Faith in the God of Resurrection Life

So this evening we're going to look at this story, the next story in the life of Elisha.

So that we can see what it is to have faith in the God of resurrection life.

But we're going to begin by thinking about airline pilots.

I am told that very early on in pilot school, pilot training,

a vital skill that they need to learn is the ability to fly by their instruments,

to be able to look at those super complicated dials and controls in order to fly straight,

to land safely, to know where they're going in any weather conditions.

You know, when the storm clouds come in, when the fog gathers, when you can't see naturally,

you need to be able to fly by the instruments.

And there's something helpful, I think, in that as we think about the picture of our own lives

as something of a journey.

Times in our lives when those storm clouds gather.

And at that point we will find ourselves instinctively turning to something

to give us guidance and stability.

What is it that will keep us steady?

What is it that will guide us home safely?

We perhaps recognize that many people in our world are in a moment where they have rejected

ideas of God and ultimate meaning and higher purpose.

And lots of people are beginning to see, this is not working for me.

There's that sense of instability, especially perhaps in times of trouble.

And so you listen to commentators on society and they say, well, we're living in the age of anxiety.

Whether that's about the environment or politics or about our own financial situation.

Or people will say, we live in the age of consumption.

And so we've never had it better and we're always consuming more.

But the things that we are consuming are not tracking with happiness,

but rather we're becoming more anxious and struggling with more fears.

We live in what's known as the disenchanted age.

We're being told, people have been told for years, there is nothing beyond ourselves.

So just kind of make what you can of the world.

But again, people are beginning to wrestle with this reality of knowing that there is something more.

And so we live in a really interesting moment where people are turning to consider the spiritual

and people are looking and seeking for transcendence.

Where can hope be found?

It's a question in every age and it's certainly a question in ours.

It was a question in the time of Elisha as well.

We have seen, especially in the time of Elijah, that most of the people in Israel,

as they were looking for hope, had turned to the idol Baal.

But it wasn't just then that people turned to idols.

There's that instinct within our hearts at all times.

If we think about Martin Luther, I think, has a really helpful definition of idolatry.

Whatever we expect to provide all good and in which we take refuge in our distress,

that's what our idol is.

And so again, people are still looking for where am I going to find ultimate good?

Where am I going to find a safe refuge?

But outside of the God of the Bible, people are failing to provide and find solid hope.

And in that setting, and relevant for our setting, we see in this woman from Shunem a picture of faith.

Here is a woman who knows her God.

And as we see, she lives for her God.

And when things go wrong in her life, and they absolutely do, she runs to her God to find hope.

And for us, as we pick up her story, and as we see the beginning and the end,

we know that there is wonderful joy beyond the sorrow.

And the story as a whole offers hope to us too, especially as we think about it in light of the gospel.

When we think about the reality that God has sent His man Jesus to offer us renewal and resurrection life.

He is God's final prophet.

He is God's final word.

And to lay hold on Him is to lay hold on a hope that will not fail.

That in knowing God through His Son Jesus, we find that stability that we are looking for.

We find that direction and meaning in the fog.

And we have the promise of a true homecoming.

And the joy of resurrection life.

So we're going to do a couple of things this evening.

First, we're going to put faith in focus.

And then we'll think about having faith in the God of resurrection life.

So, to our story, verse 8.

One day, Elisha went to Shunem and a well-to-do woman was there who urged him to stay for a meal.

So it's interesting.

If you were here last week, we saw Elisha encountering a poor, starving woman.

This time, a well-to-do woman who has enough to offer generous hospitality.

God's going to show grace to them both.

God's going to exercise His power in both of their stories, which always reminds us that God's grace runs wide.

His kingdom is wide.

Here is a woman who lives for God's glory.

Here is a woman who's learned to rest in God's grace to her.

And we see it, first of all, in her service.

She urges Elisha to stay for a meal.

And then she said to her husband in verse 9,

I know this man who comes our way is a holy man of God.

