Seeking the Lord's help and your
very prayerful attention for a little while this morning,
turn with me to the second book of Kings, chapter eight, and
reading verse five. The second book of Kings, chapter
eight, verse five. And it came to pass as he, that
is Gehazi, was telling the king how he, that is Elisha, had restored
a dead body to life that, behold, The woman, whose son he had restored
to life, cried to the king for her house and for her land. And Gehazi said, My lord, O king,
this is the woman, and this is her son, whom Elisha restored
to life. It has been with a measure of
frustration that I have sought the Lord for a word that's appropriate
to the circumstances, one that we are at the last day of this
year, and also we are on the verge of the new year, on the
eve of a new year, when our dear brother James will begin his
pastorate amongst us and I could not see as I sought for this
and I sought for that and this word Was laid upon my heart and
the context of it and I felt well there really is nothing
here appropriate to the circumstances but in the Lord's goodness there
has been some sweet meditation and I do trust that Time together
this morning May indeed be profitable one to the glory of God and and
two for the good of our never dying souls it's wonderful to
see how the Lord works isn't it Paul says that lovely verse
doesn't he my grace is sufficient for thee my strength is made
perfect in weakness and the lord knows just how much grace how
much grace how much of his strength is needed and as we commence
this chapter chapter eight we see that uh that elisha that
he's He understands from the Lord that the Lord has called
for a famine and the famine Is going to last for seven years
The famine is going to last for seven years now in in James and
also in the first book of Kings but in James and chapter 5 we
read of Elijah his predecessor and that James writes of Elijah
in chapter 5 and verse 17 Elias was a man subject to like passions
as we are and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain and it
rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six
months and so we see that Elijah Elijah that in his time there
was a famine for three and a half years Elisha, there's a famine
for double that amount of time. And as this second book of Kings
is opened up to us, we read of Elijah of Elijah and Elisha
that Elisha is to become Elijah's successor before he's taken up
into heaven and we read that Elisha asked this in the second
book of Kings chapter 2 and verse 9 and it came to pass when they
were gone over that Elijah said unto Elisha ask what I shall
do for thee before I be taken away from thee and Elisha said
i pray thee let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me now
that's remarkable isn't it friends that the lord he'll exercise
his people in what they what they desire and he'll exercise
them in proportion to the pathway in which he's appointed for them
to walk and as Elisha as Elisha that he has to preside over those
seven years of famine so the Lord granted him his request
that he granted him a double portion as one of our hymns puts
it we pray as in Elisha's case when great Elijah went may double
portions of thy grace to us who stay be sent and so as Elisha
that he asks for a double portion so he is granted he is granted
that But, friends, as we read, don't we? I believe it's of Asher,
isn't it? Thy shoes shall be iron and brass,
and as thy days, so shall thy strength be. in Deuteronomy chapter
33 in verse 24 of Asher he said let Asher be blessed with children
let him be Acceptable to his brethren and let him dip his
foot in oil thy shoes shall be iron and brass and as thy days
are So shall thy strength be. And that's it, dear friends.
When the Lord gives his people a promise, and that was a precious
promise, wasn't it? Asher was going to be greatly
blessed. He was going to be greatly blessed.
But he was going to know the ballast. He was going to know
the ballast. He was going to know the roughness
of the way. He was going to know that it
was thorny. He was going to know that there
would be tribulation. He was going to know that as
he walked the pathway that God had set for him, that it wouldn't
be an easy pathway. It was going to be a hard pathway. but the Lord would provide him
with that necessary grace, that necessary footwear. And so, thy shoes shall be iron
and brass, and as thy days, and notice, dear friends, it is as
thy days. It's not as thy months. It's not as the coming year unfolds. It's as thy days. It's as thy
days. How often, isn't it, that we,
on the enemy, he plays on us, doesn't he, as we begin to worry
well into the future, or into next month, or whatever it may
be. But the Lord has promised to
his people that it's as thy days. As thy days, so shall thy strength
be. There's a little quotation that
I came across which is a little quaint, but I think it well makes
the point that by the yard, life is hard. By the inch, It is a
cinch That's probably making it too easy a cinch that life
will never be that easy But it illustrates the point doesn't
it? It's to seek the Lord is to seek the Lord for help for
wisdom for strength for grace as My days even sometimes it
is isn't it as my hours as the next hour unfolds whatever that
situation is that he brings us into, that you may experimentally
be favoured with knowing that as my days, so shall my strength
be. you know tribulation trouble
that that man is born under trouble as the sparks fly upward dear
job said and he knew what he was talking about didn't he tribulation
is a normal part of life but just as thorns just as thorns
are a part of a rose it's a it's a normal normal thing but for
the people of God for the people of God he says my grace my grace
is sufficient for thee you know there's a story for the benefit
of the children there's a story of an alcoholic and oh he'd been
a desperate alcoholic but he was mercifully convicted of his
sin and he was led by faith to the Lord Jesus but oh he used
to crave and crave for alcohol And his daily prayer, his daily
prayer constantly was, Oh Lord, please help me just today. Oh Lord, please help me just
today to resist this awful thirst. And that's it, dear friends.
