Melbourne New Church (VIC)

SUMMARY OF MESSAGES

2 Kings 4:8-37

The Upper Room

One day Elisha was passing through Shunem, where a wealthy woman lived, who urged him to have a meal. So whenever he passed that way, he would stop there for a meal. She said to her husband, “Look, I am sure that this man who regularly passes our way is a holy man of God. Let us make a small roof chamber with walls, and put there for him a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp, so that he can stay there whenever he comes to us.”

One day when he came there, he went up to the chamber and lay down there. He said to his servant Gehazi, “Call the Shunammite woman.” When he had called her, she stood before him. He said to him, “Say to her, ‘Since you have taken all this trouble for us, what may be done for you? Would you have a word spoken on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army?’” She answered, “I live among my own people.” He said, “What then may be done for her?” Gehazi answered, “Well, she has no son, and her husband is old.” He said, “Call her.” When he had called her, she stood at the door. He said, “At this season, in due time, you shall embrace a son.” She replied, “No, my lord, O man of God: do not deceive your servant.”

The woman conceived and bore a son at that season, in due time, as Elisha had declared to her.

When the child was older, he went out one day to his father among the reapers. He complained to his father, “Oh, my head, my head!” The father said to his servant, “Carry him to his mother.” He carried him and brought him to his mother; the child sat on her lap until noon, and he died. She went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, closed the door on him and left. Then she called to her husband, and said, “Send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys, so that I may quickly go to the man of God and come back again.” He said, “Why go to him today? It is neither new moon nor Sabbath.” She said, “It will be all right.” Then she saddled the donkey and said to her servant, “Urge the animal on; do not hold back for me unless I tell you.” So she set out, and came to the man of God at Mount Carmel.

When the man of God saw her coming, he said to Gehazi his servant, “Look, there is the Shunammite woman; run at once to meet her, and say to her, Are you all right? Is your husband all right? Is the child all right?” She answered, “It is all right.” When she came to the man of God at the mountain, she caught hold of his feet. Gehazi approached to push her away. But the man of God said, “Let her alone, for she is in bitter distress; the Lord has hidden it from me and has not told me.” Then she said, “Did I ask my lord for a son? Did I not say, do not mislead me?” He said to Gehazi, “Gird up your loins, and take my staff in your hand, and go. If you meet anyone, give no greeting, and if anyone greets you, do not answer; and lay my staff on the face of the child.” Then the mother of the child said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave without you.” So he rose up and followed her. Gehazi went on ahead and laid the staff on the face of the child, but there was no sound or sign of life. He came back to meet him and told him, “The child has not awakened.”

When Elisha came into the house, he saw the child lying dead on his bed. So he went in and closed the door on the two of them, and prayed to the Lord. Then he got up on the bed and lay upon the child, putting his mouth upon h s eyes, and his hands upon his hand; and while he lay bent over him, the flesh of the child became warm. He got down, walked once to and fro in the room, then got up again and bent over him; the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. Elisha summoned Gehazi and said, “Call the Shunammite woman”. So he called her. When she came to him, he said, “Take your son.” She came and fell at his feet, bowing to the ground; then she took her son and left.”

Although the message looks at the whole passage, generally we are focussing on the first few verses. The woman met Elisha and asks her husband to build an upper room so that he can stay when he comes past that way. This passage is talking about a developing relationship with the Lord. Elisha visited the small town and the woman took him in. Have you ever been taken in when you had nowhere to go? Or, have you shown concern for others in difficult circumstances?

The Lord always presents us with opportunities to demonstrate ways in which we show kindness to others and these can come at any time and we need to respond. As the woman got to know Elisha better, it was then that she felt moved to build the upper chamber or room in her house.

We should not just see this from a literal point of view; we should see its spiritual significance. We should recognise it as symbolising the various parts of our mind, with the upper room being a very special place where the Lord can be with us. We know that the Lord met with the disciples in an upper room to eat the Passover and appeared to them after his crucifixion in an upper room. The upper room then has great significance when it is mentioned.

Not only was an upper room to be prepared for him but it was to be furnished. The special place that we make for the Lord must also be furnished. In other words, we should not have a vacant mind that is barren of thoughts, truth and love.

