Sermon Tone Analysis

*HYMN*---“Trust and Obey”---*#22*

 

*HYMN*---“Tell it to Jesus”---*#27*

 

†*2 Kings 4:1-7* (NKJV)1 A certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord.

And the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves.” 2 So Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you?

Tell me, what do you have in the house?”

And she said, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.” 3 Then he said, “Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors—empty vessels; do not gather just a few. 4 And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones.”

5 So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons, who brought /the vessels/ to her; and she poured /it/ out.

6 Now it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.”

And he said to her, “/There is/ not another vessel.”

So the oil ceased.

*7 **Then she came and told the man of God.

And he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt; and you /and/ your sons live on the rest.”*

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†? Have you ever felt like throwing in the towel & quitting?~/

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†? Have you ever come to your wit’s end?

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†? Are you there now, ready to give up?

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†When the curtain lifts in 2 Kings chapter 4, à

 a scene of misery, impoverishment, and despair à

 is brought before us.

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†As the story progresses, however, à

 this widow finds the way from rags to riches.~/

†*1.

*As we begin in verse 1 we see that à

*The Trouble Was Brought to Elisha.~/*

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†1 A certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord.

And the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves.”

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†By turning to God’s prophet, Elisha, à

 this woman was turning to God in her trouble; à

 Elisha was God’s representative.

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†She brought her problems to Elisha /fervently/, à

 she “cried out” indicating her desperation.

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†She also stated her problems /frankly/, à

 honestly relating the facts.

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†She conveyed her problems /fully/, à

 telling her whole story to Elisha.

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†? Do you bring your problems to the Lord this way?

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†Let’s take a look at her problems:~/

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†*A. *This family in *2 Kings 4:1-7 *faced *death.*~/

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† “Your servant my husband is dead,

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†Her human /provider/, her human /protector/, à

 her human /partner/ was gone and she felt it!

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†The Hebrew language contains at least 30 words à

 that describe various kinds of trouble.

~/

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†? What kind of trouble are you in? ~/

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†? Have you brought that trouble & laid it at the Savior’s feet?~/

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†*B.*This family in *2 Kings 4:1-7 *faced *death.

*&à

 They also faced *Debt*.~/

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†And the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves.”

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†This woman had seen all her belongings sold à

 to meet the demands of her creditor, à

 and now she faced the dreadful possibility à

 of having to part with her two sons.

~/

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†All that was left in her home was a pot of oil! ~/

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†? Is your problem financial?

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†Maybe you are like me and many others who are worried à

 about your retirement savings wasting away à

 with the wall street meltdown this month.~/

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†*C.*This family in *2 Kings 4:1-7 **à*

 faced death, debt, and possibly:à

* There Was Doubt in the Family.~/*

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†1 A certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord.

And the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves.”

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†The language of verse 1 hints that à

 this woman was perplexed, perhaps even à

 questioning God’s wisdom in allowing such affliction à

 to fall upon her home.

~/

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†? Are your circumstances causing you à

 to question His Wisdom and doubt His Love?~/

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†This family in *2 Kings 4:1-7 **à*

 faced death, debt, and possibly:à*Doubt.~/*

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†*2.*

This women expressed her concerns & troubles à

 to Elisha, and Elisha gave to her *the truth.~/*

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†2 So Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you?

Tell me, what do you have in the house?”

And she said, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.” 3 Then he said, “Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors—empty vessels; do not gather just a few. 4 And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones.”

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†Here was a preacher with a genuine concern for this widow.~/

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†Now it should not surprise us that this Prophetà

 This preacher Elisha, this man of God,à

 would show genuine concern for this widow.~/

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†*Psalm 68:5* (NKJV)5 A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, /Is/ God in His holy habitation.

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†*Psalm 146:9* (NKJV)9 The Lord watches over the strangers; He relieves the fatherless and widow; But the way of the wicked He turns upside down.

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†*Deuteronomy **10:18* (NKJV)18 He administers justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing.

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†? Do you have a /heart of compassion /and à

 a /hand of practical helpfulness /for orphans and widows?~/

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†Paul wrote in *1 Timothy 5:3* (NIV)3 Give proper recognition to those widows who are really in need.

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†James wrote in *James 1:27* (NKJV)27 Pure & undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans & widows in their trouble, /and/ to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

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†I know some of you might be thinking, à

 ? what is he talking about  “I’m a widow”?~/

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†My response to you is just this you of all people à

 should know exactly what I’m talking about.~/

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†Elisha gave this widow his full attention.

~/

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†At this stage, however, à

 the situation does not look promising.~/

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†The only thing of value she has is a little flask à

 containing a little oil! ~/

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†But folks, this little flask containing a little oilà

 proved to be the key to the situation!

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†God, through Elisha, was trying to teach her à

 The very principles we should also learn as well:~/

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†*A.*The 1st principle God was trying to teach her wasà

*She Had to Do as She Was Told.~/*

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†5 So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons, who brought /the vessels/ to her; and she poured /it/ out.