August 18, 2013 Meeting Subject: Intentions of Two Men Good intentions do not ensure that all is correct. Unintended consequences many times are a testimony that what was done was not profitable. 2Ki 4:38 ¶ 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. 2Ki 4:39 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. 2Ki 4:40 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. 2Ki 4:41 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. In the case above, the ONE man with probably good intention (spice up the soup) went out into the field (world) and brought in an abundance (lap full – more the better) of things that were wild (maybe even desirable to the eyes) to add to the prophet’s simple instructions. He even shredded them, and once in the pot, the herb became part of the soup. But the result was DEATH in the pot. How many times have we heard of someone adding new inventions of men to the worship service to find it only generates strife and turmoil (DEATH). To remedy this, something very right had to be added, which was meal (ground up flour), which is a type of Christ himself. The simplicity of Christ is the remedy. Another ONE man’s intention was much different. 2Ki 4:42 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. 2Ki 4:43 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. 2Ki 4:44 So he set it before them, and they did eat, and left thereof, according to the word of the LORD. He brought bread of the Firstfruits. You will see that the consequences were that 20 loaves and full ears in the husk were enough to feed a hundred men. This sounds a lot like Jesus feeding the multitude with very little. The type found here is the man brought that which is of God, and the consequences were miraculous and profitable. They even ended up with more left over. That is because with God, there is no DEATH in the pot, and there is always more than we can consume. These lessons are good for us to consider as we ponder the power of the Simplicity of Christ and his Church. Jesus established his Church with a simple format and powerful message. The purpose of the Church has always been to WORSHIP GOD in Spirit and in Truth. No additives of the world needed, and only the firstfruits of our lips desired.
Posted on: Tue, 27 Aug 2013 03:34:29 +0000