Heaven’s Daily Bread with Bolatito Praise

TOPIC: THE SHUNAMITE WOMAN(HOSPITALITY)

TEXT: 2 KINGS 4:9-10 “[9]And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually.
[10]Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick: and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither.”

MEMORY VERSE: HEBREW 13:2 “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”

FOCUS
This morning, we are going to be looking at another criteria to become a sign and a wonder and we are looking at the power of Hospitality. Hospitality has the power to turn a Man’s life in a 360° motion. Have you seen a man who is on a low base of life? That same person can be changed from small to great through Hospitality. Hospitality is not what you do for God but it is what you do for humanity. So what then is the essence of life without Hospitality? This is the reason why today, we are looking at the Shunamite Woman.

This Shunamite woman is a great woman. Though she had needs in her life, she never allowed her needs to blind her eyes. Just like Paul said in the Bible about the Macedonia Church that there is no church that communicated to him in giving and receiving like the Macedonia Church, that even in their abject poverty, they were still giving. The Shunamite woman is a woman who has a need yet she decided to move away from her need to be a blessing to humanity.

Who was she? She was just a woman who had a husband and God had given her shelter. She observed that her visitor was a Man of God and she sheltered him. The Bible says “She perceived”. So when it comes to Hospitality, your perception must be correct. Many people will not be a blessing to anyone because they do not perceive and they do not believe that someone else has a need. This is why when you want to engage in Hospitality, there is a need for your perception. You have to perceive and sense that this person is truly in need. Not because the person is saying it, but because your mind tells you that this person is genuinely in need.

After the Shunamite woman met the need of the man of God, guess what happened next! She did not have to pray for a child, she did not have to pray for a miracle, and she did not have to pray for a sign and a wonder. That Hospitality graduated from a nobody to somebody, from barrenness to fruitfulness, and from low to high.

She transformed just by being Hospitable. The Grace upon the man of God worked for her. There is nothing in life that turns situations around like signs and wonders. And signs and wonders are not just for a group of people, it is for everybody.

LESSON
2 KINGS 4:14 “And he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi answered, Verily she hath no child, and her husband is old.”

We are looking at Hospitality as a tool to become a sign and a wonder. Never think that anytime you are hospitable to people, God is not a witness because for everyone you have shown kindness, there is a God factor between the two of you.

We could see that in 2 KINGS chapter 4 verse 14, the man of God asked “what can we do for this woman?” “What do we do for this woman that has shown us this great help? And Gehazi said that he perceived that the woman had no child. What is the relationship between a child and Hospitality? When you are Hospitable, you can not tell the blessings that God pays you back with.

Many times, God only needs us to give the little in our hands so that he can give us the much in his hands. He wants us to bring the grains in our hands so that he can give us the bags of grains in his hands. Do not forget that God has everything in excess. He is the giver of life and the owner of life. He is the creator of Heaven and Earth. The Bible says that the thousand hills belongs to him. There is nothing that God does not have. He is the owner of children and one Hospitality can turn everything around. So let’s be hospitable, let’s show kindness to people because those who do not show kindness, are those who will never become a sign and a wonder.

Today, we have learnt a lesson from the Shunamite woman that it pays to be Hospitable. Hospitality open doors to signs and wonders. It opens you up to blessings that you can never imagine. Just giving a cup of water to someone can turn your life around. The Bible says that we should not be weary in well-doing for in due season we shall reap if we faint not. When the Bible was talking about Sarah and Abraham, the Bible told us that they even entertained Angels unaware.

Paul the Apostle also encouraged us to follow this order and do things within our capacity to be a blessing to people. Let someone just thank God for meeting you. Put a smile on somebody. Put a plate of food on somebody’s table. The Bible said “Especially the household of faith”. The pastors and the priests(I mean the servants of God). When you bless the man of God, God makes sure you do not lack.

Be a blessing to someone today and you will be a sign and a wonder. God bless you.

PERSONAL CONFESSION
I receive grace to be hospitable and not be hostile.

PRAYER FOCUS
Father deliver me from insensitivity that hinders signs and wonders in the name of Jesus Christ.

NOTE:Nothing triggers signs and wonders like genuine Hospitality.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT
God’s blessings is always on the giver and not the receiver

BE HOSPITABLE.