The Shunammite Woman [Part 1]

Pastor, author, and Bible teacher, Alan Wright. This Shunammite woman would feed the man of God. It's a wonderful thing to find somebody that will feed the man of God. This is a reference to the value and importance of providing silver queen corn and vine-righting tomatoes for the man of God.

Now, I'm just saying. That's Pastor Alan Wright. Welcome to another message of good news that will help you see your life in a whole new light. I'm Daniel Britt, excited for you to hear the teaching today in the series titled, God Used Who?

And You May Just Be Surprised, as presented at Reynolda Church in North Carolina. If you're not able to stay with us throughout the entire program, I want to make sure you know how to get our special resource right now. It can be yours for your donation this month to Alan Wright Ministries. As you listen to today's message, go deeper as we send you today's special offer. Contact us at PastorAlan.org or call 877-544-4860.

That's 877-544-4860. More on that later in the program. But now, let's get started with today's teaching.

Here is Alan Wright. You ready for some good news? You know, the longer that you walk with God, the less you should be surprised by how good He is, but the more surprised you are. The more that I am, the more I grow in the Lord, it seems like the less I should be amazed because you've seen so much of His faithfulness. But in fact, no matter, because He's the God who's able to do exceedingly abundantly above and beyond what you ask or think, you're going to be always surprised. And there is a part of the Christian life in which you're so surprised, you might just be reading a scripture one day or something that God brings into your life or some insight from the Holy Spirit, and there's a part of you that goes, that's just too good to be true.

So I'm here today to tell you about the gospel that seems too good to be true, but is most certainly true. We are looking at some hidden jewels, some unheralded women in the Word, and today we come to 2 Kings chapter 4 for an absolutely amazing story that in the end points us to not only how dormant dreams in our hearts can be resurrected by God, but how the gospel itself seems too good to be true, and yet it is. This is 2 Kings chapter 4, and we're at verse 8. 2 Kings chapter 4 verse 8. One day Elisha went on to Shunem where a wealthy woman lived, who urged him to eat some food.

So whenever he passed that way, he'd turn in there and eat food. And she said to her husband, behold now I know that this is a holy man of God who's continually passing our way, let us make a small room on the roof with walls and put there for him a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp so that whenever he comes to us he can go in there. But one day he came there and he turned into the chamber and rested there, and he said to Gehazi his servant, his servant, call this Shunammite. When he had called her she stood before him and he said to him, say now to her, see you've taken all this trouble for us, what is to 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 dwell among my own people. And he said, what then is to be done for her? Gehazi answered, well she has no son and her husband is old. And he said, call her. And when he had called her, she stood in the doorway and he said, at this season, about this time next year, you shall embrace a son.

And she said, no my lord, oh man of God, do not lie to your servant. But the woman conceived and she bore a son about that time the following spring as Elisha had said to her. Some years ago we had some parishioners here, dear folks they live in a different city now, Audie and Lily Cashion. They were married a little bit later in life. They wanted to have a family and they had the pain of two miscarriages. And after the second miscarriage and all the prayer, Audie said symbolically, he decided he was going to go into the backyard and tear down the play set that was in the backyard.

They had a house that had a children's play area in the back and he said, I'm just going to take it down and let that dream die. And on that same day, it was a Saturday, Lily said they just prayed and they prayed differently. They had been praying, lord here's what we want, but on that day they said, lord we just want what you want. And they came to church the next day and they were approached at church that day by a lady in our church who said that her sister-in-law knew of someone who just had a baby and that they knew of Audie and Lily and they believed that God was calling them to give the baby to Audie and Lily to adopt. And within 48 hours of that church service, they drove to South Carolina and went and met their new baby daughter.

And shortly thereafter they adopted her and a few years later the same biological mother adopted another child. There are just some things that you can't dream up asking God for. You can't come to this point on a Saturday after having been through a second miscarriage and feeling all of your hopes of a family all dashed. You can't just get up and pray something like, lord here's what we really want to have happen. Tomorrow when we go to church, would you arrange it such that someone just walks up to us out of the blue? Could be anybody that you choose, lord, but just have somebody reputable walk up to us out of the blue and tell us that a baby has been born and we're supposed to be the parents for that baby and would you arrange it so that oh let's say within 48 hours we could meet our new baby and preferably in a state that's adjacent to North Carolina. You don't come up with prayers like that do you?