It was a daily thing for him. He knew that he needed the grace
of God. He knew that he needed the help
of God every single day to resist that which had taken hold of
him in his unregeneracy. You know, David, he says, doesn't
he, he mourns. He mourns on account of the sins
of his youth. And he says, remember, not the
sins of my youth. And I believe, dear friends,
that he's looking at that, not only just that God wouldn't remember
and bless God at the sins of our youth. Why, if we've been
redeemed with precious blood, they have been washed away, haven't
they? But they're still, oh, even 60
years later, or longer, however old we may be, they can still
rise up, can't they? And so it is for us to daily
pray, daily pray against those temptations as that alcoholic
did that he began each day with oh lord help me just today just
today to resist that awful thirst well and some of you know what
it is don't you to pray your way along to pray your way along
as we come as we come to the end of this
year as we come to the end of this year and you know there's
just been that clap of thunder hasn't there and hasn't God been
merciful to us that we've gone in this country for nearly 80
years without a war without conflict on our shores and just hearing
that clap of thunder completely unexpected and we think of that
which is going on in Gaza and Ukraine and the Lord has been
merciful to us how much we have to be thankful for and to raise
another Ebenezer as this year comes to a close, that in spite
of all the conflicts and those that have their eye of revenge,
of envy against our country in the form of Russia and China,
And yet the Lord, the Lord has been pleased still to protect
us though so undeserving. And so His grace, His grace is
sufficient for His dear people. His mercy is ever the same. His mercy is ever the same. Jesus Christ, the same yesterday,
and today, and forever. You know, in the 31st chapter of Deuteronomy,
and we will get to our text, the 31st chapter of Deuteronomy,
where Moses calls to Joshua, and how we would think of our
dear pastor now, as he takes up that great office. You know, it's no easy task. it's no easy task and people
we can be humanly speaking we can be so demanding and but but
the Moses he called to Joshua in the 31st chapter of Deuteronomy
and verse 7 and he said he said to him in the sight of all Israel
be strong and of a good courage. For thou must go with this people
unto the land which the Lord hath sworn unto their fathers
to give them, and thou shalt cause them to inherit it. And the Lord, he it is, that
doth go before thee. He will be with thee, He will
not fail thee, neither forsake thee, fear not, neither be dismayed. Now, dear friends, as we think
of this godly woman, this godly woman in our text, we read of
her, didn't we? We read of her great kindness
to the Lord's servant, to dear Elisha. We read of her that she
made a little room for him and for Gehazi, his servant, and
so that whenever they passed by they should have rest. And the Lord rewarded her. The
Lord rewarded her by blessing her with a child. And that was
tried. And the Lord helping me, I'll
seek to try and come back to that. But whilst the thought
is in my mind, which I hadn't thought of coming with, as having
just read that of Moses' word to Joshua. that the woman, that
the woman, we begin our chapter in chapter 8, don't we, of her,
that Elisha is so concerned for her, that she should be delivered
from this famine. And he says to her, he says,
Go, go thou and thine household, and sojourn, wheresoever thou
canst sojourn, for the Lord hath called for a famine, and it shall
also come upon the land seven years. And the woman arose, and
did after the saying of the men of God. And she went with her
household, and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven
years. Now, you know, we could, I think,
without stretching the point, that those of you that spent,
was it, eight years in Africa, that you spent eight years in
Africa, and I think for some of you still, you're homesick. You're homesick for Africa. The
Lord blessed you there, didn't he? You're up sticks. Some of
you weren't even born then. Some of you were born over there. But you upped sticks, didn't
you? In response to the word of the Lord, to the call of God. You upped sticks. You left family,
you left friends, and most hard of all, possibly, for dear James
and Elsie particularly, was you left your church. You left your
church. You know, when I was in India
in 2012, and it had been expected there would be a few of us going,
and very much last minute, it happened to be just myself. And
the orphanage was, a new orphanage that had been built was being
opened, and a Thanksgiving service to be held and there coming to
that and did indeed come were many many Hindus and I was sitting
