TOPIC: Honor The Anointed
MEMORISE: Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially they who labor in the word and doctrine. 1 Timothy 5:17
BIBLE READING: 2 Kings 4:8-17Open Heaven merchandise
8 And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread.
9 And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually.
10 Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick: and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither.
11 And it fell on a day, that he came thither, and he turned into the chamber, and lay there.
12 And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite. And when he had called her, she stood before him.
13 And he said unto him, Say now unto her, Behold, thou hast been careful for us with all this care; what is to be done for thee? wouldest thou be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the host? And she answered, I dwell among mine own people.
14 And he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi answered, Verily she hath no child, and her husband is old.
15 And he said, Call her. And when he had called her, she stood in the door.
16 And he said, About this season, according to the time of life, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, Nay, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thine handmaid.
17 And the woman conceived, and bare a son at that season that Elisha had said unto her, according to the time of life.
MESSAGE
In 2 Kings 1:9-15, Elijah was sitting on the mountaintop when a king sent 50 armed soldiers and a captain to arrest him. Physically, he looked defenceless, but when they tried to arrest him, he called down fire from heaven to roast all of them. When the king sent another 50 soldiers with their captain, they got roasted as well. The king didn’t relent, and he sent another batch of 50 soldiers and their captain. When they got to the mountain where Elijah was and saw the ashes of the two batches of soldiers that had been consumed by fire, the Bible says that the captain fell on his knees and begged the man of God to spare him. The angel of God then spoke to Elijah and said, “You can go with him.” What made the last captain’s case different is honor. He was able to succeed at what made the previous captains and soldiers to lose their lives because he honored the man of God.
My dear child, don’t despise an anointed man or woman of God; you might pay dearly for it. In 2 Kings 2:23-24, when some children mocked Elisha, they ended up being eaten by bears. When others are mocking men of God, never join them.
QUIZ: Who had the opportunity to kill God’s anointed but refused to take it?
KEY POINT
When you honor men of God, you honor their God.
HYMN 9 – Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise
1 Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
Almighty, victorious,
Thy great name we praise.
2 Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
Nor wanting, nor wasting, Thou rulest in might;
Thy justice like mountains high soaring above
Thy clouds which are fountains
of goodness and love.
3 To all life Thou givest, to both great and small;
In all life Thou livest, the true life of all;
We blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
And wither and perish, but nought changeth Thee.
4 Great Father of Glory, pure Father of Light
Thine angels adore Thee, all veiling their sight;
All laud we would render, O help Us to see:
‘Tis only the splendor of light hideth Thee.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Leviticus 1:1-3:17, Mark l:12
AUTHORS: PASTOR E.A ADEBOYE AND PASTOR FOLU ADEBOYE