Hold on to God-given dreams! – 2 Kings 4:8, 16-22, 32-37
Hold on to God-given dreams! – 2 Kings 4:8, 16-22, 32-37
By Pastor Lee Hemen
September 18, 2018
A prominent woman in Shunem invited Elisha to stay with her and her husband when he passed through. She was deeply spiritual and an example of one who lived by faith. Elisha was appreciative of the woman’s hospitality. When asked what Elisha could do for her, she replied she and her husband were prosperous and did not need anything. Elisha’s servant Gehazi mentioned they did not have a son. Elisha told her that next year she would be hugging a son in her arms. God promised a son a desire that came from her heart. God’s promise to this woman would come true because God made the promise through his prophet. Big God-inspired dreams like this one can come true.
What is your biggest dream? Do you believe it is based on your desires or the Lord’s will? Why do you think so? For some, it’s owning a home, for others a good job or education, it could be retirement or having children and grandchildren. Have you ever asked God what his dream might be for your life? The passage we will look at today teaches us to hold on to God-given dreams!
READ: 2 Kings 4:8, 16-22, 32-37
When I was younger one of my big dreams was to fly jets off an aircraft carrier, to be a Navy pilot. However my dream, although almost came true, did not due to circumstances. Later, after the Lord got a hold of my life his dream for my life came true. Here in the life of Elisha we discover that when we hold on to God-given dreams…
I. God gives us what we don’t expect when we expect it! (2 Kings 4:8, 16-17)
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… “About this time next year,” Elisha said, “you will hold a son in your arms.” “No, my lord,” she objected. “Don’t mislead your servant, O man of God!” 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.
1. A gracious spirit is always seen by God as a wonderful attribute. This woman wasn’t gracious simply to be nice she was this way because of her faith. The Spirit of God had influenced her life and actions. She had wealth, power in her local community, and prominence. People respected her and her husband not just because of their position but because of their actions and attitudes. So “One day [when] Elisha went to Shunem” this “well-to-do woman was there, who urged him to stay for a meal”. This woman did not do what she did for fame or personal recognition; she did it because she loved the Lord. Therefore “whenever he came by, he stopped there to eat”. Little did this wonderful woman know but her love of God and her sweet spirit was going to be rewarded. God rewards those who willingly and lovingly serve him and he does it according to his timing and will. “About this time next year,” Elisha said, “you will hold a son in your arms.” There are those who falsely suggest or teach that God will bless someone financially if they follow a certain set of rules or guidelines. Of course only they know what they are and will teach you if you’re willing to give to them first of all. It is all theological hogwash. This lady could not believe what she was hearing because she never expected to be blessed so she cries out “Don’t mislead your servant, O man of God!” I do not believe she doubted God or his prophet she simply could not believe the Lord would want to bless her because of her gracious spirit! “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.” When we hold on to God-given dreams we discover God gives us what we don’t expect when we expect it!
EXAMPLE: I knew of a couple who desired to have children but later in their marriage learned that neither of them could. Others tried to encourage them and some even falsely claimed that all they needed to do was to claim the promise of the Shunammite woman here in this passage. There was just one huge problem; the promise here in this passage was for a specific person for a specific time to bring God glory and not for anyone else to claim. Yet “He settles the barren woman in her home as a happy mother of children. Praise the LORD. (Psalms 113:9 NIV)” The couple held on to their desire to have children and God blessed them later with a baby girl. God did not do it the way anyone expected but just like the Shunammite woman they learned that when we hold on to God-given dreams we discover God gives us what we don’t expect when we expect it!
There are those who often declare, “This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalms 118:24 NIV)” not fully realizing this is a declaration for the coming Messiah and not the actual day they are experiencing. Sure we can remember the truth to rejoice in each day because God does indeed give them to us but we need to be reminded God’s view of things is much bigger than our own. In fact, when we have God-given dreams we must realize that God’s plans are bigger then our dreams!
II. God’s plans are bigger then our dreams! (2 Kings 4:18-22)
The child grew, and one day he went out to his father, who was with the reapers. “My head! My head!” he said to his father. His father told a servant, “Carry him to his mother.” 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. She went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, then shut the door and went out. 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.”
