GOOD NEIGHBOURLINESS – Saturday August 5th 2017
Memorise: Follow peace with all men, and
holiness. Without which no man shall see the Lord: Hebrews 12:14
Read: 2nd Kings 4:1-7 (KJV)
4:1 Now there cried a
certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy
servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the Lord: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be
bondmen.
4:2 And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for
thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath
not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil.
4:3 Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad
of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few.
4:4 And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut
the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those
vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full.
4:5 So she went from him, and shut the door upon
her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out.
4:6 And it came to pass, when the vessels were
full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her,
There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed.
4:7 Then she came and told the man of God. And he
said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the
rest.
Bible in one year: 1st Kings
18-19, Ezekiel 20:27-38, Hymn: Sing hymn 9
MESSAGE:
Being the God
who knows the end from the beginning and the beginning from the end, when the
Lord gives us a commandment, it’s because He had already considered the
beginning, the present and the end. This consideration applies to the Lord’s
commandment in today’s memory verse, instructing us to follow peace with all
men. This commandment is for our good, both now and in the hereafter. You need
to practise good neighbourliness for the sake of the gospel and to bring glory
to your Father in Heaven. The story of the widow in today’s Bible reading
demonstrates the blessings that come through good neighbourliness. This widow
cried to Elisha because her husband owed a debt he could not pay before he
died, and her two sons were to be sold into slavery to settle the debt. The
prophet asked her what she had that God could work with, and she mentioned a
pot of oil. That was more than enough for the God who brought out something as
great as the universe from nothing. So, Elisha asked the widow to go to her
neighbours and borrow as many vessels as were available, after which she should
lock herself up with her sons for the business of miracle oil-bottling. They
did this and the oil began to flow until there were no more empty vessels left.
The widow eventually became an oil merchant because the prophet directed her to
sell the oil, pay the creditors and use the rest of the money to meet the needs
of her family.
There are many
lessons we can learn from this story. First, we must value what we have because
it is what we have that God will use to meet our needs. Secondly, no matter how
much we may have in our possession, it is always more than enough for God to
perform His miracles in our lives with. This truth was also demonstrated when
Jesus used five loaves and two fishes to feed more than five thousand people (Matthew
14:17-21). Thirdly, without the assistance of the widow’s
neighbours, the effect of the miracle would have been limited. We would always
need our neighbours and our neighbours would always need us. The absence of
good neighbourliness would have denied this widow the use of her neighbours’
vessels. She would not have had the courage to go to her neighbours if she had
been fighting them. Beloved, as taught by our Lord Jesus Christ, let us add
good neighbourliness to our Christian virtue. Matthew 5:16 says,
“Let your light so shine before men,
that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
Good
neighbourliness produces both spiritual and physical blessings. Therefore, in the
Church of God and in our community, let us be agents of peace, unity and
friendless. Through this, unbelievers will see our good works and be drawn to
our Heavenly Father.
Action Point
Determine in your heart to do good to at
least one person a day, and pray for grace to do it.
Open Heavens Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye,
the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the
largest evangelical Church in the world and also the President of Christ the
Redeemer's Ministries.
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