The furnishings included a lamp stand, bed, table and chairs. The lamp stand represents light and if this special place for the Lord is to be effective, we must have light in other words - enlightenment from the truth that we learn from the Lord's Word and use in our life. Spiritually, the bed is the truth we lay on the things we rest on our ideas - concepts which form the bedrock of our life.

The table is the thing used to place things and food upon for Elisha. It is also the reception of heavenly blessing just as we come before the 'Communion' table to be fed by the Lord spiritually. Chairs are a place where we sit where we feel comfortable - a state of acceptance of what the Lord has to offer us and a place of contentment in being able to be useful in taking what we know and using it for the benefit of others.

The woman received the blessing of a child which symbolises new life and a change in the way we think and act. We know that the child died and Elisha brought it back to life by lying on it. This is another example of the way the Lord will come close to us and revive us or instil new life in us.

The woman was always ready for the prophet who represented the Lord. Do you have a special place which is always made ready for the Lord? Perhaps we still need to prepare an upper room so that we are in readiness should he come to visit.

The Lord visits us in all sorts of ways. It may be a situation which we need to respond to or a striking quote which needs us to take action on. The Lord comes knocking at all sorts of times - we need to be prepared.

Suggested Application during the week

Be aware this week of things that happen which may be the Lord trying to speak to us and be ready to respond. The presence of the Lord is in little things as well as the big ones.

Judges 16:28 (also whole chapter)

Samson & Delilah

Then Samson prayed to the Lord, “O Sovereign Lord, remember me. O God, please strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes”.

The story of Samson and Delilah is one of the best known in the Word and our text occurs when Samson prays to the Lord after being stripped of his hair and being taunted by the Philistines. He seeks the Lord's help because he feels all alone.

The battle between the people of God and the Philistines is a recurring theme in the Word because it relates to the battle between faith alone, represented by the Philistines, and our spiritual growth or regeneration. Faith is the first step on the journey to the Promised Land, not the end in itself.

If we look at a map of the Holy Land of biblical times, we will see that all the nations around it are ones that fought with the Israelites. It is the same for us when we are trying to lead the spiritual life. We have to fight all the evil inclinations that are present in our lives.

As we know, whilst Samson's hair was long it gave him great strength which enabled him to fight with a lion and kill it and overcome the Philistines. However when his hair was cut off he became very weak and could be captured and imprisoned.

As far as our own spiritual journey is concerned, Samson's hair represents the power of the Word in our life. The hair is the most external part of our life and the Word, or literal sense of the Bible, is also the most external and most power source of strength from the Lord.

We therefore have the battle between faith alone and the strength we gain from the Word. The message is about the fact that if we think we can just have first and not put that faith into action from the strength we gain from the Word, then we are mistaken. This is one of the temptations because we have to overcome this inclination to evil.

Delilah is the affection for falling into these states of faith alone or what is just as powerful, the sense that we can have complete faith in ourselves and none in the Lord. The more we look inward on ourselves the more we depart from the Lord and loose strength.

We all know that in terms of our physical wellbeing, when we are tired or stressed it is our weakest point that seems to give us problems and we therefore suffer more back problems if that is our weakest point. When Samson lost his hair he was captured and imprisoned. We become captive to our selfish inclinations if we do not use the Word as a source of strength in our life. We should never underestimate what the power of the Word in our life can do.

As with any skill or undertaking, it is only by practice and continual work that helps us to improve. Our life will only improve by facing and overcoming the weaknesses in our life. As we overcome one then we will be asked to face another but it is a growing process and we cannot face it alone. We need the Lord.

We can gain much satisfaction when we see the results that show in our life of what we have overcome, just as Samson saw the honey in the carcass of the lion. Just as Samson prayed to the Lord for strength which had been lost, so we can pray to the Lord when we feel weak and lost. The fact that Samson's hair grew is a reflection of the Lord's mercy always being with us.

Suggested Application during the week

As we go through this week let us monitor how we re-act to the situations and problems that face us. Do we try and do it on our own or do we seek strength from the Lord? Do we just think of ourselves or do we have compassion for others?