in the pastor's house on my own just prior to the service and
I had a text message I think it's the first text message that
I'd ever had from James and it was such a word encouragement
I didn't even realize that he knew that I was in in India and
you know friends all the way that these things work don't
they he was clearly exercised as the Lord was beginning to
bring to pass that which he had been that exercise had been placed
in his heart whilst on honeymoon and you know and as I in my simple
way as I as I thought about these things and sought the Lord's
help in trying to understand why we're bringing this to you
this morning you know that this godly woman this godly woman
she'd been blessed with that child hadn't she she'd been blessed
with that child that she was childless it appears that the
lord had shut up her womb but the lord blessed her for her
goodness for her kindness to elisha And yet the Lord was pleased
in his wisdom that the child should die. That the child should
die. And you know, as I've thought
about that, and we read of the lad, didn't he? He said to his
father in that 19th verse of 2 Kings 4, my head, my head. And he said to a lad, carry him
to his mother. And when he had taken him and
brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon and
then died. And she went up and laid him
on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door upon him, and
went out. And she called unto her husband,
and said, Send me, I pray thee, one of the young men, and one
of the asses, that I may run to the man of God, and come again. And he said, Wherefore wilt thou
go to him to-day? It is neither new moon nor sabbath. And she said, It shall be well. That's all she said to him. That's
all she said to him. It shall be well. And you know,
as I've thought of that exercise of James on honeymoon, I don't
know how much or how little that he would have spoken to his new
bride about it. But I believe that there was
one thing, there was one thing, one obstacle, well there were
many no doubt, but one great obstacle. And that was that in
2008, that dear James, that he'd passed through the waters of
baptism. You know, we began that service
with that hymn, A beggar poor at mercy's door, lies such a
wretch as I. Not even 30, but he felt himself
to be a beggar. and you know dear friends I believe
it was three years later three years later that dear Elsie along
with Tom was constrained to go through the waters of baptism you know as that child died as
that child died but was raised to life again. Oh, we should
preach the gospel as well from this of Jesus. But as I see it
in that, you know, every one of us were born dead in trespasses
and in sins, dead. We all fell in Adam, all ripe
for an eternity in But you know that time comes. That time of the new birth. The new birth. That is being
quickened with spiritual life. Being quickened, blessed with
faith. Blessed with this glorious grace
that we have been seeking to speak of. But blessed with faith. Faith in Jesus. Our sins have
driven us as we were cursed under the law, condemned under the
holy law of God and hell truly became our portion and yet in
his good time and way that he was pleased to raise us up from
the pit of hell He brought me up out of a mirey pit. He brought me up out of a mirey
pit. He set me upon a rock, the rock
Christ Jesus. And friends, and it is when poor
sinners, that they are brought out of the deadness of sin. and favour with life, life in
a precious Jesus. And so as Elijah, as Elisha,
that he went, he went as she went to him. And he laid his staff, didn't
he? He laid his staff upon the child. We read in verse 32, And when
Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and
laid upon his bed. Friend, that was you and I, wasn't
it? Those of us that have been favoured
with living faith, we understand, don't we, that we were once as
dead, as dead as a doornail. And he went in therefore, and
shut the door upon them twine. and prayed unto the Lord. And he went up, and lay upon
the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes
upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands. And he stretched
himself upon the child, and the flesh of the child waxed warm. Then he returned, and walked
in the house, to and fro, and went up, and stretched himself
upon him, and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened
his eyes. And he called Gehazi and said,
call this Shunammite. So he called her. And when she
was coming unto him, he said, take up thy son. Then she went
in and fell at his feet and bowed herself to the ground. Oh, you
know, friends, there's no pride, is there? Spiritual pride is
a desperate thing, and if we're truly one of the Lord's people,
He'll deal with us. She was humbled, wasn't she?