1. This family had been blessed by God beyond their wildest dreams. They had a producing farm and a grand little boy who often went out and joined his father in the fields. In fact, “The child grew, and one day he went out to his father, who was with the reapers.” However when he had gotten there something became physically wrong, “My head! My head!” he said to his father. Often times when bad things happen to us we cannot see past our grief. Yet often in our worst times in life God can and does work miracles, we just have to realize it. The father immediately tells a nearby servant, “Carry him to his mother.” The father surely may not have understood that the boy was seriously ill. The son is taken to his mother and “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.” The little boy died from what probably was sunstroke. The boy’s condition was much more serious than the father had realized. The child of their dreams died in his mother’s arms. How tragic and sad. The mother’s actions reveal much about her faith. When she saw her son had died, she refused to accept his death as final. She took him up to the prophet’s room on the roof and laid him on the bed of the man of God “then shut the door and went out”. Her first thought was to turn to God by turning to Elisha and his room was the nearest thing right now she could get to his presence. Evidently she knew that he would come and help her in her grief. She does not share with her husband right away about their son’s death but 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.’” Because she turned to God to seek his will, the woman did not take part in the normal grief process. People would mourn the death of a loved one many days. Often, they would tear their clothing, put on sackcloth and ashes, and weep and weep often with the aid of hired professional mourners. This woman did none of these customary actions. Later (v. 23) we learn that the mother would not leave Elisha’s side until he agreed to go home with her. She decided that whatever happened she would depend on God. When we have God-given dreams we must realize that God’s plans are bigger then our dreams!
EXAMPLE: To lose a child is the hardest thing I can imagine and especially an only child. Of course any child lost is horrible but the grief involved is hard to imagine. Children were considered a gift of God and rightly so. When a family goes through this kind of grief it is often difficult for them to see the outcome or how God could be working. Sometimes folks can become so despondent or depressed that they withdraw from the world or loved ones during this time of sadness. Yet the wonderful truth is that God indeed does understand our grief and our loss. Yet many times we learn later on that when we have God-given dreams we must realize that God’s plans are bigger then our dreams!
When we hold on to our God-given dreams we learn that…
III. God follows through! (2 Kings 4:32-37)
When Elisha reached the house, there was the boy lying dead on his couch. He went in, shut the door on the two of them and prayed to the LORD. Then he got on the bed and lay upon the boy, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands. As he stretched himself out upon him, the boy’s body grew warm. Elisha turned away and walked back and forth in the room and then got on the bed and stretched out upon him once more. The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes. Elisha summoned Gehazi and said, “Call the Shunammite.” And he did. When she came, he said, “Take your son.” She came in, fell at his feet and bowed to the ground. Then she took her son and went out.
1. Her faith, tenacity, and gracious spirit shine through and get the results she hoped for. Elisha agreed to go back to her home with her to see what God would do. When they get there nothing has changed: “When Elisha reached the house, there was the boy lying dead on his couch.” Dead is dead and her little boy had died. Some want you to think that perhaps he had swooned, was in a coma, or that he had simply fainted. He hadn’t. But then the prophet does something unusual, Elisha goes into his room and “shut the door on the two of them and prayed to the LORD”. Elisha did not need grieving parents he needed to be alone with the Lord so he could focus on the task at hand. I am always amused by those who try to teach that there are specific formulas to follow that are found within the pages of Scripture. There are none because God works with each of us as individuals and what worked for Elisha then would not work for anyone else now. “Then he got on the bed and lay upon the boy, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands. As he stretched himself out upon him, the boy’s body grew warm. Elisha turned away and walked back and forth in the room and then got on the bed and stretched out upon him once more.” No mystical or magical power was given off by Elisha’s physical touch; he simply was following what God told him when he spoke with him. While Elisha did pray like his mentor Elijah would have done and interceded with the Lord, he did not follow a prophetic formula to revive the dead. It shows his intimate relationship with the Lord had developed. Everything in the text suggests everything the prophet did was in the spirit of prayer and looking in faith to the Lord. To show Elisha and the others that God had answered his prayers “The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes.” Again, some suggest that 7 is a mystical number and while it carries significance in Hebraic theology for God working we dare not read too much into the number ourselves. Elisha then “summoned Gehazi and said, ‘Call the Shunammite.’ And he did. When she came, he said, ‘Take your son.’ She came in, fell at his feet and bowed to the ground.” Wow! The mother had laid the boy on the prophet’s bed as a corpse; she picked him up again as her living son whom God had raised from the dead! When we hold on to our God-given dreams we learn that God follows through!
EXAMPLE: The young couple I told you about earlier decided to adopt a child. After that decision they were told by others not to worry God would make the wife pregnant because that’s what happened to someone somewhere they knew about. Of course this happens to less than 1% of those who adopt. And others warned them to let God be God and he would work it out. If they were meant to have children they would and if not, then that was God’s will. Yet again the couple held on to what God had already told them through his word and prayer, “He settles the barren woman in her home as a happy mother of children. Praise the LORD. (Psalms 113:9 NIV)” They adopted a wonderful daughter and now have grandchildren. Like the Shunammite woman they discovered that when we hold on to our God-given dreams we learn that God follows through!
Conclusion:
When we hold on to God-given dreams we discover God gives us what we don’t expect when we expect it! When we have God-given dreams we must realize that God’s plans are bigger then our dreams! When we hold on to our God-given dreams we learn that God follows through!
