About This Time Next Year

2 Kings 4:16 NKJV

Then he said, “About this time next year you shall embrace a son.” And she said, “No, my lord. Man of God, do not lie to your maidservant!”

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Opening Illustration

My Junior Season we lost in the championship game of our tournament.

My senior season was a different story.

It’s amazing how much difference a year can make.

(I was drawn to this story to set the tone for 2024 before we talk about the mission of our church in the coming weeks.)

______ 2 Kings 4 is an interesting chapter to juxtapose the two stories.

(A) entitled widow who is asking for a miracle

(B) selfless woman of means who is seeking a way to serve.

The first story shows us the grace of God in that even when we are acting entitled God can still find a way to move in our lives.

{Entitlement creates the need for humility}

{Entitled blessings are self contained…once their done their done.}

When we send an invoice…we can’t be mad when there’s not an overpayment.

{ILLUSTRATION OF PREACHER WITH HONORARIUM REQUIREMENT.}

“Live off the rest implies don’t come back asking for more.”

{{Her provision was only as expansive as her humility.}} - How many neighbors did she ask?

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Signposts from the second story

I believe in the second story of this chapter we see some important content.

From this story I believe there is a message for three different groups of people.

The uninvolved

The uncommitted

The unsuspecting

I want to present two groups of people with a challenge from God’s Word…and one group of people with a promise from God’s Word.

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Challenge Number 1: Get involved

2 Kings 4:8 NKJV

Now it happened one day that Elisha went to Shunem, where there was a notable woman, and she persuaded him to eat some food. So it was, as often as he passed by, he would turn in there to eat some food.

This lady lives in Shunem and our only identifying characteristic for her is that she is wealthy.

ga’dol = Great, Big name

This woman has plenty of resources and has a high level of influence.

But even in the midst of her greatness humility is readily present.

{{{Woman (A) has to have humility forced…It freely flows from Woman (B)}}

She has the finest of everything but when she saw the man of God…she wanted to see how she could best serve God’s Work…

SHE WAS COMMITED TO FINDING A WAY TO MAKE SURE SHE WAS RELATIONALLY CONNECTED TO THE PROPHET

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The Prophet = The church

Prophets were held in high esteem in Elisha’s day

There wasn’t a multiplicity of affairs and embezzlement concerning prophets in this day.

When they saw the prophet coming they viewed him as their means to hear from God…

THE CHURCH IS THE AVENUE Wherein The Five Offices outlined in Ephesians 4 are operated in

In Elishas time the prophet came to town with a word…In our context…(we come to the church to receive the word of God…)

This woman had everything she could ever think of but was willing to go out of her way to make sure the Word of God was in her house.

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Anti-Consumerism

This lady displayed the opposite of consumerism.

She did not invite the man of God to her home to see what he could do for her.

She invited him to her home because it was the only thing she could think of that she could do for him.

{What if we changed the way we approached church in America?}

ILLUSTRATION: We never church shopped (We went where God called us even though it was inconvenient and unattractive sometimes.)

The first challenge that I see in this text is for someone to begin developing the discipline of getting involved..JFK Quote…DON’T ASK WHAT THE CHURCH CAN DO FOR YOU..

(MAKE CHURCH A PRIORITY)

Don’t be a Chreaster this year - Don’t be a fairweather attendeed this year - Don’t leave it to chance this year.

Sunday morning church is a Saturday night decision.

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Challenge Number 2: Increase Commitment

There is an extended season where this woman is practicing servanthood to the prophet on a periodic basis.

Every time he’s in town he pop’s in and she makes a meal

Once a quarter…Once a month…Every other week?

It’s periodic serving and occasional affiliation…it requires a little investment but you can turn it off and turn it on.

This is the place many Christ followers in our western culture settle into.

Only 58% of evangelicals attend church once a week

Only 30% consider themselves “highly involved in their local church.”

Even less serve in their local church.

Their making a meal occasionally Christians…

THIS WOMAN WASN’T SATISFIED WITH THAT LEVEL OF COMMITMENT…(we shouldn’t be either.)

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The Escalation of Involvement

2 Kings 4:9–10 NKJV

And she said to her husband, “Look now, I know that this is a holy man of God, who passes by us regularly. Please, let us make a small upper room on the wall; and let us put a bed for him there, and a table and a chair and a lampstand; so it will be, whenever he comes to us, he can turn in there.”

This is the moment where you let your commitment to God change the format of your every day life.

It’s one thing to come to church…It’s another to let God rearrange they way your family operates.

We don’t only need to commit our Sundays, we need to commit our lives.

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Minimal commitment gives room for anonymity.

When you live at the occasional affiliation level…there’s an attractive level of anonymity…

Before she could have friends over and they known nothing about her affiliation with the prophet.

Now there’s a room that has to be explained.

Her commitment to serving God becomes far more involved when she creates an addition to her house.

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Don’t just be occasionally involved…be radically commited.

When you live at the periodic commitment…IT IS UNFULFILLING…

The second challenge that I believe effects a large percentage of us is to go beyond periodic commitment

2024 IS GOING TO BE A VASTLY MORE PROFITABLE AND PRODUCTIVE YEAR IF YOU UP YOUR COMMITMENT TO GOD AND HIS HOUSE!

Some of you are simply a full commitment from finding your purpose. (PWTP)

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The Promise: Unexpected Blessing

This woman who has everything ups her commitment and asks for nothing in return.

And for a season she keeps serving with no return.

He periodically shows up and stays in the room her and her husband prepared for him.

The prophet eats, the prophet sleeps, the prophet leaves…she cleans his room and the cycle repeats…

She expected nothing in return…she was just doing this because it was the best way she could serve the God of heaven…

It seemed like that was all there was…

2 Kings 4:11–14 NKJV

And it happened one day that he came there, and he turned in to the upper room and lay down there. Then he said to Gehazi his servant, “Call this Shunammite woman.” When he had called her, she stood before him. And he said to him, “Say now to her, ‘Look, you have been concerned for us with all this care. What can I do for you? Do you want me to speak on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army?’ ” She answered, “I dwell among my own people.” So he said, “What then is to be done for her?” And Gehazi answered, “Actually, she has no son, and her husband is old.”

This woman expected nothing for her serving…but while she was serving, the man of God was having a conversation about her.

I believe there is a group in this room that needs to be challenged to get involved

I believe there is a group in this room that needs to be challenged to get commited

But I also believe there is a group in this room that needs to receive this promise from heaven.

2 Kings 4:15–17 NKJV

So he said, “Call her.” When he had called her, she stood in the doorway. Then he said, “About this time next year you shall embrace a son.” And she said, “No, my lord. Man of God, do not lie to your maidservant!” But the woman conceived, and bore a son when the appointed time had come, of which Elisha had told her.

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You’ve been serving faithfully

You’ve been giving faithfully

You’ve been praying, reading, living, and loving faithfully

You haven’t asked for anything in return…

But I felt a prophetic unction to declare that this time next year you’re going to be holding the fulfillment of a desire you didn’t even know you had…

It was the result of a conversation that she was not a part of that her greatest desire was brought to pass.

As you’re serving……

Heaven is having conversations about you

Romans 8:34 NKJV

Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.

You don’t know what to ask for…but God is going to put it in your life by this time next year.

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I challenge those of you who have not been church people get invovled

I challenge those of you who have been on the fringe to get commited

And I believe heaven would make a promise to those who serve or those who are about to choose to serve…This time next year, you will hold a desire you didn’t know you had.

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For some the greatest level of involvement you could experience is making things right with Jesus.

If you’re distant from God you don’t have to remain that way.