Let's make a small room for him.

So there are their meals.

She uses her resources to build an additional room up on the roof.

Her life is one that makes room to encourage and to serve God's prophet.

This is mission support.

Because she knows Elisha is God's man, God's representative, who is bringing God's word into her region.

So as she offers support and a base of operations, it becomes evident she wants the kingdom of God to grow.

She wants others to hear the true message from God that they might believe and trust.

Jesus would approve of her faith.

We know this because in Matthew 10, he says,

whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet's reward.

But then he goes on to say,

even a cup of water offered in my name, well, that'll get a reward too.

So her service is showing her faith.

But I think we can also say that her secure identity shows that she has a real faith in her God.

So here we find in verse 11 through to 13, first of all, Elisha and Gehazi are having a chat.

And then Elisha says to Gehazi, his servant, tell her,

you've gone to all this trouble for us.

Now what can be done for you?

Can we speak on your behalf to the king or the commander of the army?

So remember, she knows this is God's holy man.

She knows that Elisha works with God's power.

So when Elisha comes to her house and says to her, what can I do for you?

This is a massive offer.

This is a finding the golden ticket kind of a moment.

But the woman, even as she's offered like prestige and new connections,

how does she reply?

I have a home among my own people.

She is content.

She is content among her family, her connections within the community.

She has this privilege of knowing and serving the God of glory by welcoming Elisha.

God has given me this life and I'm content.

She has a secure identity because her faith is in God.

But we also see her faith and focus in her suffering.

Because there is this wonderful announcement that God would give her a son.

But this son that brings so much joy will also bring grief.

We know that principle, don't we?

Sometimes the gifts that we give or that we get,

they can bring both gladness and they can bring sadness.

We in our family, we can still remember getting our new puppy,

a cute little bundle of fluff, joy.

But then when you want to kind of settle down and just pet them and you discover

and you've brought into the house a tiny shark that wants to chew your arm off,

it's a little bit sad and frustrating.

Sometimes the gifts that we receive, they bring gladness and sadness.

And that's true of the gifts that God gives also.

That this wonderful, precious gift of a son will become, in time, a source of her grief.

We read of it, didn't we?

We read of the boy's sudden illness.

This promised, precious son, one day comes out to his father complaining,

my head, my head.

And he's carried home and he spends some hours in his mother's arms and he dies there.

And all of a sudden life has taken a very different, unexpected turn

and faith is shaken to the core.

And she is very honest.

We know in verse 27, as she arrives to meet Elisha, that her bitter distress is clear.

Verse 28, we hear her words,

Did I ask you for a son, my Lord?

Didn't I tell you don't raise my hopes?

So the storm clouds of grief, absolutely they've come rolling in.

The light of God's love and kindness perhaps isn't evident in her situation,

but she doesn't fall apart.

And she doesn't give way to bitterness,

but rather she runs to her God.

There's a very clear direction of travel in her life.

What does she do?

It's really interesting.

The first thing she does in verse 21 is she takes the boy and laid him on the bed of the man of God.

What's she saying there?

It's a recognition that she's going to bring this situation,

bring her son to the Lord through Elisha.

And then immediately that's what she does.

She saddles up and prepares for her journey.

And on this journey, she's not going to be distracted.

She doesn't tell her husband.

She tells her servant, make sure that we don't slow down.

When Gehazi comes and greets her, is everything okay?

We understand that no one else but God's prophet will do in her story.

But when she comes to God's man, when she reached the man of God at the mountain,

she took hold of his feet.

And she pours out her heart.

Because prayer is the breath of faith.

She says to him in verse 30,

As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.

Actually, the same words that Elisha spoke about Elijah back in chapter 2

when he knew that Elijah was going to be taken up to heaven.

As the storm clouds roll in,

as she flies by the instruments of her faith,

we see so clearly,

here is a woman who looks to God.

Here is God's man,

and therefore I am going to him with my problem,

with my lament.