Thoughts on the Christmas story

All through the Old Testament the birth of Jesus was foreseen with many passages predicting it and others giving a glimpse of what will be its effects. For example, Psalm 139 talks about ascending into heaven and hell and being there. The Lord came at humankind at its lowest point when there was spiritual darkness, which is why He was born at night.

The coming of the Lord brought the light of truth again into the world and gave humankind the opportunity to grow back into the image of God. That is why John the Baptist had to come first, to picture the need, to examine our life first.

The most precious gift that came with the baby Jesus was the gift of love. Each of us first needs to see the guiding star of truth. We first see it dimly but as we get closer to God it becomes brighter and stronger and love grows within it.

The Lord was born in Bethlehem in Judea but lived most of his life in Nazareth. Judea symbolises the celestial and Galilee the natural. We all have to learn our love of the Lord whilst we are living our natural life. The Lord in His ministry travelled between Jerusalem in Judea and Galilee regularly, symbolising the highs and lows of life.

The Wise Men brought gold, frankincense and myrrh which symbolise love, faith and obedience. These are the three essentials for life. The Christmas story has embedded within it the simple truths that children can grasp and hold with them all their lives. The principles of innocence and love. We too can hold that picture, but for us we must go deeper. Understand the deeper concepts for our own living and to have a greater sense of what it means to love the Lord instead of just understanding it - for it to become real it must touch our life.

Even though this was such a powerful event which affected both the natural and spiritual worlds, only a few were aware of it. For the Lord to touch us we must be spiritually aware.

If we look at who the announcements of the births were given to, they were all awaiting and had awareness: Mary, Joseph, Zachariah, Elizabeth, wise men, shepherds, Simoom and Anna. The shepherds saw the angelic throng with their spiritual eyes not all people around saw it. If we are not open to the truth then we will not receive it. The wise men loved and cherished the truth and the shepherds cherished innocence and trust. They were ready, the wise men travelled from afar and the shepherds we close to Bethlehem, which is called ‘house of bread’ because Jesus said, “I am the bread of life”.

The light came into the world. A pathway to God who is the God of truth and love was opened. Jesus said, “I am the way, truth and life”. The pathway to live with love, care and compassion. If we lived our whole life determining our actions from these principles, then the world would be a much better place.

At its heart the Word of God gives this, but the light was given so that people were free to receive it or not. We are given that sign of new birth in the Christmas story - it is then up to us to build upon it in our life. The essence of God entered this world in the human form from Mary and overcame evil so that we could choose love and not hate.

For us to gain most from Christmas we have to find and be aware of this presence both within us and around us. Open our spiritual eyes to see that in the everyday things the Lord can be with us but we have to work at it and the Lord will enlighten us.

“Unto you is born this day in the City of David a Saviour who is Christ the Lord”.

Suggested Application during the week

Reflect on the deeper meaning of the story and even in this busy time before Christmas find a few minutes to just sit in the silence to reflect on the Christmas message and see where glimpses of His presence can be seen in our lives.

Genesis 8:6-12

After forty days Noah opened the window he had made in the ark and sent out a raven, and it kept flying back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth. Then he sent out a dove to see if the water had receded from the surface of the ground. But the dove could find no place to set its feet because there was water all over the surface of the earth; so it returned to Noah in the ark. He reached out his hand and took the dove and brought it back to himself in the ark. He waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark. When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf! Then Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth. He waited seven more days and sent the dove out again, but this time it did not return to him.

This passage forms part of the story of Noah's Ark and the thrust of the story is that the Lord always protects what is good in our life and looks to move us on from where we are so that we can grow spiritually. The move from Adam to Noah is a change in the way the Lord worked with people.

Whether we like it or not, change is part of our life. We can resist it or refuse to change and that means we have no movement at all. Life's circumstances require change. It may be in relationships, business structure, or changed circumstances. In one sense the only constant in our life, if we will accept it, is the Lord. His love is infinite and cannot be enlarged. It is really whether we wish to look to Him for strength when things do change, whether it be loss of a loved one or job, or whatever else.

We are what we are because of what we love or what our affections are. If we love ourselves totally and do not look out then we may refuse to change. If circumstances arise where we feel lost and do not look to something higher than ourselves, then this can be devastating because we have no anchor and we drift like the Ark for 40 days. However the Lord was with Noah.