Why? Because you couldn't think it up and the gospel itself is like that. You couldn't think it up. No angel could have conceived of it.

The good news is such good news and that's really what this story points us to. This hidden jewel, this Shunammite woman who cares for Elisha and then receives this great promise that awakens within her this dormant dream and she says don't lie to me man of God. Don't tell me something man of God. Don't tell me something that there's no way that could be could be true.

Well let's just think about the scene here. This is Elisha. He is the great prophet who had received a mantle both literally and figuratively from Elijah and he had mysteriously received a double portion of the spirit of God upon his life.

More miracles were wrought through Elisha than through Elijah and Elisha is known throughout the land as a great prophet. His name means God is my salvation. He has come to this place called Shunem which interestingly means double resting place.

It's a place where people rest. That's what it means and it was that for Elisha and there was this woman there who had taken care of him over time. Every time that he would pass through Shunem, this Shunemite woman would feed the man of God. It's a wonderful thing to find somebody that'll feed the man of God. This is a reference as we approach springtime and the coming summer to the value and importance of providing silver queen corn and vine ripened tomatoes for the man of God. Now I'm just saying she's a blessing. This woman is a blessing and she takes care of Elisha but not only for food but she and her husband have some means and so they actually make a place for him to stay.

So it's not just the silver queen corn and the vine ripened tomatoes and it is also a condo that they have built for him. So she really takes care of Elisha. So many people that are ministered to in the scriptures are people that are in a desperate place in life. They're poor or they're hungry or they're very sick and this is not one of those women. This instead is a woman evidently who's happily married and has some wealth and she has a gift of hospitality and I think that the Shunemite woman actually is one of those women you would have to look at her and say boy she has got it all together. She is a woman that seems to have no problems.

She's a giver, she's a leader and she has so much going for her but she has a secret grief. Just because somebody looks happy, just because someone seems like they have really got it made, beware of thinking that somehow they've had it easy. It's one of the things that makes me chuckle is when I hear somebody say well I wish I had so-and-so's life they've really got it made and the problem is that I also know so-and-so and I know what they've been through and one of the privilege of ministry is you get to hear the secrets of people's hearts and every single person has been through something. You know what I have found to be true? There are people who have very difficult circumstances and abundant joy and there are people who seem to have everything and they're depressed. The fact of the matter is that life with God is one in which He grants the fruit of the Spirit and love and joy and peace are available to all and in the same way there are those who might have every worldly thing and yet have very little of the love and joy and peace of Christ. And this woman she is she's a giver and yet there was a secret pain in her life.

She had no son. That's Alan Wright and we'll have more teaching in a moment from today's important series. God's love. You've heard about it with your ears.

You've believed it in your mind. Now experience it in your heart with Alan Wright's beloved book Lover of My Soul. The Bible is a love story from beginning to end. You are the spiritual bride of Christ the perfect bridegroom. The Bible tells about a God who has gone to unimaginable lengths to woo you to win you and to walk with you hand in hand. For any man who has fallen in love with a woman you've tasted the sweetness of what God's love for you is like. For any woman who has searched for true love what you long for can only be found fully in God. Gary Chapman renowned author of the five love languages says the incredible reality that God pursues us in love comes to life in Lover of My Soul. Ancient biblical accounts explode in the heart. Accept Christ's proposal enjoy his embrace revel in his love.

After all it's a match made in heaven. It's Lover of My Soul by Alan Wright. Call us at 877-544-4860. That's 877-544-4860 or come to our website PastorAlan.org.