He is going to be my refuge in distress.

He is where I'm going to look to find good in this situation.

And she is not disappointed.

And that matters for us when we understand that for us,

the man of God we run to is none other than the Lord Jesus.

He is the one who is full of compassion.

He invites us to pour out our hearts to him,

to rest in his promise that he will be with us,

that he will show us mercy.

We look to our Lord and our Savior

for that renewal that we need,

for the promise of resurrection life in our experience.

So as God brings the woman's faith into focus for ourselves,

it helps us, I think, to reflect on our own faith

and to ask ourselves some questions.

As we see her sacrificial service,

and as we understand that she saw herself as a vehicle,

as a means for God's kingdom to be extended,

as we understand what the Bible says,

that the local church is God's plan,

his mission plan for spreading his glory,

and as we thought this morning,

we have the wonderful privilege of being united together

by God's grace within a local church family,

are we involving ourselves in that privilege that God gives?

Are we willing to serve and to commit ourselves?

Here we get a wonderful little picture

of how somebody can use their resources

for the good of others.

Here in particular, it was Elisha.

How can we use our home, our money, our time

as a tangible way to bless someone else?

I think we've been encouraged as a church

to see that from grace and peace.

It's not going to look the same for us,

but what will it look like?

How will we as individuals and as a collective

show that we want our life to be guided

by the glory of Jesus and a concern for his kingdom?

As we think about this woman's contentment

and her secure identity,

and as we recognize that we live in a time

where advertising and social media

is set up to fuel our discontent,

psychologists are talking about that.

You know, I read an article this week

on social comparison, advertising,

and consumer discontent.

It's not subtle.

It's deliberate.

How can we stand apart?

How can we show that we find our identity in Christ

and not the stuff that we purchase

and not in our digital presence?

When Paul wrote to Timothy,

he said to him,

godliness with contentment is great gain.

That's very countercultural,

to be godly and to be content.

But what a wonderful opportunity for us

to bear witness to the fact

that all we have is Christ.

All that we need is Christ.

We have something that money can't buy.

We have a secure identity

that is not based on the whims

of social media likes or dislikes.

Are we hearing,

are we preaching the gospel to ourselves

that we are saved by Christ?

We are united to Christ.

We are loved by our Father in heaven in Christ.

The Spirit dwells in us

that we belong to the Lord.

And when suffering comes,

and the Bible is so honest

and tells us that in a fallen,

in a broken world,

suffering does come.

Everybody hurts.

That in a life of faith,

we're not spared those hurts,

that tests and trials

do come our way.

What is our response?

Will we run to the God

whose ways we don't

and won't always understand?

Because we know that he is good

and he does what is good.

Can we trust that God has established

an everlasting covenant

to delight in doing us good,

even when we can't understand

how our present circumstance

could possibly be called good?

Are we able to have faith

that says with Paul,

I know that God works all things,

all things,

for the good of those who love him?

Can we pray with King David,

when I am afraid,

I put my trust in you,

in God whose word I praise,

in God I trust and am not afraid.

Can we follow the example

of Jesus our Savior

going through the unimaginable

spiritual agony

of bearing the sins of his people

and suffering the wrath of God

still able to cry,

my God, my God.

Because as Joe was reflecting with us

this morning,

a vital part of our witness

a vital part of our good news

is going to be communicating

how we are able to live with hope.

How is it that we don't fall apart?

And those moments

and those situations

give us the privilege

of pointing to Jesus,

our strength and our hope.

To point people to Jesus

who is God's great gift to the world,

his own son sent to save us,

the one who came to enter this broken world

to bring healing.

And every miracle that we find

in the life of Jesus

speaks to that great reality.

We remember the Jesus we encounter

in John chapter 11.

John 11 · chapter mention

When Jesus encountered another family mourning,

Mary and Martha had lost their brother Lazarus.

And we're told at the beginning of the text,

Jesus will demonstrate his glory.

