Do it Again!

Pray

Don Wilton has been the senior pastor of the First Baptist Church of Spartanburg, SC, for over 27 years. He is the founder and president of The Encouraging Word, reaching people internationally through television, radio, and the Internet. He has authored many books. And among other things served as Billy Graham’s pastor.

On one occasion when interviewing Dr. Billy Graham about his preaching preparation. Billly Graham insisted there were several components that went into each sermon. Pastor Don Wilton explains: “First, through his own personal witness, the way he conducts his life, his attitude toward life, his manner of speech, his conduct with other people. He believes very much—to the point that he has impressed this on me repeatedly—that what he has to say from the pulpit in crusades around the world is only seen in proportion to the life he lives outside the pulpit. So, for Graham, preaching begins with the very expression of his walk.

Billy also talks about the manner in which God called him. Graham speaks so much about the early days and how he came to know Christ and the impact of Mordecai Ham in relation to his call to preach. In the early days in Florida, when he was first given opportunities to preach, he would go out and preach his heart out to tree stumps. He would practice and rehearse his preaching repeatedly, believing so much that preaching was a spiritual art form molded in the heart of God by His Spirit.

The third component—the first being his person, the second being the fact God had called him—leads him to the actual act of preaching itself. One can only imagine how “the fear of the Lord” would come upon me as—time after another when I have traveled up to his home—Graham invariably would want to discuss my sermon from that previous Sunday. It’s gotten to the point after all these years that every week that is part of our discussion. He is so humble; he doesn’t want to discuss my sermons in terms of what I can do better. This man is so humble, his conversation is frequently punctuated with so much encouragement and affirmation that he never hesitates to point out to me the need for better illustration, for further explanation or understanding.

So, it seems to me that in the big picture of preaching, I think Graham would prioritize the following essential components in preaching. First, the matter of prayer. Next a deep and profound belief in God’s Word.

Finally, The work the Holy Spirit. Anything void of the presence and indwelling of God by His Holy Spirit in every regard concerning preaching, would again render everything he did futile and make what he was doing powerless. It would make everything powerless. Graham has a remarkably deep, holy respect for the indwelling presence of God the Holy Spirit. It permeates everything he does, and he believes the Holy Spirit not only draws alongside him as he preaches, but that the Holy Spirit infuses the very action and engagement of the preaching activity from the words he reads from God’s Holy Word to the manner with which those words are coined and phrased, to the intricacies of real-life illustration and application, to the actual sound of his voice, the tempo with which the message is delivered, the manner with which it is received by those who are listening.

He believes the gospel is overheard by the Spirit of God in the hearts of people and impressed into hearts only by the Spirit of God, which literally means it is the Holy Spirit who carries that word through the God-called person of prayer into the hearts of all who must hear the saving grace of God in Christ Jesus. I’ve heard Graham say, “No Spirit, no power. Take the Spirit out of my preaching, and I’ve got nothing to say.” So, it comes back to that essential ingredient. To the Holy Spirit.

We hear this story this morning, and many of us are familiar with the reverend Billy Graham. There’s a sense of deep appreciation for Billy Graham, but also for the former generation and their commitment to preaching the word of God. Yet as I read this article this week, I couldn’t help but hone in on the words of Billy Graham who stated… “No Spirit, no power. Take the Spirit out of my preaching, and I’ve got nothing to say.” And time after time, person after person, the Holy Spirit showed up… Dependable as always. Always wanting to move in the heart of Billy, to his mouth, to the ears that would receive… and ultimately to their hearts…

You see, what God did before… the previous week. The previous Sunday, the previous crusade… God did again. When God was faithful in the past, God was faithful in the present and the future.

And here’s the key though… Oftentimes, we hear marvelous stories with men like the late Billy Graham. Or perhaps men or women in the Bible, and we say, “wow, that was really something! God did a marvelous work in that person!” “God showed up in a big way for them.” “Must be nice…” “But God, he doesn’t seem to answer me like that.” Or “Well that’s great for them, but I don’t know if God Could really do that for me…”

And here’s what I want us to see this morning, is that God is unchanging. That 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. And what he’s done before, he will do again!

If you have your bibles, turn with me to the book of 2 Kings 4. And as your turning there, we will see this morning that What God has done before he will do it again in 1. Providing 2. Empathy (Compassion) 3. Raising from the dead.

1. Do it again in Providing (Provision)

Look with me at 2 Kings 4:1-7

1 The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the Lord. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.” 2 Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?” “Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a small jar of olive oil.”

3 Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. 4 Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.”5 She left him and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. 6 When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another one.” But he replied, “There is not a jar left.” Then the oil stopped flowing. 7 She went and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.”

We stop and consider the scripture for a moment and here’s what we find. A widow whose husband was a prophet is going to have her 2 boys taken from her. The widow’s husband, owed a certain amount of money to a lender. And when the husband, dies, as was common practice at the time… the lender could come and take the family members as slaves until either 1. the debt was paid in full… or until 2. the year of jubilee which was every 50 years. At which point, all debts were canceled.