Today's teaching now continues. Here once again is Alan Wright. Elisha gets a word from the Lord but before he does he is just seen as in a moment just a human being who wants to be a blessing to another human being because she's been a blessing to him. You reap what you sow. It's something about sowing kindness into somebody's life it just draws kindness back out of them and and it was happening it was happening in a natural level but it was also happening in a supernatural level. Elisha had been blessed and he wanted to be a blessing to I said what could be done for you he said could I get a word to the king this is how powerful Elisha is he has direct access to the king or a word to the commander of the army what is he saying he's saying I could I could put in a word for you it might mean a promotion to your husband it might mean that you could be relocated to even a finer estate it might mean a number of things he's this is what he's saying to her and she says well I dwell amongst my own people man what she means by this is that in in today's lingo I'm good she she says I don't need something else that that's what essentially that that she's saying Elisha is just in that position where he just wants to be a blessing you must know this is the heart of God that there's a way in which have you ever felt this you just know you're so blessed that's why you want to be a blessing listen people that want to be a blessing to other people they do so because they themselves have been so blessed it's the nature of God himself you do understand God didn't create the world out of emptiness and out of his need but because he was overflowing with so much goodness and beauty and wonder and holiness all of creation including you you're you're an overflow of the of the beauty and the the holiness and the wonder of God he's so full it reminds me of David after he had had come into the palace after all the promises of God had come true for his life and he was now king over the whole land and he had everything at his disposal and he remembered a covenant that he'd made with Jonathan and he just looked out over the palace that day and he said is there anyone left of the house of Saul that I could bless anyone that we could just we could show steadfast love to for the sake of the covenant made with Jonathan in other words on his mind was just a I'm so blessed could I be a blessing to someone else let's understand this is the nature of God it has always been the nature of God God is a God of blessing God has never been anything other than a God of blessing and the reason that he came in the person of Jesus Christ is that he so so deeply so profoundly wants to pour out blessing upon your life that he wanted to find a way to satisfy justice that demanded that sin be paid for and so he sent Jesus his only son to become that sin so that you could be reckoned as the righteousness of Jesus so that he in all fairness could pour out blessing upon your life so there'd be no reservation in the heart of God there'd be no no cry of justice that would come against you when God pours out blessing upon you what does Paul say in Ephesians chapter 1 but we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ it is the nature of God he is loving he is creative he is beautiful he is holy he is a healer he is a lover and he loves you and he wants to pour out blessing upon you that's what you see going on in Elijah's heart right here it's just saying what could be done for this beautiful woman who every time I come through town she feeds me every time we come through now she's even built some quarters on her own house just so that the man of God will have a place to rest what could be done for her and she says I'm good she says I don't need anything and so he's asked his servant he said well what what could be done for for her and this the servant says well she has no son and this is not just about her longing to have a family this is this is a this is a critical matter in that ancient mid-eastern culture any of us and if ever experienced the pain of of childlessness or difficulty conceiving children or difficulty adopting children you know there's a very unique pain to this so there is that pain but there's something even more there is a vulnerability because her husband is old the servant says it means that if she becomes a widow and she has no son there's no one to care for her and there's no one to run the estate there's no one to keep the family business going it leaves her in a very very vulnerable position so it's not just something that hurts her heart it's something that that makes her whole future become vulnerable and elisha gets moved by the holy spirit and he has a word from the lord and he says by this time next year you'll have a son this is something that gets really tricky right here because when he says that he awakens something in her a long standing dormant dream something that she'd let fall to the side something that she just moved on and he awakens it and that's why she says to her no no no no no don't say that to me don't tell me something that's too good to be true don't lie to me man of god now now you've gone too deep now you've just you've just you've come into that cave of my heart where where where there's a there's a longing that no oh no and it's a tricky thing isn't it because it's a beautiful thing to be content someone has defined contentment not as having everything you want but wanting everything you have that's a beautiful place to be content with your life contentment with godliness a beautiful thing scripture says and so we don't want to just run around ruining someone's contentment by bringing up something that they've successfully moved beyond you see and he's the prophet has has has stirred something now i at my installation here at this church 