"A Great Woman"

The inspired word of God speaks of many great men and women. Their greatness is seen by their faith, labour and obedience to God and not by any importance of their family tree. A record is given in 2nd Kings chapter four of the prophet Elisha as he made one of his frequent trips by the home of a Shunamite woman. She constrained him to eat with her and as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat. The word of God called her a "great woman", (2nd Kings 4:8) As we observe this great woman, the first noble act as seen in the scripture by her is to invite Elisha to eat bread. Her repeated invitations indicated her love and hospitality for the prophet of God and God's worthy cause. Next you will notice that she told her husband, "I perceive that this is a holy man of God... " It was the woman (not her husband) that suggested, "let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick: and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in hither." (verse 10) The above may look small and indeed to be considered a "burden" by many of our dear Pentecostal saints today, but there was something about it in this case that caused the God of Heaven to move from His throne and He called her a great woman. When any deed is done for Jesus and His cause (with the right attitude) there will always be a rich and rewarding blessing. We will hasten to say that any deed done with "expectation" in mind is not usually rewarded! The writer of the Hebrew letter stated, "For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have showed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister."(Heb.6:10) We may rest assured that our God will visit in rich reward for any service that we render for His worthy cause. We also wish to point out that one cannot give service to Jesus Christ unless you give it to and by his servant or servants! A service rendered unto the "least of these my brethren" is a service for Jesus. (Mat. 25:34-45) Elisha instructed his servant Gehazi to ask the woman, "What is to be done for thee?" She had sacrificed in order to shew them comfort and now Elisha wanted to repay. The woman declined with the simple answer, "I dwell among mine own people." She was saying, "I don't need a thing... " Jesus Christ always does the unexpected! She was promised that she would embrace a son! God honoured His word and to this great woman was born a son. We doubt if any one reading this message would deny that the birth of this son was an act of God to reward this woman for her hospitality and kindness toward the prophet of God! A further study of this book will prove that sometime later God remembered this great woman and all she had lost because of war was restored fully. (2nd Kgs 8:1-6) This should bless our hearts to know that Jesus never forgets and He keeps on rewarding! Faithfulness today could well mean God's provision in the years to come if He delays His coming. Don't be weary and don't give God out; He is abundantly able. In this evil day the saints of god must serve with an unselfish spirit. We, as this great woman must give our service not expecting a reward. We must sacrifice for unity and spiritual growth. In order to prove our faithfulness to God and man, we must not yield to pressure! In the political world we can see "sellouts" and pressure compromises that brings shame to our American way of life... We must not be pressured to desert our convictions for Jesus and truth! Evil men and unbelievers in the day of Paul spoke of this way as a sect ... (Acts 28:22) A sect is usually spoken of as a small group that has broken away from an established church.,. We are a despised sect because we believe in New Testament salvation; we have our views and principles. However, we must all strive to not be a sect in that we "depart from truth" and the part that calls men and women great! Ezra proclaimed a fast that God might show the right way for His people in his day. (Ezra 8:21-23) He and his people needed help! He was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers because he had told the king that "The hand of God is upon us... " Likewise we as the people of God who wear His name and enjoy the fellowship of His Spirit must refrain from seeking help other than among our own! Let us as the great woman in our text say, "I dwell among my own people... " I feel sure today that among this people we will be able to find proper instruction and spiritual food for every tomorrow. If there be a breach in your life or in the fellowship of your people, I beg of you to "close ranks" and let us fight together as "God's great men and women" for a lasting victory!