal. If you are hungry you stick with what you know is good (and maybe next time when you are not so hungry you will try something new). The bible says that there was a famine in the land, the people were hungry, and they knew the prophet served good stew. There is a famine of the Word of God in our country and the people are hungry for the truth. Amos 8:11 “Look! The days are coming” declares the Lord God, “when I will send a famine throughout the land— not a famine of food or a thirst for water— but rather a famine of hearing the words of the Lord.
There was a Dearth in the land. v.38 - King James Version says there was a dearth in the land, for the wickedness of those that dwelt therein, the same that we read of in 2 Kings chapter 8. It continued seven years, just as long again as that in Elijah's time. Even though the land was in a famine, God blessed Elisha and his sons of the ministry because we find them in the text sitting before him, to hear his wisdom; they were taught the Words of God, that they might teach others. Elisha feed the sons of the prophets that they might not be ashamed, but even in the days of famine, they might be satisfied. King David said that the Lord knows the times we live in and in Psalm 37:19, “They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.” Though they were going through a bad economy the Bible Study was still going on. Though they were receiving food spiritually, they still needed physical substance. So Elisha says, “Put on the large pot…” While the prophet remained teaching, he sent his assistants to prepare the meal for the sons. Surely the prophet could have stopped teaching to make the stew himself, but this lesson is to bring insight regarding delegation. And so it happened that the one who was sent to gather herbs to put in the stew, by mistake brought in a wild gourd (they look like cucumbers or squash) but eating them will make you sick. Even when you delegate tasks, you are responsible for what goes in the pot. ILLS: I remember a Church Business Meeting a decade ago when it seemed as if no one had their reports completed. We were missing this report and that report and some of the reports we did have were incomplete. I was so disappointed at the leadership for not putting their best forward and was talking to one of my counselors and they said, “Pastor, the people don’t care who is responsible for which report, they only care that you didn’t have what you needed before you called the meeting. They may have failed to do their jobs, but it’s you who looked bad tonight.”
There was Death in the pot. v.40 - Now it happened, as they were eating the stew, that they cried out and said, "Man of God, there is death in the pot!" The Bibles says that the men who found the wild gourds did not know what they were, but they sliced them into the pot anyway! They Bible said that they knew them not! (This is what happens when you don’t taste your own stew). ILLS: On the FOOD CHANNEL – My wife and I were watching a cake baking competition, and the judges asked the chef, “Did you taste this?” Evidently in his rush to complete the task the chef had mixed up his salt with his sugar! We cannot eat this. “Oh man of God there is death in the pot!” Sometimes in our hurry to meet the need our intention to help may in fact be hurting us! We must check the quality of what we are serving. If you are a preacher you need to listen to your own sermon. If you are a teacher, you need to listen to your own lesson. If you are a singer, you need to listen to your own song. If you are a musician, you need to listen to your own chords because you may find out that some death has been sliced into the pot. If you would simply read it again before you hit send you would find that autocorrect is not your friend. You must do your own quality control.
There was Deliverance in the service. v.41 - Elisha calls for some flour and puts it into the stew and said, “Serve it to the people… [again]” He made what was once hurtful to become safe and wholesome. NOTE: It was not their flour nor their prophet but only their God! He said to Israel, “For I am the Lord that healeth thee.” Once wild gourd is in the pot it will take an act of God to remove the harm that it caused. After he mix some flour into the stew, “there was no harm in the pot.” Like Elijah in 1 Kings 17 where he used meal, oil and prayer, Elisha follows the pattern of his teacher. 2 weeks ago, we talked about Elisha calling on God to fill a widow’s empty pots with oil! Last week we talked about Elisha calling on God to raise a woman’s son from the dead. Where did he get insight how to handle these things? He got them from the routines he learned from his teacher Elijah! The miracle of ministry is often found in the routine. The miracle of ministry is often found in the repetition. It is in doing the thing over & over & over again that we often see the working of God. Elijah met a widow and asked her for some bread and water. She said that all she had was a little flour and oil for her and her son to eat and die. He told her that if she fed the prophet first her flour would not waste nor her oil fail! One day her son got sick and died so she called on the prophet and he took the child laid him on the bed and stretched himself over the boy and he arose from the dead. A food miracle was not something new for Elisha because he had seen it before. Elisha says, “Serve it to the people,” just like you did before. Ask God to fix it and Serve It Again! Someone may be considering giving up because of what happened the first time you served it? I come to tell you that Jesus knows something about doing it again because my Bible says in Matthew 26:42 that when Jesus got up from praying in the Garden the first time He got back down and prayed again. I thank Him for praying again because I heard Him say the second time, “If this cup cannot pass away from me unless I drink it, Your will be done!”