20 years ago the preacher who came to preach the message was a friend and pastor down in charlotte david chadwick and i never forget the the in the middle of his message he said alan he said someone has said that the job of the pastor is to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable and there is something to that not in the sense of like oh shaming but i'll tell you what can afflict the comfortable more than anything some good news it rocks your world something that awakens you to a higher destiny than you knew before and so it was that a vision was aroused in her heart that had died or wasn't there anymore without vision people perish i remember talking some years ago to a visionary leader and someone who helped others and their fundraising efforts and he said here's the key he said if i were to give you 10 million dollars for your ministry how would you use it answer me quickly and i remember this was many many years ago and i kind of stumbled around for a while huh well uh this or that he said well see you're not ready for 10 million dollars um since that time i have figured out what i do with 10 million dollars so i just want to bring i i'm glad that we have dreams right i'm a dreamer i would consider myself a dreamer i was on an airplane this week and i'm glad that the wright brothers dreamed that a machine could fly through the air um we got the lights on i'm glad that thomas edison dreamed that electricity could light up a room i'm glad that a hundred years ago catherine reynolds dreamed that there could be a church on this location here that could reach people out in the country i'm glad that martin luther king had a dream i'm glad that we have a dream of a new campus and clemens you see god works through dreams that get planted down in our hearts and um and what happens on this day is a dream gets awakened within her the word of the lord came and what happened with this was such good news that if that good news is true then it's going to change everything in her life i think some people misunderstand what's so life-changing about the gospel because people tend to think well there's a lot of bad news in the world and god's probably got some bad news for me because it's mainly about what a bad person i met so i said no it's the good news of the gospel that changes everything good news will change your life far more than bad news and something has to happen where within us we get tuned in to good news good news will rock your world that's what the story of the bible is all about right god will call up somebody like abram out of the earth to call these and say i got some good news for you you're going to be the father of a nation look up to the stars of the sky so numerous where your descendants be it's like calling a man named joseph who's just a youth and giving him a dream in the middle of the night it would be speak of his brothers bowing down before him and change his life a fugitive named moses appears to out of a burning bush says i got some good news for you it's going to rock your world you're going to deliver my people out of their bondage alan wright our teaching from the series god used who alan is back in a moment with additional insight on this teaching for your life and today's final word god's love you've heard about it with your ears you've believed it in your mind now experience it in your heart with alan wright's beloved book lover of my soul the bible is a love story from beginning to end you are the spiritual bride of christ the perfect bridegroom the bible tells about a god who has gone to unimaginable lengths to woo you to win you and to walk with you hand in hand for any man who has fallen in love with a woman you've tasted the sweetness of what god's love for you is like for any woman who has searched for true love which you long for can only be found fully in god gary chatman renowned author of the five love languages says the incredible reality that god pursues us in love comes to life in lover of my soul ancient biblical accounts explode in the heart accept christ's proposal enjoy his embrace revel in his love after all it's a match made in heaven it's lover of my soul by alan wright call us at 877-544-4860 that's 877-544-4860 or come to our website pastor alan.org alan i love throughout this entire teaching and especially as we're digging in today the shunammite woman in part two is on its way that we can pause here and say and echo what you've said already that good news can rock your world and that's what the gospel literally is i think that's what we want to say over and over daniel is so many people think well if we just take unfettered good news of christ then it'll make us lazy will give us a license to sin will people won't try and so forth no no and no what happens is when you get really good news it completely rocks your world and changes everything i don't know why it just has leapt to my mind but i was thinking about after anne and i had tried for some time to conceive our first child and we began to wonder if we were going to have that blessing or not and after a long time when anne came to me with the news that she was expecting it not only causes such joy it just absolutely rocked our world yeah well what did that good news do well that good news brought with it a change to every part of our life but we we it wasn't a chore it become parents it was a joy to become parents right was it the most work probably ever put in our lives yes but one that you take on because of the good news that comes i think that's what happens when the gospel comes is you just go wow that is incredible it almost seems too good to be true but the more you take it in the more it will change every aspect of your life today's good news message is a listener supported production of Alan Wright Ministries you