----
This article is copyrighted © 2018 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission.
By Pastor Lee Hemen
September 18, 2018
A prominent woman in Shunem invited Elisha to stay with her and her husband when he passed through. She was deeply spiritual and an example of one who lived by faith. Elisha was appreciative of the woman’s hospitality. When asked what Elisha could do for her, she replied she and her husband were prosperous and did not need anything. Elisha’s servant Gehazi mentioned they did not have a son. Elisha told her that next year she would be hugging a son in her arms. God promised a son a desire that came from her heart. God’s promise to this woman would come true because God made the promise through his prophet. Big God-inspired dreams like this one can come true.
What is your biggest dream? Do you believe it is based on your desires or the Lord’s will? Why do you think so? For some, it’s owning a home, for others a good job or education, it could be retirement or having children and grandchildren. Have you ever asked God what his dream might be for your life? The passage we will look at today teaches us to hold on to God-given dreams!
READ: 2 Kings 4:8, 16-22, 32-37
When I was younger one of my big dreams was to fly jets off an aircraft carrier, to be a Navy pilot. However my dream, although almost came true, did not due to circumstances. Later, after the Lord got a hold of my life his dream for my life came true. Here in the life of Elisha we discover that when we hold on to God-given dreams…
I. God gives us what we don’t expect when we expect it! (2 Kings 4:8, 16-17)
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… “About this time next year,” Elisha said, “you will hold a son in your arms.” “No, my lord,” she objected. “Don’t mislead your servant, O man of God!” 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.
1. A gracious spirit is always seen by God as a wonderful attribute. This woman wasn’t gracious simply to be nice she was this way because of her faith. The Spirit of God had influenced her life and actions. She had wealth, power in her local community, and prominence. People respected her and her husband not just because of their position but because of their actions and attitudes. So “One day [when] Elisha went to Shunem” this “well-to-do woman was there, who urged him to stay for a meal”. This woman did not do what she did for fame or personal recognition; she did it because she loved the Lord. Therefore “whenever he came by, he stopped there to eat”. Little did this wonderful woman know but her love of God and her sweet spirit was going to be rewarded. God rewards those who willingly and lovingly serve him and he does it according to his timing and will. “About this time next year,” Elisha said, “you will hold a son in your arms.” There are those who falsely suggest or teach that God will bless someone financially if they follow a certain set of rules or guidelines. Of course only they know what they are and will teach you if you’re willing to give to them first of all. It is all theological hogwash. This lady could not believe what she was hearing because she never expected to be blessed so she cries out “Don’t mislead your servant, O man of God!” I do not believe she doubted God or his prophet she simply could not believe the Lord would want to bless her because of her gracious spirit! “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.” When we hold on to God-given dreams we discover God gives us what we don’t expect when we expect it!
EXAMPLE: I knew of a couple who desired to have children but later in their marriage learned that neither of them could. Others tried to encourage them and some even falsely claimed that all they needed to do was to claim the promise of the Shunammite woman here in this passage. There was just one huge problem; the promise here in this passage was for a specific person for a specific time to bring God glory and not for anyone else to claim. Yet “He settles the barren woman in her home as a happy mother of children. Praise the LORD. (Psalms 113:9 NIV)” The couple held on to their desire to have children and God blessed them later with a baby girl. God did not do it the way anyone expected but just like the Shunammite woman they learned that when we hold on to God-given dreams we discover God gives us what we don’t expect when we expect it!
There are those who often declare, “This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalms 118:24 NIV)” not fully realizing this is a declaration for the coming Messiah and not the actual day they are experiencing. Sure we can remember the truth to rejoice in each day because God does indeed give them to us but we need to be reminded God’s view of things is much bigger than our own. In fact, when we have God-given dreams we must realize that God’s plans are bigger then our dreams!
II. God’s plans are bigger then our dreams! (2 Kings 4:18-22)
The child grew, and one day he went out to his father, who was with the reapers. “My head! My head!” he said to his father. His father told a servant, “Carry him to his mother.” 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. She went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, then shut the door and went out. 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.”
