6. God Will Not Forget Your Labour In His Name

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Hymns: 403 Count Your Blessing 445 O Master, Let Me Walk With Thee, 454 Make Me a Blessing

Life of Elisha

(Serving Our Faithful God)

– God Will Not Forget Your Labour In His Name

2 Kings 4:38-44

 

2 Kings 4:38-44 And Elisha came again to Gilgal: and there was a dearth in the land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him: and he said unto his servant, Set on the great pot, and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets. 39 And one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered thereof wild gourds his lap full, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage: for they knew them not. 40 So they poured out for the men to eat. And it came to pass, as they were eating of the pottage, that they cried out, and said, O thou man of God, there is death in the pot. And they could not eat thereof. 41 But he said, Then bring meal. And he cast it into the pot; and he said, Pour out for the people, that they may eat. And there was no harm in the pot.

42 And there came a man from Baalshalisha, and brought the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley, and full ears of corn in the husk thereof. And he said, Give unto the people, that they may eat. 43 And his servitor said, What, should I set this before an hundred men? He said again, Give the people, that they may eat: for thus saith the LORD, They shall eat, and shall leave thereof. 44 So he set it before them, and they did eat, and left thereof, according to the word of the LORD.

 

OUTLINE

  • Feeling Used and Unappreciated
  • Pride

 

INTRODUCTION

We are saved to serve. And our Lord Jesus Christ sets us the example of servanthood when He taught in Matthew 20:25-28.

Matthew 20:25-28 But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. 26 But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; 27 And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: 28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

…whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:

These can become forgotten words in the course of our service unto the Lord. Especially as a church progresses and grows, the servant mentality seemed to be forgotten as church life tend to get caught up in a success, position, size race that we lose sight of our primary calling as the followers of Christ.

As one pastor puts it, ‘“the celebrity syndrome” so present in our Christian thought and activities just doesn’t square with the attitudes and messages of Jesus. We have skidded into a pattern whereby celebrities and top dogs in our church life call the shots and it is difficult to be a servant when you’re used to telling others what to do.”

In the body of Christ there is one Head. Christ Jesus is Lord of His body.

Colossians 1:15-18 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: 16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

We are to be reminded that Christ might have the preeminence. No human being dare take that position. There was a man named Diotrephes mentioned in third John verses 9 and 10, attempted to do so and was openly rebuked by the apostle.

3 John 9-10 I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not. 10 Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church.

Diotrephes becomes a warning to anyone who desires to become the “church boss”. It may be a board member, a pastor, a teacher, a musician or a former officer of the church, a fellowship leader. No matter who, the Diotrephes mentality has no place in the Body. Only Christ is the Head. All the rest of us are in the class Jesus spoke of in Matthew 20 …servants.

 One pastor observed well, “You’re probably saying, “But there must be leadership to get the job done.” Yes, I agree. But it must be servant-hearted leadership among all. You see, I am not interested in which form of government you or your church may embrace but only that one that every one involved in that ministry (whether leaders or not) sees himself as one who serves, one who gives. It’s the attitude that is most important. Perhaps the finest model, except Christ Himself, was that young Jew from Tarsus who was radically transformed from a strong-willed official in Judaism to a bond-servant of Jesus Christ – Paul. What a remarkable change, what a remarkable man.” [1]

It is hard being a servant. Often, a servant is not recognized. A servant is often treated as a servant. We must not forget the privilge of servanthood.

 

Two thoughts:

  • Feeling Used and Unappreciated
  • Pride

 

(1) Feeling Used and Unappreciated

2 Kings 4:38-44 And Elisha came again to Gilgal: and there was a dearth in the land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him: and he said unto his servant, Set on the great pot, and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets.

Because a famine came, Gehazi is told to cook, get a pot of stew ready. Put on the large pot and boil stew for the sons of the prophets.

39 And one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered thereof wild gourds his lap full, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage: for they knew them not.

Inadvertently, some poisonous plants were mixed into the pot and there was an outcry.

40 So they poured out for the men to eat. And it came to pass, as they were eating of the pottage, that they cried out, and said, O thou man of God, there is death in the pot. And they could not eat thereof. 41 But he said, Then bring meal. And he cast it into the pot; and he said, Pour out for the people, that they may eat. And there was no harm in the pot.

One experienced pastor observed, “Serve others long enough and you’ll periodically dip into this valley as Gehazi did when he had done all the work… but Elisha got all the credit…the servant can’t even make stew! How frustrated can one get? Unless I miss my guess, little embarrassment was added to the frustration…and Gehazi probably felt the sting of not being appreciated. You know, always being preempted by the prophet. Even though he had done everything he had been told to do.”

