How You Living? - Min Paul Foulks

The Shunammite woman’s story in 2 Kings 4 sets the principle before everything else: she perceived the man of God, prioritized what God was doing, and positioned a room for him in her own house. Her care was not a hustle for a blessing, but God is never in an unbalanced relationship, so provision came to a place she had stopped dreaming about. God gave her a son, something money could not buy, and God also protected what He provided when the child died and when her land was taken. The principle presses hard: perception, priority, and position make room for God’s provision and His perpetual blessing.

First John 4 brings the matter down to how life is actually being lived. The text says that God is love, and the one who claims to love God while hating a brother is a liar. The question “How you living?” is not about church language, not about saying “I’m good,” and not about sounding highly blessed and favored. The question is about whether love is shaping the way people are treated before life passes by.

The command to love one another stands at the center because so much human pain comes from mistreatment. Matthew 25 makes the issue heavier, because Jesus identifies Himself with the hungry, thirsty, stranger, naked, sick, and imprisoned. The refusal to help the least is a refusal to help Him. The Ten Commandments show the same concern, because killing, adultery, stealing, lying, coveting, and dishonoring parents all deal with how people harm one another.

The deeper source is self-image. A person who does not love himself or herself properly will project that broken value onto somebody else. Genesis says humanity was made in the image of God, and God built the whole earth to show human beings their worth. The $100 bill does not lose value when it is thrown down or stepped on because it is backed by something, and a person’s value is backed by the One who made that person.

The love of God becomes the root under everything. Jesus says to love God and to love a neighbor as oneself, so love for God, proper love of self, and love for others are all connected. The cross shows that God can be trusted, because Christ paid a price nobody else could pay. Perfect love casts out fear, and the hand of God can turn abandonment, fire, loss, and pain into strength. The fourth man in the fire keeps a person from looking like what that person has been through. The call is to live in love, not fear, hate, unforgiveness, or bitterness.

Key Takeaways

• 1. Love proves what the mouth claims A mouth can say “I love God,” but First John measures that claim by the treatment of visible brothers and sisters. Love is not proven by religious language when hatred, abuse, racism, or bitterness is still being protected. God ties devotion to Himself to the way His people are handled, because “God don’t play about” those who bear His image. [53:15]
• 2. Self-value shapes neighbor-love A poor self-image does not stay private. It leaks out in words, reactions, control, violence, and the need to tear somebody else down. Proper love of self is not arrogance, but agreement with the God who made humanity in His own image and assigned value before anybody had an opinion. [65:45]
• 3. God backs what He creates A $100 bill keeps its value after being thrown down because something stands behind it. Human value works deeper than that, because the Creator Himself stands behind every person He made. When that truth settles in, mistreatment becomes harder to justify and apology becomes easier to offer. [64:29]
• 4. Trust grows by looking back God’s hand is often clearer in the rearview than in the moment. What looked like abandonment, delay, fire, or loss can become the very place where God was protecting, training, and strengthening. The fourth man in the fire does not always remove the heat first, but He keeps His people from smelling like smoke. [82:24]
• 5. Love reaches enemies, not favorites Love is easy when people are kind, loyal, and agreeable. The true test comes when people mistreat, oppose, or wound, because enemy-love exposes whether the Holy Spirit is changing the heart. Prayer for hard people and hard leaders is not approval of wrong, but trust that the King’s heart is still in God’s hand. [85:55]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [36:43] - The Shunammite Woman Makes Room
• [40:08] - God Is Never Unbalanced
• [45:39] - Giving and Faith Confession
• [48:23] - First John Says God Is Love
• [50:14] - How You Living?
• [55:13] - How People Treat One Another
• [59:02] - Jesus and the Least of These
• [62:39] - Commandments About Not Harming People
• [65:45] - Learning to Love Yourself Properly
• [68:55] - Love God, Neighbor, and Self
• [77:12] - Trusting the Love of God
• [83:14] - The Fourth Man in the Fire
• [87:32] - Salvation and Church Invitation

1. What three actions did the Shunammite woman take to honor Elisha, and what resulted from her choices? (2 Kings 4:8-17)
2. According to 1 John 4:20, why is it impossible to love God while hating others?
3. In the sermon, how did Jesus connect our treatment of others to our eternal destiny in Matthew 25:43-46? [59:28]
4. What analogy was used to explain how human value remains intact even when mistreated? [01:04:29]

1. Why do you think God ties our love for Him directly to how we treat people (1 John 4:20)? How does this challenge cultural ideas about “spirituality”?
2. The Shunammite woman received a blessing she “stopped dreaming about” (2 Kings 4:14). Why might God sometimes provide in areas we’ve given up hoping for?
3. The sermon states, “A poor self-image leaks out in words, reactions, or control.” [01:05:45] How does seeing oneself as made in God’s image (Genesis 1:26-27) change how we interact with others?
4. Jesus says refusing to help “the least” is refusing Him (Matthew 25:45). What does this reveal about God’s priorities for His followers?

1. Identify one relationship where you’ve struggled to show love (e.g., family, coworker, neighbor). What practical step could you take this week to honor their God-given value? [53:15]
2. Reflect on an area where you’ve “stopped dreaming” (like the Shunammite woman). How could you surrender that desire to God while staying open to His provision? [41:49]
3. When have you recognized God’s faithfulness after a difficult season (like “seeing His hand in the rearview”)? How can remembering this strengthen your trust in current challenges? [01:22:24]
4. The sermon asks, “Can you pray for someone who’s mistreated you?” [01:25:55] Write down the name of one person in this category. What would it look like to pray for them daily this month?
5. How might your daily choices change if you fully believed your value is “backed by the One who made you” (like the $100 bill analogy)? [01:04:29]
6. What “unloving” habit (gossip, resentment, indifference) do you need to confess and replace with active love? Be specific.
7. The Ten Commandments forbid harming others (Exodus 20). Which commandment do you find hardest to live out relationally, and why?