And Jesus speaks words of truth

to Martha.

I am the resurrection and the life.

He who believes in me will live

even though they die.

Do you believe this?

A question for Martha.

But it becomes a question for us all.

Do we believe that God gives hope

beyond death?

That he gives resurrection life?

On that day, he proved it.

Calling Lazarus from the grave.

And he would prove it in his own life.

The Lord of life

who rises from the dead in victory.

And so faith for us

focuses on the Lord Jesus.

That regardless of circumstances

to know that he is the Lord,

he is present,

he does supply grace,

he does speak words that are true

and words that speak life.

Well, let's flip from having faith

in focus in the context of the women

to think about faith in the God

of resurrection life.

Because what happens next

in the story is really striking.

You know, from time to time,

we will come across

or we'll hear powerful stories

of someone choosing to identify

with others in their suffering.

You know, maybe we hear

extreme examples on the news

of maybe doctors without borders

going into war zones

and risking everything

for the sake of patience.

Maybe closer to home.

You know, the powerful witness

of the body of Christ

caring for a new mom

or for a grieving family.

But the power of seeing

someone identify with

and stand with another.

Well, central to the hope

of this story

and actually central to

the hope that we have,

central to the hope

that we offer to the world

is this reality of God's prophet

coming so close

as to identify with this boy

in his death.

And through that action,

resurrection life comes.

So we'll pick up the action

as the woman reaches Elisha.

Verse 27,

Which reached the man of God

at the mountain.

She took hold of his feet.

Gehazi came over to push her away.

But the man of God said,

Leave her alone.

She's in bitter distress.

But the Lord has hidden it from me

and has not told me why.

That's significant, isn't it?

There is going to be

absolutely no doubt

within this story

who the power and glory belongs to.

And it's not to Elisha

because in this moment

we see his limited wisdom.

It belongs to Almighty God.

As the story moves on,

the cause of distress

is clear in verse 28

that the boy has died.

And so the question now becomes,

How will the boy be revived?

Will there be hope found in this story?

And if so, how?

And to think about the wider question,

How can the wreckage

and the rubble of our society,

of our life,

become something beautiful?

How can we see renewal

come out of the wreckage?

That's the tension within the story.

Well, we discover one way

that's not going to happen.

It's not going to happen

through the staff,

the stick.

In verse 29,

we discover that Elisha

sends Gehazi

to take Elisha's staff

and to lay the staff

on the boy's face.

But as we discover

in verse 31,

there was no sound,

no response.

The boy has not awakened.

The staff worked in Moses' day.

Remember in the book of Exodus,

power and glory of God

demonstrated through the symbol

of the staff.

It was held out

and judgments came.

It was held out

and the Red Sea parted.

Moses struck the rock

and water came gushing out.

But that's not how it works

in this story.

How will the boy be revived?

It's as the prophet

literally stretches himself out

to identify with him

in his death.

It's there in verse 34,

he lay on the boy

mouth to mouth,

eyes to eyes,

hands to hands.

As he stretched himself out

and the boy's body grew warm,

he walks around some more,

he stretched out on him

once more,

the boy sneezed

and opened his eyes.

God breathes life

as his prophet enters in

and identifies with him

in his day.

And this woman has the privilege

and the joy of resurrection life

because she ran to the God

of resurrection life.

It's amazing to see

in this single Old Testament story

so many truths revealed about God

that he is infinitely complex,

that he's always bigger

than our ability

to place him within a box.

So we discover

that he is good and gracious.

You know, often in the Bible

when somebody can't have a child

and then a child is given,

it's because the child to be born

will be so significant

within the storyline of redemption.

But not here.

God just wants to be kind

to this woman

because he loves to be kind

and generous.

We discover in verse 16

from the woman's words

a reminder that

God cannot mislead anybody.

God is absolute rock-solid truth.

And at the same time,

we discover

that God can perplex

and confuse us

because he does allow

unexpected and painful things

to happen.