He further observed, “So it is with servants today. It is so easy to feel used and unappreciated. Do I write to you who serve behind the scenes in a ministry or a business? You work faithfully and diligently, yet the glory goes to another. Your efforts make someone else successful. How easy to feel resentful! Assistant directors, associate and assistant pastors, secretaries, administrators, “internal personnel,” all members of the I-work-hard-but-because-I’m-no-up-front-I-never-get-the-credit-club, take heart! Our God rewards in secret will not overlook a commitment.”[2]

Hebrews 6:10 (KJV) 10 For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.

 This is a great verse for those of you who feel used and unappreciated. To observe from our text all the work that Elisha asked Gehazi to do and how he simply be tempted to become discouraged at the menial task that he was asked to do.

The Apostle Paul taught that the servant is to be faithful.

1 Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful. 3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man’s judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self. 4 For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord. 5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God. 1 Corinthians 4:1-5 (KJV)

The word “minister” “hyperetes”, “servant” is derived from the preposition “hupo” under, beneath and “eretes”, a rower; hence an under-rower. The Apostle Paul did not use the other word “diakonos” for slave/servant. This word “hyperetes” a description of a rower or slave on the lower level of a ship’s deck, who rows of oars that great sweeps through the sea to move the vessel. This is the description of a lowly, poor, self-effacing, subservient, unprivileged coolie, labourer or server.

The Apostle Paul is describing the lowly status of a diligent labourer. Yet this unprivileged slave by his contribution as a rower helps sail the boat. He is a servant belonging to Christ. Jesus Christ is his Master. Here the Apostle Paul is using word pictures to describe this coolie who works for the kingdom of God. This work that the Apostle Paul did in the founding of churches throughout the Roman Empire was with great sufferings.

Illustration
“There is the national rowing team of country M that was trying to prove that they are able. It was agreed that each team to be made up of 8 members. After months of intensive training, the race began! But Country J won by 1 km! The people of country M were furious with the disappointing results. The management decided to win the race next year at ANY cost. So they established a team of analysts to observe the situation and recommend an appropriate solution. After detailed analysis, the team observed that the J rowers had seven rowers and one captain. The M team had seven captains and only one rower. Facing such crucial scenario, the management showed an unexpected wisdom. They hired a consulting company to restructure the M Team. After many months…The consultants concluded that there were too many captains and too few rowers in the M team. A solution was proposed based on a BRILLIANT analysis. The structure of the team must change immediately. As today, there will only be 4 captains, 2 supervisors, 1 manager and 1 rower. Besides this, they also suggested to improve the rower’s working environment and to give him higher competencies. Come next year, the J team won by 2 km. The M team immediately removed the rower from the team based on his unsatisfactory performance. A bonus award was paid to the management for the excellent motivation they had shown during the preparation phase. The consulting company further prepared a new analysis, which showed that the strategy was good, the motivation satisfactory, but the tools had to be improved. Currently, the M Team is designing a NEW BOAT!”

42 And there came a man from Baalshalisha, and brought the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley, and full ears of corn in the husk thereof. And he said, Give unto the people, that they may eat. 43 And his servitor said, What, should I set this before an hundred men? He said again, Give the people, that they may eat: for thus saith the LORD, They shall eat, and shall leave thereof. 44 So he set it before them, and they did eat, and left thereof, according to the word of the LORD.

Here Gehazi was asked to serve to 100 men. Again, a gigantic task for a single servant. It is easy to feel discouraged, to feel that we are the only one serving and to be indulged in self-pity.

But another warning is in order.

 

(2) Pride

We are to keep in sight, make a close watch for pride. God’s true servant is like the Lord Jesus, who came not to be served but to serve, to give His life a random for many (Mark 10:45).

It is observed well, “To serve means is to give. Pride wants strokes – lots of them. It loves to get credit, to be mentioned, to receive glory, to have people, – ooh and ahhh. Ideally, your superiors will be thoughtful people who give you the credit you deserve, but, unfortunately, that will not always occur. And your pride will need to be held in check. At those tough times when you make stew and someone else gets the strokes, remember your role is to serve and to give.”

  1. Oswald Sanders correctly writes:

“Nothing is more distasteful to God than self-conceit. This first and fundamental sin in essence aims at enthroning self at the expense of God…

Pride is a sin of whose presence its victim is least conscious…

If we are honest, we measure ourselves by the life of our Lord who humbled Himself even death on a cross, we cannot but be overwhelmed with the tardiness and shabbiness, and even the vileness of our hearts.”

True love flowing from authentic servants does not keep a record of who did what, and it does not look to others for the credit. In other words, real servants stay conscious of the blindness pride can create.[3]

 

CONCLUSION

May the Lord bless our service to the honour and glory of His blessed Name. Amen.

 

[1] Charles Swindoll, The Inspirational Writings of Charles R. Swindoll, Inspirational Press, 1988, 15-16.

[2] Ibid., 104-105.

[3] Ibid., 105-106.