And so, there is a massive problem at hand. For this woman, not only has her husband passed, but now her 2 boys are seemingly going to leave her as well. And mind you, this seems to be a righteous family. I mean verse 1 told us: “1 The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the Lord. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.” So, this man, and probably the whole family has revers the Lord. And yet, there’s a major problem.

And how does Elisha reply? What does he tell her to do? 2 Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?”… Here’s the key… she says: “Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a small jar of olive oil.” In other words, I’ve got nothing. (what am I supposed to do.) and what does Elisha tell her, go around the neighborhood, collect all the empty jars you can…then, take your you and your family inside the house… and pour that oil that you do have… into each of the jars.

And we’re not told how many jars were collected in total... whether it was 10, 20, 50, 100…whatever the number was… but here’s the beauty… this one jar of oil… filled all of those Jars. Church did a miracle that day. God provided.

But here’s the real miracle. You may be sitting there this morning and saying, hmm… I feel like I’ve heard this story before… this seems awfully familiar. Well over a month ago now, if you’ll recall there was a widow… with 1 son, who living in Zarephath. And this woman, in her mind was about to die. God sends Elijah to this widow, 1 kings 17:10-14 : 10 So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” 11 As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.”

12 “As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”

13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’”

And as you’ll recall from the story, the widow goes… she not only brings Elijah water, but she also makes him bread…and then God continues to supernaturally provide for her needs.

We fast forward several years… This time, there is another need. There is a poor family who this time, the sons are going to be taken from the widow… and the issue at hand is whether or not God will help this family through Elisha as he did through Elijah…

But here’s the point, going back to 2 Kings 4:6-7: When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another one.” But he replied, “There is not a jar left.” Then the oil stopped flowing. 7 She went and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.”

What’s the point… as God provided before… God provided again.

You see I’m reminded of a story I came across this week on the trust of a child. It explains: I remember watching a father play with his little boy, repeatedly throwing him in the air and catching him just before he hit the ground. The child is relaxed and having a great time saying, "Do it again! Do it again!"

I thought, If that was me, I 'd be scared out of my mind!

"Can you explain why he's so relaxed, even when he's out of control?" I asked the father.

"It's very simple," he said. "We have a history together. We've played this game before, and I've never dropped him."

For you as parents this morning… I’m sure you’ve played this game with your own children. And here’s the key, you’ve never dropped them. (Or hopefully you haven’t)

But you’re not looking to hurt your kids. Church, your father this morning knows what you need before you even ask… We can look throughout our lives at times that he has provided… and church, as he provided before… he will provide again.

You may not always have everything you want, but he’ll always take care of you.

2. Do it again in Empathy (Compassion)

8 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. 9 She said to her husband, “I know that this man who often comes our way is a holy man of God. 10 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.”

11 One day when Elisha came, he went up to his room and lay down there. 12 He said to his servant Gehazi, “Call the Shunammite.” So he called her, and she stood before him. 13 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.”

14 “What can be done for her?” Elisha asked. Gehazi said, “She has no son, and her husband is old.”

15 Then Elisha said, “Call her.” So he called her, and she stood in the doorway. 16 “About this time next year,” Elisha said, “you will hold a son in your arms.” “No, my lord!” she objected. “Please, man of God, don’t mislead your servant!” 17 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.

As we continue with the scripture, we see that Elisha will be used by God in the working of another miracle. We see that Elisha goes to Shunem or modern day solem. And there encounters a well-to-woman, in other words, she’s well off financially. And she urges, Elisha to stay for a meal... and then… goes on to ask her husband to outfit a room at their house, a guest room, specifically for Elisha.

Elisha, would frequently use this guest room. and on one occasion Elisha has his servant go and inquire of the women. Vs 12 tells us: Elisha… 12 He said to his servant Gehazi, “Call the Shunammite.” So he called her, and she stood before him. 13 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.”

14 “What can be done for her?” Elisha asked. Gehazi said, “She has no son, and her husband is old.”

Now listen, this woman and her husband weren’t looking for anything in return. They were just looking to be a blessing.

And we won’t discuss this too much, but I can’t help but think of the words of Proverbs 11:25 which says: The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed. So, there’s a lesson to be learned on hospitality and blessing others…

But again, the women and her husband weren’t looking for anything, but for whatever reason, God looked upon them, in their old age, and decided to bless them with a son.

Like Abraham and Sarah with the birth of Isaac, Or Manoah the father of Samson wife his wife, Or Elizabeth and Zacheriah, or the parents of john the Baptist… we see the lord enabled them to conceive.

You see we don’t know all the details of this Shunammite couple. We don’t know the hurt or heartache that was experienced by not having children… But what we do see, is God would give them a son… A son to carry on their family name, a son to maintain the family line, and a son to care for and love.

