We Must Be About My Father's Business

GET DOWN TO BUSINESS - WE MUST BE ABOUT MY FATHER'S BUSINESS

Main Text: 2 Kings 4:8-35 (NLT)

1. Jesus clarifies what's important to him- God's Business

Luke 2:41 (NKJV) The Boy Jesus Amazes the Scholars 41 His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. 42 And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast. 43 When they had finished the days, as they returned, the Boy Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem. And Joseph and His mother did not know it; 44 but supposing Him to have been in the company, they went a day's journey, and sought Him among their relatives and acquaintances. 45 So when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him. 46 Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers. 48 So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, "Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously." 49 And He said to them, "Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?" 50 But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them.

• We express our hope in God, by what we do while waiting from the manifestation of our hope.

• The key I see for her breakthrough was her delight in the things of God

Psalm 37:4-5 (AMP) 4 Delight yourself in the Lord, And He will give you the desires and petitions of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the Lord; Trust in Him also and He will do it.

In this story we will see how God is a restorer in 3 ways.

GOD RESTORTER #1 | CHILDBEARING

2 Kings 4:8-16 (NLT) 8 One day Elisha went to the town of Shunem. A wealthy woman lived there, and she urged him to come to her home for a meal. After that, whenever he passed that way, he would stop there for something to eat. 9 She said to her husband, "I am sure this man who stops in from time to time is a holy man of God. 10 Let's build a small room for him on the roof and furnish it with a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp. Then he will have a place to stay whenever he comes by.

• She made room for Him

• We have to consistently make room for God in our lives

• Wherever you make room for God He will expand

• If you can make what's important to God, important to you, God will make what's important to you, important to Him

11 One day Elisha returned to Shunem, and he went up to this upper room to rest. 12 He said to his servant Gehazi, "Tell the woman from Shunem I want to speak to her." When she appeared, 13 Elisha said to Gehazi, "Tell her, 'We appreciate the kind concern you have shown us. What can we do for you? Can we put in a good word for you to the king or to the commander of the army?'" "No," she replied, "my family takes good care of me." 14 Later Elisha asked Gehazi, "What can we do for her?" Gehazi replied, "She doesn't have a son, and her husband is an old man." 15 "Call her back again," Elisha told him. When the woman returned, Elisha said to her as she stood in the doorway, 16 "Next year at this time you will be holding a son in your arms!" "No, my lord!" she cried. "O man of God, don't deceive me and get my hopes up like that."

Psalm 37:4-5 (AMP) 4 Delight yourself in the Lord, And He will give you the desires and petitions of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the Lord; Trust in Him also and He will do it.

Matthew 10:40-42 (NLT) 40 "Anyone who receives you receives me, and anyone who receives me receives the Father who sent me. 41 If you receive a prophet as one who speaks for God, you will be given the same reward as a prophet. And if you receive righteous people because of their righteousness, you will be given a reward like theirs. 42 And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded."

2 Kings 4:17 (NLT) 17 But sure enough, the woman soon became pregnant. And at that time the following year she had a son, just as Elisha had said.

GOD RESTORTER #2 | LIFE

2 Kings 4:18-20 (NLT) 18 One day when her child was older, he went out to help his father, who was working with the harvesters. 19 Suddenly he cried out, "My head hurts! My head hurts!" His father said to one of the servants, "Carry him home to his mother." 20 So the servant took him home, and his mother held him on her lap. But around noontime he died.

• The child is dead, not sick but dead

2 Kings 4:21 (NLT) 21 She carried him up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, then shut the door and left him there.

