LIFE LESSONS FROM THE BOOK OF 2 KINGS 3:11




"But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD, that we may inquire of the LORD by him? And one of the king of Israel's servants answered and said, Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, which poured water  on the hands of Elijah."


10 KEYS - THE MYSTERY OF SERVANTHOOD.

1.If you don't serve , how can you lead ? Timothy was the one who carried paul's bag. (2 Tim 4:13) He most have been a good servant to paul, for his name to be included the Epistles of Paul .2 Tim 1:1,2"
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus,."2 To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ
Jesus our Lord."
2.The "ropes" of effective leadership is learnt during service .Everything comes with experience. Now see this ,even God had His own experience with the man He created ,that He drove man away from the
garden of Eden. Gen 3:24"So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life."
3.You can never become an effective leader without humility . Jesus our great example was humble even to the point of death and we saw how God honored Him with a name above all name's . Phil 2:8,9 "And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:"
4.A potential leader can easily be noticed amongst other serving leaders .One of the King's servants noticed Elisha amongst the sons of the prophets . verse 11 "And one of the king of Israel's servants answered and said, Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, which poured water on the hands of Elijah."
5.A potential leader will always pursue spiritual things more than material things . Why? He knows the spiritual controls the physical . Elisha knew about what the anointing could do , so he deligently sought
after it .2 Kings 2:9 "And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me."
6.Your leader always has something to offer . Elisha saw what he wanted in the life of Elijah and he patiently endured the mockery that not even the son's of the prophets could discourage him. 2 Kings 2:5 " And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he answered, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace."
7.Your background has nothing to do with effective leadership . "I am from the royal family" has nothing to do with effective leadership . what you don't know , you don't know . Is as simple as that !Elisha did
not allow his family background to influence him.Jesus said if you want to lead like me , than be ready to take up your cross and follow me .Luke 9:23 (NLT)"Then he said to the crowd, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me."
8.An effective leader is always focused on the service he/she has being called upon to serve.When you are focused on your job , people will notice you . David was in the wildreness taking care of the sheep , yet
somebody noticed . 1 Sam 16:18(NLT)"One of the servants said to Saul, "One of Jesse's sons from Bethlehem is a talented harp player. Not only that--he is a brave warrior, a man of war, and has good judgment. He is also a fine-looking young man, and the LORD is with him."
9.Before you receive , you give . Elisha gave his time and service to Elijah.And when it was time for him to receive back from Elijah , he was richly rewarded for his service , even though he placed a hard request ,
it was still granted . Scripture says it Luke 6:38 (NLT)"Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full--pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back." give your time ,service  etc to your leaders and when it is time , you will be richly rewarded for your service .
10. Elisha served until it was now his turn to be served . you don't give up in serving until it gets to your turn . Amen. 2 Kings 2:15"And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him,
they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him."


Prayer : Father teach me o lord how to serve until it gets to my turn in

the name of Jesus , Amen.


It is your turn ! Amen.



you re blessed!