As we said on Christmas Day, thy garden is the place where
pride dare not intrude, for if it could, it would soon be drowned. in Jesus precious blood and we
have to thank God don't we that when pride does rise up that
in his mercy that he drowns it in his in his precious blood
and so we continue don't we to be mourners mourners after a
precious Jesus mourning over our sins after a precious Jesus
well and so as we come there to our text that we read that
that this dear woman she'd gone she'd gone away she'd gone away
and just a while they thought is on my mind that and so dear
Dear Elsie, along with Tom, were baptized in 2011, and it was
2012 when James sent me that encouraging text. And then it
was very shortly after that that I believed that the thing was
made known to the church here, that they'd had a calling to
Africa. You see how the Lord works. And it's ordered, isn't it? He
orders it. He orders it. And as this woman,
this woman, she goes away. She goes away because of the
famine. And most strange of all places,
she goes to the Philistines. And friends, God's ways, they
are strange, aren't they? They are past finding out. Oh, I remember of dear James,
it was said of him, it's a harebrained idea. That was probably one of
the kind of things that was said. But you have to press on, don't
you, friend? You have to go. And he did go. And Elsie went. The family went. And how remarkable, dear friends,
that the woman comes back, the woman comes back after seven
years. And she comes back to see the
king. I gather that if you left your property, that it became
the state owned it. The state owned it and they would
have any income from it. It was quite a thing to get it
back. But she came back after seven
years. And she comes, she has to appeal
to the king. She has to appeal to the king
for her property. And it's, oh, this isn't coincidence,
is it? This is the way the Lord works. This is the way the Lord works. She'd known much hardship, doubtless,
in where she was amongst the Philistines. as dear James and
Elsie did, as well as much blessing in Kenya. Some of the ladies
were privileged a few months ago now to gather at our home
to hear Elsie speak a little of those experiences and what
the Lord had done in Africa and we trust that a similar meeting
may again be able to be held for any friends that would love
to hear. I understand there were no dry
eyes in that room on that afternoon. I think I've said to you before
that the first time that I heard a missionary speak she was a
missionary in that notorious jail in Colombia and she said
a lot of people have the idea that being a missionary is romantic
she said I can assure you that is anything but romantic Well,
doubtless, dear James and Elsie can testify to that. This woman came back, no coincidence,
no coincidence that she came back just as Gehazi, just as
Gehazi is having a conversation with the king. What was he having
a conversation about? That very woman's son. That very woman's son, the king
has been led to ask about this man, Elisha. And as he's telling
him about this remarkable resurrection of a son being brought to life, We read, it came to pass, as
he was telling the king how he had restored a dead body to life,
that, behold, the woman, whose son he had restored to life,
cried to the king for her house and for her land. And Gehazi
said, My lord, O king, this, this is the woman This is the
woman. The time has come. The time of
deliverance. This is the day that the Lord
has made. We will rejoice and be glad in
it. My Lord, O King, this is the
woman, and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life. No coincidence, friends. The
clock is incredibly slow. We won't keep you much longer.