1. This family had been blessed by God beyond their wildest dreams. They had a producing farm and a grand little boy who often went out and joined his father in the fields. In fact, “The child grew, and one day he went out to his father, who was with the reapers.” However when he had gotten there something became physically wrong, “My head! My head!” he said to his father. Often times when bad things happen to us we cannot see past our grief. Yet often in our worst times in life God can and does work miracles, we just have to realize it. The father immediately tells a nearby servant, “Carry him to his mother.” The father surely may not have understood that the boy was seriously ill. The son is taken to his mother and “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.” The little boy died from what probably was sunstroke. The boy’s condition was much more serious than the father had realized. The child of their dreams died in his mother’s arms. How tragic and sad. The mother’s actions reveal much about her faith. When she saw her son had died, she refused to accept his death as final. She took him up to the prophet’s room on the roof and laid him on the bed of the man of God “then shut the door and went out”. Her first thought was to turn to God by turning to Elisha and his room was the nearest thing right now she could get to his presence. Evidently she knew that he would come and help her in her grief. She does not share with her husband right away about their son’s death but 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.’” Because she turned to God to seek his will, the woman did not take part in the normal grief process. People would mourn the death of a loved one many days. Often, they would tear their clothing, put on sackcloth and ashes, and weep and weep often with the aid of hired professional mourners. This woman did none of these customary actions. Later (v. 23) we learn that the mother would not leave Elisha’s side until he agreed to go home with her. She decided that whatever happened she would depend on God. When we have God-given dreams we must realize that God’s plans are bigger then our dreams!
EXAMPLE: To lose a child is the hardest thing I can imagine and especially an only child. Of course any child lost is horrible but the grief involved is hard to imagine. Children were considered a gift of God and rightly so. When a family goes through this kind of grief it is often difficult for them to see the outcome or how God could be working. Sometimes folks can become so despondent or depressed that they withdraw from the world or loved ones during this time of sadness. Yet the wonderful truth is that God indeed does understand our grief and our loss. Yet many times we learn later on that when we have God-given dreams we must realize that God’s plans are bigger then our dreams!
When we hold on to our God-given dreams we learn that…
III. God follows through! (2 Kings 4:32-37)
When Elisha reached the house, there was the boy lying dead on his couch. He went in, shut the door on the two of them and prayed to the LORD. Then he got on the bed and lay upon the boy, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands. As he stretched himself out upon him, the boy’s body grew warm. Elisha turned away and walked back and forth in the room and then got on the bed and stretched out upon him once more. The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes. Elisha summoned Gehazi and said, “Call the Shunammite.” And he did. When she came, he said, “Take your son.” She came in, fell at his feet and bowed to the ground. Then she took her son and went out.
1. Her faith, tenacity, and gracious spirit shine through and get the results she hoped for. Elisha agreed to go back to her home with her to see what God would do. When they get there nothing has changed: “When Elisha reached the house, there was the boy lying dead on his couch.” Dead is dead and her little boy had died. Some want you to think that perhaps he had swooned, was in a coma, or that he had simply fainted. He hadn’t. But then the prophet does something unusual, Elisha goes into his room and “shut the door on the two of them and prayed to the LORD”. Elisha did not need grieving parents he needed to be alone with the Lord so he could focus on the task at hand. I am always amused by those who try to teach that there are specific formulas to follow that are found within the pages of Scripture. There are none because God works with each of us as individuals and what worked for Elisha then would not work for anyone else now. “Then he got on the bed and lay upon the boy, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands. As he stretched himself out upon him, the boy’s body grew warm. Elisha turned away and walked back and forth in the room and then got on the bed and stretched out upon him once more.” No mystical or magical power was given off by Elisha’s physical touch; he simply was following what God told him when he spoke with him. While Elisha did pray like his mentor Elijah would have done and interceded with the Lord, he did not follow a prophetic formula to revive the dead. It shows his intimate relationship with the Lord had developed. Everything in the text suggests everything the prophet did was in the spirit of prayer and looking in faith to the Lord. To show Elisha and the others that God had answered his prayers “The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes.” Again, some suggest that 7 is a mystical number and while it carries significance in Hebraic theology for God working we dare not read too much into the number ourselves. Elisha then “summoned Gehazi and said, ‘Call the Shunammite.’ And he did. When she came, he said, ‘Take your son.’ She came in, fell at his feet and bowed to the ground.” Wow! The mother had laid the boy on the prophet’s bed as a corpse; she picked him up again as her living son whom God had raised from the dead! When we hold on to our God-given dreams we learn that God follows through!
EXAMPLE: The young couple I told you about earlier decided to adopt a child. After that decision they were told by others not to worry God would make the wife pregnant because that’s what happened to someone somewhere they knew about. Of course this happens to less than 1% of those who adopt. And others warned them to let God be God and he would work it out. If they were meant to have children they would and if not, then that was God’s will. Yet again the couple held on to what God had already told them through his word and prayer, “He settles the barren woman in her home as a happy mother of children. Praise the LORD. (Psalms 113:9 NIV)” They adopted a wonderful daughter and now have grandchildren. Like the Shunammite woman they discovered that when we hold on to our God-given dreams we learn that God follows through!
Conclusion:
When we hold on to God-given dreams we discover God gives us what we don’t expect when we expect it! When we have God-given dreams we must realize that God’s plans are bigger then our dreams! When we hold on to our God-given dreams we learn that God follows through!
----
This article is copyrighted © 2018 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission.
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