16 “About this time next year,” Elisha said, “you will hold a son in your arms.” “No, my lord!” she objected. “Please, man of God, don’t mislead your servant!” 17 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.

Friends, we don’t always understand why God allows one person to get pregnant, and the next to not… but we do know that He is good at all times. And that he empathizes with us and has compassion this morning. Friends do we trust him today?

3. Do it again in Raising from the dead

18 The child grew, and one day he went out to his father, who was with the reapers. 19 He said to his father, “My head! My head!” His father told a servant, “Carry him to his mother.” 20 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. 21 She went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, then shut the door and went out.

22 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.” 23 “Why go to him today?” he asked. “It’s not the New Moon or the Sabbath.” “That’s all right,” she said.

24 She saddled the donkey and said to her servant, “Lead on; don’t slow down for me unless I tell you.” 25 So she set out and came to the man of God at Mount Carmel. When he saw her in the distance, the man of God said to his servant Gehazi, “Look! There’s the Shunammite! 26 Run to meet her and ask her, ‘Are you all right? Is your husband all right? Is your child all right?’”

“Everything is all right,” she said.

27 When she reached the man of God at the mountain, she took hold of his feet. Gehazi came over to push her away, but the man of God said, “Leave her alone! She is in bitter distress, but the Lord has hidden it from me and has not told me why.” 28 “Did I ask you for a son, my lord?” she said. “Didn’t I tell you, ‘Don’t raise my hopes’?” 29 Elisha said to Gehazi, “Tuck your cloak into your belt, take my staff in your hand and run. Don’t greet anyone you meet, and if anyone greets you, do not answer. Lay my staff on the boy’s face.”

30 But the child’s mother said, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So he got up and followed her. 31 Gehazi went on ahead and laid the staff on the boy’s face, but there was no sound or response. So Gehazi went back to meet Elisha and told him, “The boy has not awakened.” 32 When Elisha reached the house, there was the boy lying dead on his couch. 33 He went in, shut the door on the two of them and prayed to the Lord. 34 Then he got on the bed and lay on the boy, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands. As he stretched himself out on him, the boy’s body grew warm. 35 Elisha turned away and walked back and forth in the room and then got on the bed and stretched out on him once more. The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes.

36 Elisha summoned Gehazi and said, “Call the Shunammite.” And he did. When she came, he said, “Take your son.” 37 She came in, fell at his feet and bowed to the ground. Then she took her son and went out.

As we stop and consider the scripture. I realize we just covered a lot of ground but here’s what I want us to see. The Shunammite women and her husband did not ask for this child to be born. I mean, when she first found out that she was going to be pregnant, it’s she was in complete disbelief. It’s like there’s no way I’m going to be pregnant. Still, that’s exactly what God had in store for her and her husband. God was going to bless them with a baby boy…

And the boy grew, and his dad is out with the reapers in the field, when all of a sudden... this boy life was interrupted. We don’t know the specific condition or medical issue…but his life is interrupted, and he comes down with a massive headache. So much so that it kills him.

And his mom, understandably so is probably immensely frustrated, and hurt, and trying to make sense of what’s taken place. And so how does she respond? She goes to Elisha. And pleads her frustration: She said: 28 “Did I ask you for a son, my lord?” she said. “Didn’t I tell you, ‘Don’t raise my hopes’?”

Elisha would go on to send his servant ahead with Elisha’s staff. And as we saw, the boy didn’t respond. So, vs 33 tells us Elisha: went to the women’s house. 33 He went in, shut the door on the two of them and prayed to the Lord. 34 Then he got on the bed and lay on the boy, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands. As he stretched himself out on him, the boy’s body grew warm. 35 Elisha turned away and walked back and forth in the room and then got on the bed and stretched out on him once more. The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes. 36 Elisha summoned Gehazi and said, “Call the Shunammite.” And he did. When she came, he said, “Take your son.”

You see here’s the point. When it seemed like the story was over. God would Use Elisha, to breath life into this couples only son. The story wasn’t over. This boy’s life had only just begun. By the way, this wasn’t the first time, that God had breathed life into a parent’s dead son.

In 1 kings 17 :17-23 17 Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing. 18 She said to Elijah, “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?”

19 “Give me your son,” Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. 20 Then he cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, have you brought tragedy even on this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?” 21 Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, let this boy’s life return to him!”

22 The Lord heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived. 23 Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, “Look, your son is alive!”

You see church here’s the point. God is the God of breathing life into what is dead. God is the God of completion. And wholeness. And putting things back together perfectly.

And here’s the key, what he did before… widow of Zarephath. He did for the Shunammite couple. And once more he did with his only son.

For as we’ll celebrate at the end of this month. We look to the words of Matthew 28:1-8 1 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. Goes on to say…

5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay

Communion