And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed
unto her a certain officer, saying, Restore all that was hers, and
all the fruits of the field, since the day that she left the
land, even until now. and so dear friends after eight
years after eight years the family have returned there was that
exercise amongst the people of god regarding calling him and
what an exercise it was because it seemed an impossibility And
yet there was that exercise going on over there in Kenya. You know, as we think of that
summer when they were due to come over to us, all the arrangements
had been made, many engagements James had through several churches
and two or three here. But he was frustrated. It was
frustrated and they couldn't come because of the COVID restrictions. We'll come again in a year's
time, God willing. But then suddenly the Lord intervened
and at fairly short notice that they arrived just before Christmas. And the Lord, how the Lord works,
dear friends, no coincidences. that it was during some further
COVID restrictions, places of worship were allowed to open,
but there were several of the servants of God that because
James was with us, that rather than travel and with entertaining
and one thing and another, they would give way to James preaching
here. so that we were blessed I think
on seven different Lord's days and several times during the
week to sit under his ministry and that seed that was sown I
believe it had been sown in some of your hearts before that but
it began to germinate didn't it and that's how the Lord works
that's how he works in his goodness in his, in his. in his mysterious
ways in his mysterious ways and as we read just now that of that of Moses and Joshua and
Moses said Moses called unto Joshua in chapter 31 of Deuteronomy
and He said in verse 6, Be strong and of a good courage, for thou
must go with this people unto the land which the Lord hath
sworn unto their fathers to give them. You know, James and Elsie,
they knew they must go to Kenya. when I went out with him in 2013
to try and find this land that the Lord had laid on his heart. We were over there for two weeks
and we never did find the land. Oh, the word of the Lord is trite,
but remember it is as thy days, so shall thy strength be. And
the day before we were coming home after another fruitless
exercise in trying to find the land, he opened the car door,
he put his foot on the door sill, and he said, I love my church,
I love my family, I love my business, and I'm giving it all up, whatever
for? but you see he obeyed the voice,
well they both obeyed along with their family obeyed the voice
of the Lord and exactly a year exactly a
year to the day that we'd gone out together they flew out with
the family with a one-way ticket still not knowing where that
land was and they'd been over there for about three months and one night a visitor came
to say there's some land for sale and off they went the following
day and it was the very land, the very spot which had been
laid on James's heart all those years before. Thou must go with this people
unto the land which the Lord hath sworn unto their fathers
to give them, and thou shalt cause them to inherit it. And
the Lord, he it is, that doth go before thee. We need to be
very careful, don't we, when we question, when we question
the Lord's doings. The Lord, he it is, that doth
go before thee. And that little acorn, there
was nothing on that land. Nothing. It was barren. You couldn't
see anything. I thought, well, there's... When
I first went out there, I thought, well, there's nobody living around
here. And there, of course, dotted around just a little bit further,
these tiny little mud huts. You know, some of them, those
mud huts, have recently been destroyed. And you know, it's
cost an English money to rebuild a mud hut just 150 pounds. As James remarked, you couldn't
buy a window paying hardly for that here. But that's where they
live, in a mud hut. And the Lord said, He it is that
doth go before thee, he will be with thee, he will not fail
thee, neither forsake thee, fear not, neither be dismayed. This woman, this woman, what
a, oh what a, what a plight she's in. The Lord has blessed her. sent her away. Elisha, being
told by the Lord there's going to be a famine for seven years,
he seeks that she'll be looked after. But it appears she's lost
her husband. There's no mention of her husband.
She's lost her home. She's lost everything. She must
appeal to the king. And the response is, restore
all that was hers, and all the fruits of the field, since the
day that she left the land, even until now. Now, dear friends,
just in closing, and I trust that nothing I have said has
been out of place. Doubtless much will be said on
this coming Saturday, and there will be many visitors, but we
trust. But for us as a little fellowship
to finish this year on this note of praise and thanksgiving and
seeking to raise this Ebenezer. But you know there's something,
there's something that we as a people owe to be much in prayer. Restore all that was hers and
all the fruits of the field since the day that she left the land,
even until now. You will know that the family
are living with dear Marcus and Jenny, for which we give thanks,
but the need for a home is paramount may we each be much in prayer
that he and we know that he will work but he'll have he'll be
oh he'll be inquired off he'll be inquired off he's done the
impossible with bringing them back but now it seems to be an
even greater mountain but this woman's mountain was brought
to a plane as she was directed to the king just at the time
that he was inquiring after her son being raised. And so everything
was restored. Well, dear friends, may we be
helped perhaps this evening that we haven't brought the gospel
out, so we've got to do that from this little text this evening,
the Lord helping us. Amen. Closing hymn this morning is
from Hymns for Worship number 29. Hymns for Worship number
29. Standing at the portal of the
opening year, words of comfort meet us, hushing every fear. Spoken through the silence by
our Father's voice, tender, strong, and faithful, making us rejoice
onward then, and fear not, children of the day, for his word shall
never, never pass away. Hymns for worship number 29. Standing at the portal of the
opening year, words of comfort meet us, hatching every fear. Spoken through the silence, ?
Higher Father's voice ? ? Tender, strong, and faithful, making
us rejoice ? ? Onward then, and fear not, children of the day
? for all his works shall never, never pass away. I the Lord am with you, be not
then afraid. I will keep and strengthen be
not then dismayed. Yes, I will uphold you with my
own right hand. You are called and chosen in
my sight to stand. Onward then, and fear not, children
of the day.