STEP 1 | IF HE DID IT BEFORE HE CAN DO IT AGAIN - FOLLOW THE SCRIPT

1 Kings 17:17-24 (AMP) - Elijah Raises the Widow's Son 17 It happened after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became sick; and his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. 18 So she said to Elijah, "What [problem] is there between you and me, O man of God? Have you come to me to bring my sin to mind and to put my son to death?" 19 He said to her, "Give me your son." Then he took him from her arms and carried him up to the upper room where he was living, and laid him on his own bed. 20 He called to the Lord and said, "O Lord my God, have You brought further tragedy to the widow with whom I am staying, by causing her son to die?" 21 Then he stretched himself out upon the child three times, and called to the Lord and said, "O Lord my God, please let this child's life return to him." 22 The Lord heard the voice of Elijah, and the life of the child returned to him and he revived. 23 Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper room into the [lower part of the] house and gave him to his mother; and Elijah said, "See, your son is alive." 24 Then the woman said to Elijah, "Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.

2 Kings 4:22 (AMP) 22 She sent a message to her husband: "Send one of the servants and a donkey so that I can hurry to the man of God and come right back."23 "Why go today?" he asked. "It is neither a new moon festival nor a Sabbath." But she said, "It will be all right."

STEP 2 | ACT OF FAITH - GO TO THE MAN OF GOD NOW

Romans 4:18 (AMP) 18 In hope against hope Abraham believed that he would become a father of many nations, as he had been promised [by God]: "So [numberless] shall your descendants be."

2 Kings 4:24-26 (NLT) 24 So she saddled the donkey and said to the servant, "Hurry! Don't slow down unless I tell you to." 25 As she approached the man of God at Mount Carmel, Elisha saw her in the distance. He said to Gehazi, "Look, the woman from Shunem is coming. 26 Run out to meet her and ask her, 'Is everything all right with you, your husband, and your child?'" "Yes," the woman told Gehazi, "everything is fine."

STEP 3 | SHE KEPT HER CONFESSION IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE WORD

• Everything is fine- also meant, I know it's going to be alright

• The question is why does she know this, because the child was God's gift to her because it was a miracle, she didn't ask for this son

2 Kings 4:27 (NLT) 27 But when she came to the man of God at the mountain, she fell to the ground before him and caught hold of his feet. Gehazi began to push her away, but the man of God said, "Leave her alone. She is deeply troubled, but the Lord has not told me what it is."

STEP 4 | SHE DIDN'T LET THE SERVANT STOP HER

Matthew 15:21-28 (AMP) The Syrophoenician Woman 21 After leaving there, Jesus withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And a Canaanite woman from that district came out and began to cry out [urgently], saying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David (Messiah); my daughter is cruelly possessed by a demon." 23 But He did not say a word in answer to her. And His disciples came and asked Him [repeatedly], "Send her away, because she keeps shouting out after us." 24 He answered, "I was commissioned by God and sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." 25 But she came and began to kneel down before Him, saying, "Lord, help me!" 26 And He replied, "It is not good (appropriate, fair) to take the children's bread and throw it to the pet dogs." 27 She said, "Yes, Lord; but even the pet dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their [young] masters' table." 28 Then Jesus answered her, "Woman, your faith [your personal trust and confidence in My power] is great; it will be done for you as you wish." And her daughter was healed from that moment.

2 Kings 4:28-30 (NLT) 28 Then she said, "Did I ask you for a son, my lord? And didn't I say, 'Don't deceive me and get my hopes up'?" 29 Then Elisha said to Gehazi, "Get ready to travel; take my staff and go! Don't talk to anyone along the way. Go quickly and lay the staff on the child's face." 30 But the boy's mother said, "As surely as the Lord lives and you yourself live, I won't go home unless you go with me." So Elisha returned with her.

