A Great Light In The Midst of Darkness - Part 2

Even the five cities, the seaside cities, the cities where people went for their rest, all belong to the Philistines. He always takes the best, you know. They were delivered out of the hand of the Philistines. And we looked at the five cities. These are my five cities. Consecrated Christians, spirit-filled homes, spirit-filled churches, spirit-filled evangelism, and lastly, spirit-filled leadership. An assembly will never rise higher than the level of its spiritual leader. We need godly men again, with their wives, moving them out. And then, this is what I loved. All the days of Samuel, the Philistines were defeated. You see, it wasn't a flash. It was a movement of the spirit that lasted. Now, a question. I've had a lovely time with these young people. I was here yesterday from ten to four, teaching them the scriptures on the life of deliverance. It was lovely. I felt tired at the end. They didn't. And they went into prayer, and God met with them. God's raising up in this area young people who really mean business. And they want the word of God. Thank God for that. And I thought that was marvellous. But then, all the days of Samuel, the Philistines were defeated. And we learned there were two generations. There was the generation that came from Eli, Phinehas, and Ichabod. There was the generation that came from Hannah. And that produced a Samuel. And Samuel produced revival. May God raise up an army of young men and young women that will get back to the word. Back to the power of the spirit, that we might see again God moving in our midst. But what happens when we don't heed the revival? And that young sister said, what happens when things remain dead? Well, there's a light even in the darkness. And that's my subject tonight. A light in the darkness. We're going to turn to 2 Kings chapter 4. 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 a creditor is come to take unto him my two sons that be bumpen. I'm reading from the second of Kings chapter 4. And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? Tell me, what hast thou in thy house? And she said, Thy handmaid hath not anything in the house, save a pot of oil. Then he said, Go borrow thee vessels abroad of thy neighbours, even empty vessels, borrow not a few. 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. Can I repeat that last little phrase? And thou shalt set aside that which is full. 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. 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. 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. And God will bless to us the reading of his word. The background to Elisha and to this particular woman was exceedingly dark. The whole of Israel was in a state of apostasy. And the morality or I should say the immorality was appalling. And in the midst of that terrible darkness we see this brilliant light. And therefore in the midst of moral and religious darkness, there can still be blessing if we see the secret of this particular miracle. First of all, I want to share with you the woman's predicament. And that's twofold. Then I want to show you from the scripture the woman's poverty and what extreme poverty it was. Then I want you to look at the woman's provision and what provision it was. Then right at the end, if you don't mind a little bit of modern language, the woman's pension. And it lasted right until she was called home. Now may that touch our hearts tonight. Now notice verse one. And there cried, now underline that word in your Bible, cried. That's important. A certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy husband, 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. First of all, the predicament of bereavement. If you have been married for a long while, or even if you have been married for a short while, and you lose your husband or wife, it is a tremendous blow. And we should have a care for those people. But this woman loses a man of God, you say, how do you know that? There are three qualifications mentioned. First of all, she says, thy servant, that was his commercial life. Then she says, my husband, and in the original, so the scholars tell me, it could be translated, my dear husband. That's his family life. And thou knowest that thy servant did fear the Lord. What does that mean? His spiritual life. And therefore when you have those three qualities all joined in a man, you've got a man of God. First of all, let's look at thy servant. Here was a man that would work for Elisha, and he would work for Elisha in such a way that he was pleasing God in every detail. Now this is what we must all learn. Most of our time is spent in the workshop or in the boardroom. And therefore if you're a baker or if you're a bricklayer or if you're a carpenter or you may be a director of a firm or a chairman of the firm, you are working there before people who are watching you. And that's where we've got to be a witness. If a man is a carpenter and a bricklayer, he must do it for the glory of God and be a witness. If a man is in business, it may be even big business, then his business must be absolutely straight. I remember Mr Agnew asking me to come in and speak. I think there were about 220 workmen. And I shall never forget that man standing up with tears in his eyes.