If we think about it, change is important. It brings variety, delight, colour, etc. into our life and it makes us think about things. We must have the courage to make change and through it we develop and grow. We all know how after some change in our life we later adjust to it. People who live on a busy road find that after a while they do not hear the noise.

We often think that others should change but often it is necessary for us to change too. If we ask the Lord to help us then change becomes easier. Look at the beautiful result of a change from a caterpillar to a butterfly. We should embrace change but of course reflect on the consequences and how it will affect others.

In the passage we are considering, the waters recede and then Noah goes to release a raven and a dove. Light is let into the Ark. We need the light of heaven to reach our minds. The contrast between the raven and the dove is that a raven represents false thoughts and ignorance and a dove heavenly thoughts of an innocent kind.

If we look closely at the passage, the dove is released three times; twice it returns and the last time it is free. The first time the text shows that Noah gave it from himself and to himself. This symbolises that the light is from a selfish perspective. The second time, an olive leaf was in its mouth symbolising a sense of the Lord's goodness, and the third time it did not return. It was free.

This shows how we grow spiritually so that change is embraced with the help of the Lord in freedom. We look to the needs of others and when change is forced upon us we find our anchor and purpose for life in the Lord.

By seeking the Lord in His Word, we will look at change in the context of our growth with Him and not as a barrier or curse, but as part of the Lord's providence in our life.

Suggested Application during the week

Reflect on the changes that have, or may, be coming in our life or what we need to do to change our behaviour or attitudes and pray for help from the Lord so that something positive arises.

Joshua 3:15-17

Now the Jordan is in flood all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.

This passage is pivotal in the Old Testament because after wandering for 40 years, the Jews come to the river to cross. If we look at a map of the Holy land, we will see that the river, which runs from north to south, is a natural border to entering Canaan. It is the only way to move from east to west. From mountains in the north it runs to the Dead Sea in the south which is below sea level. To cross the country Jews had to cross this natural border or barrier.

We all have barriers to overcome in our life. Some barriers we create, others are ones that are just there. There are barriers of fear. For example, many people go to Toastmasters because they have a fear of public speaking, some have barriers in relationships, and some have psychological barriers about the way forward, as they think, “I have always done it this way or that way” - entrenched thinking.

The Holy land in its spiritual sense is about human states and how we move forward. The only way forward was to cross the Jordan to the Promised Land, flowing with milk and honey. It is about our inner states of peace which we want to achieve, even whilst we are tackling obstacles.

In our passage, Joshua prepared the people three days before by sending out soldiers. Three is a sacred number, it is about completeness, it is about bringing together truth and good. Truth must have an impact on us and the soldiers represent truth that affects us. We need to reflect on how we think, how we act and how we can overcome the resistances that have built up in our life. Also, how we face the evil influences that are part of our spiritual journey.

Notice that it was the Ark that was to go first led by the priests who were the first to dip their feet in the water. The priests represent the Lord and the Ark represents communication received from the Lord. It contained the Commandments for our everyday living.

We need to focus on the truth we know and revisit it. The Jordan is the truth that gives entry to Heaven but it needs the power of love within it. We need to trust the Lord that He will carry or bring us through. Once the first step was made by the priests, the waters parted and the people went across.

It was the first step that was taken out of trust that the Lord would be with them. It was one small step, but one that was hugely significant because it meant a change in mindset. Once over the Jordan they then had to face all the tribes that still inhabited the land. We do not overcome all our problems in one step. We have to fight battles of evil inclinations that continue to be present. These are the Canaanites, Hittites, etc. that inhabited Canaan.

We all have barriers to overcome in our life, different ways to think about ourselves, different ways to think of others and how we overcome the problems that we face. It can be done with the Lord's strength.

By seeking the Lord in His Word we will look at change in the context of our growth with Him and not as a barrier or curse but as part of the Lord's providence in our life and the inner peace that we found. Inwardly we will have crossed into the land flowing with milk and honey.

Suggested Application during the week

Look at the barriers to our relationship with the Lord and barriers that prevent us from changing our thinking and have trust that the Lord will help us across.