STEP 5 | SHE WOULD NOT SETTLED FOR ANYTHING LESS THAN ELISHA COMING

• Friends there will be times in your life were you can't settle

• Jacob said it, I won't let you go until you bless me

• Ester- said if I die, I die

• The three hebrews boy said, oh king we don't have to think about it, we will not bow down to your idol

2 Kings 4:31-35 (NLT) 31 Gehazi hurried on ahead and laid the staff on the child's face, but nothing happened. There was no sign of life. He returned to meet Elisha and told him, "The child is still dead." 32 When Elisha arrived, the child was indeed dead, lying there on the prophet's bed. 33 He went in alone and shut the door behind him and prayed to the Lord. 34 Then he lay down on the child's body, placing his mouth on the child's mouth, his eyes on the child's eyes, and his hands on the child's hands. And as he stretched out on him, the child's body began to grow warm again! 35 Elisha got up, walked back and forth across the room once, and then stretched himself out again on the child. This time the boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes!

STEP 6 | RESTORATION ON PROPERTY

2 Kings 8:1-8 (NLT) The Woman from Shunem Returns Home 1 Elisha had told the woman whose son he had brought back to life, "Take your family and move to some other place, for the Lord has called for a famine on Israel that will last for seven years." 2 So the woman did as the man of God instructed. She took her family and settled in the land of the Philistines for seven years. 3 After the famine ended she returned from the land of the Philistines, and she went to see the king about getting back her house and land. 4 As she came in, the king was talking with Gehazi, the servant of the man of God. The king had just said, "Tell me some stories about the great things Elisha has done." 5 And Gehazi was telling the king about the time Elisha had brought a boy back to life. At that very moment, the mother of the boy walked in to make her appeal to the king about her house and land. "Look, my lord the king!" Gehazi exclaimed. "Here is the woman now, and this is her son—the very one Elisha brought back to life!" 6 "Is this true?" the king asked her. And she told him the story. So he directed one of his officials to see that everything she had lost was restored to her, including the value of any crops that had been harvested during her absence.

Wisdom Keys

WISDOM KEY #1 DON'T QUIT ASKING

LUKE 18:1-8 (AMP) 1 Now Jesus was telling the disciples a parable to make the point that at all times they ought to pray and not give up and lose heart, 2 saying, "In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and had no respect for man. 3 There was a [desperate] widow in that city and she kept coming to him and saying, 'Give me justice and legal protection from my adversary.' 4 For a time he would not; but later he said to himself, 'Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow continues to bother me, I will give her justice and legal protection; otherwise by continually coming she [will be an intolerable annoyance and she] will wear me out.'" 6 Then the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says! 7 And will not [our just] God defend and avenge His elect [His chosen ones] who cry out to Him day and night? Will He delay [in providing justice] on their behalf? 8 I tell you that He will defend and avenge them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find [this kind of persistent] faith on the earth?"

Discussion Questions

1. At age 12, Jesus said "I must be about My Father's business." What does it mean to be about God's business in your daily life? How do we balance earthly responsibilities with kingdom priorities?
2. The Shunammite woman "made room" for Elisha by building him a room. In what practical ways can we make room for God in our busy lives today?
3. The principle states: "If you can make what's important to God important to you, God will make what's important to you important to Him." How have you seen this principle work in your life or the lives of others?
4. The woman "delighted in the things of God" (Psalm 37:4). What does it mean to delight yourself in the Lord, and how does this differ from merely obeying Him out of duty?
5. When asked "Is everything all right?" the woman said "Yes" even though her son was dead. How do we speak in faith without denying reality or being dishonest about our pain?
6. The woman knew God had done it before (through Elijah), so she believed He could do it again. How does remembering God's past faithfulness strengthen our faith in current impossible situations?
7. The notes mention times when "you can't settle"—citing Jacob, Esther, and the three Hebrew boys. What situation in your life requires this kind of unwavering, non-negotiable faith?
8. The woman refused to accept just the staff; she insisted Elisha himself come. When have you had to refuse "good enough" and hold out for God's best?
9. God restored not just her son but also her property and all she lost during the famine. What does this complete restoration teach us about God's heart toward those who faithfully serve Him?
10. Luke 18:1-8 emphasizes praying and not giving up. Jesus asks, "When the Son of Man comes, will He find this kind of persistent faith on the earth?" How can we cultivate this kind of persistent, never-quit faith?

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