And he is able

to bring ultimate good

even from awful

and evil things.

And we discover

that he is the Lord of life,

he gave the gift of life,

and he is the Lord

of resurrection life.

And it's as if God

is saying to the woman

and saying to Israel

and saying to the church

and saying to us today,

trust me,

place your hope in me.

Don't place your hope

in a small, limited idol.

Rather, live by faith

in the God of the Bible,

the one who gives

resurrection life.

We read in Luke chapter 7.

Luke 7 · chapter mention

So we fast forward

hundreds of years,

but we're still

in the same geographical area.

Shunem and Nain

are just two miles apart.

And here we find Jesus

coming into this

mountainous region,

and he comes upon

a funeral procession.

There's more grief

and there's mourning,

and Jesus canceled the funeral.

And how did he do it?

He identified

with the dead man.

He did what was unthinkable.

He touched the coffin.

And he spoke to the man

to command life.

And life came.

Remember what the crowd said?

A great prophet

has appeared among us.

God has come

to help his people.

Did they remember

the story passed down

from their region

of what Elisha had done

from the women of Shunem?

Perhaps.

But they understand

the connection

that when someone comes

and speaks to a dead man

and life comes,

this is a man from God.

And he's come to help

and to save.

And then we move

to another mountain.

We move to Mount Calvary.

And there we see

Jesus, the great prophet,

stretched out in death

to identify

with his people

so that in his death

and his resurrection,

we can find resurrection life

if we believe in him.

And that's only possible

because Jesus identifies

with us.

We know that

because he became

one of us.

He humbled himself

to add humanity

to his perfect divinity.

He entered into the world

that he made

to live that life

of perfect obedience

and perfect love

that you and I

should but can.

And he came

to take death

as the punishment

for law-breaking,

for our lack of love,

the punishment

that we should take,

but now we don't have to

if our faith is in Jesus.

He takes our humanity,

he takes our death,

he completes God's plan

of salvation

and by his wounds,

we are healed

because Jesus is the Lord

of resurrection life.

Risen from the dead,

he now gives spiritual life

in the place

of spiritual death

when we turn from our sin

to trust in him.

He gives us living hope

in place of despair

when our eyes are fixed

on him.

This is a story

that matters.

It matters

because it reminds us

that Jesus

is our hope

for salvation.

How can I be right

with God?

How can I be forgiven

of my sin?

How can I be welcomed

back into friendship

with the God

that I've turned

my back on?

It's through God's grace

to us in Jesus.

His finished work

on the cross.

His call

to repent

and believe.

But it also matters

for us

when we think

about the mission

of the church.

Because we are not

called into mission

to rely on our own

strength and power.

Rather,

we rely

on the power

of God.

We go

in the strength

of God's

gospel promises.

He is the one

who can change

the hardest heart.

He is the one

who can enter

into

the most broken

of lives.

He is the one

who is pleased.

He delights

to show grace

to those

who seem

the most unlikely

candidates.

And because

that's true

and because

it's God

who saves,

it's God

who gives

new life,

that gives us

confidence

that God

will save,

will give

new life

to all

He is calling.

And so we

can share faith,

we can present

the gospel,

trusting in the

God who can bring

life where

previously there

was death.

But it also

matters

when we find

ourselves

like this woman

going through

the storms

of life.

Because we know

it won't always

be sunshine

and smooth sailing

and Jesus

never promised

us that.

But in the

story of

the death

and resurrection

of the Lord

Jesus,

in His identifying

with us in order

to save us,

we have found

who we are to

fix our eyes on

as the right

source of our

hope,

none other than

the risen ruling

Lord Jesus.

There's where we

go for that hope

that will not fail.

So as God

reveals to us

through this story

His power to

bring resurrection

life,

He invites us

all to find

living hope

in Him,

to find that

powerful hope,

to find that

life and death

hope through

knowing Jesus

as our Lord

and our Savior.

Let's pray.

holy