When we give God the little bit we have, He will pour himself into us. All God wants is for you to give the vessel of yourself. This is all you have. God will give you favor if you act accord to his will. Pour self out and God will refill you.
Do not limit God!
>> This is all God wants out of you!
2 Kings 4 - Today's New International Version (TNIV)
The widow's oil
1 The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the LORD. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.”
2 Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?”
“Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a little olive oil.”
3 Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. 4 Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.”
5 She left him and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. 6 When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another one.”
But he replied, “There is not a jar left.” Then the oil stopped flowing.
7 She went and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.”
THE SHUNAMMITE’S SON RESTORED TO LIFE
8 One day Elisha went to Shunem. And a well-to-do woman was there, who urged him to stay for a meal. So whenever he came by, he stopped there to eat. 9 She said to her husband, “I know that this man who often comes our way is a holy man of God. 10 Let’s make a small room on the roof and put in it a bed and a table, a chair and a lamp for him. Then he can stay there whenever he comes to us.”
11 One day when Elisha came, he went up to his room and lay down there. 12 He said to his servant Gehazi, “Call the Shunammite.” So he called her, and she stood before him. 13 Elisha said to him, “Tell her, ‘You have gone to all this trouble for us. Now what can be done for you? Can we speak on your behalf to the king or the commander of the army?’”
She replied, “I have a home among my own people.”
14 “What can be done for her?” Elisha asked.
Gehazi said, “She has no son, and her husband is old.”
15 Then Elisha said, “Call her.” So he called her, and she stood in the doorway. 16 “About this time next year,” Elisha said, “you will hold a son in your arms.”
“No, my lord!” she objected. “Please, man of God, don’t mislead your servant!”
17 But the woman became pregnant, and the next year about that same time she gave birth to a son, just as Elisha had told her.
18 The child grew, and one day he went out to his father, who was with the reapers. 19 He said to his father, “My head! My head!”
His father told a servant, “Carry him to his mother.” 20 After the servant had lifted him up and carried him to his mother, the boy sat on her lap until noon, and then he died. 21 She went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, then shut the door and went out.
22 She called her husband and said, “Please send me one of the servants and a donkey so I can go to the man of God quickly and return.”
23 “Why go to him today?” he asked. “It’s not the New Moon or the Sabbath.”
“That’s all right,” she said.
24 She saddled the donkey and said to her servant, “Lead on; don’t slow down for me unless I tell you.” 25 So she set out and came to the man of God at Mount Carmel.
When he saw her in the distance, the man of God said to his servant Gehazi, “Look! There’s the Shunammite! 26 Run to meet her and ask her, ‘Are you all right? Is your husband all right? Is your child all right?’”
“Everything is all right,” she said.
27 When she reached the man of God at the mountain, she took hold of his feet. Gehazi came over to push her away, but the man of God said, “Leave her alone! She is in bitter distress, but the LORD has hidden it from me and has not told me why.”
28 “Did I ask you for a son, my lord?” she said. “Didn’t I tell you, ‘Don’t raise my hopes’?”
29 Elisha said to Gehazi, “Tuck your cloak into your belt, take my staff in your hand and run. Don’t greet anyone you meet, and if anyone greets you, do not answer. Lay my staff on the boy’s face.”
30 But the child’s mother said, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So he got up and followed her.
31 Gehazi went on ahead and laid the staff on the boy’s face, but there was no sound or response. So Gehazi went back to meet Elisha and told him, “The boy has not awakened.”
32 When Elisha reached the house, there was the boy lying dead on his couch. 33 He went in, shut the door on the two of them and prayed to the LORD. 34 Then he got on the bed and lay on the boy, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands. As he stretched himself out on him, the boy’s body grew warm. 35 Elisha turned away and walked back and forth in the room and then got on the bed and stretched out on him once more. The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes.
36 Elisha summoned Gehazi and said, “Call the Shunammite.” And he did. When she came, he said, “Take your son.” 37 She came in, fell at his feet and bowed to the ground. Then she took her son and went out.
DEATH IN THE POT
38 Elisha returned to Gilgal and there was a famine in that region. While the company of the prophets was meeting with him, he said to his servant, “Put on the large pot and cook some stew for this company.”
39 One of them went out into the fields to gather herbs and found a wild vine. He gathered some of its gourds and filled the fold of his cloak. When he returned, he cut them up into the pot of stew, though no one knew what they were. 40 The stew was poured out for the men, but as they began to eat it, they cried out, “Man of God, there is death in the pot!” And they could not eat it.
41 Elisha said, “Get some flour.” He put it into the pot and said, “Serve it to the people to eat.” And there was nothing harmful in the pot.
FEEDING OF A HUNDRED
42 A man came from Baal Shalishah, bringing the man of God twenty loaves of barley bread baked from the first ripe grain, along with some heads of new grain. “Give it to the people to eat,” Elisha said.
43 “How can I set this before a hundred men?” his servant asked.
But Elisha answered, “Give it to the people to eat. For this is what the LORD says: ‘They will eat and have some left over.’” 44 Then he set it before them, and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the LORD.
What God Will Do Depends A Great Deal On What You Expect Him To Do.
A Christian lady in the mid-west United States was recently diagnosed with brain caner. It was found to be in the rear portion on one side of her brain. The specialist who was treating her will all that medical science has to offer, call the family together and told them that, in his opinion, at the outside, she had 90 days to live.
She was prayed for the next Sunday. Her Church has told of the issue involves and the congregation prayed for her as a group. Probably some members of her group kept her in their individual prayers during the coming week. . She went to the doctor on Wednesday for more advice what to do and how to do it in the remaining time she had. During the visit, the Doctor made some checks again on her situation and the mass was gone. It had completely disappeared. The doctor told the family it was a miracle.
We Sell God Short By Not Allowing Him To Do Miracles.
That is who He is. That is who God is. That is what God does. The church, as we know it now, is a "Post modern" Church. The post modern Church is one of the grave errors of all times. The Post Modern Church has taken away the signs and wonders of God away from God. The Post Modern church no longer has a God who can do these things. In post modern theological writings, there are very detailed explanations and discussion on why things like this is a mistake on our part. We should not expect such things from God.
Very Difficult.
It is difficult to find a church in areas of the nation, that believe in and expect miracles. They do not believe in them. They do not believe in that kind of God. In these churches, you do not hear about it, you do not pray for it. No one expects it.
If It Is Not Expected, It May Not Happen.
One of the things that God tries to get across to us is: To expect a miracle working God to do things for you. Expect God to still perform miracles. Let God impart his blessing on you. That is what God does. He impart to us, as individuals, what we need from him.
There is nothing wrong for praying for the miracles. God has that for us. There is not a thing wrong for asking for this blessing and out pouring. Signs and wonders are suppose to follow them who believe on Him. We, as Christians need to expect miracles. When we are not seeing miracles, it is because we are not expecting them to happen. The great revivals of history happened and begin with signs and wonders. People need to recognize who God is. People need to recognize what God does.
He Is Real
There was a debate recently between an believer and an agnostic. It was featured on the radio. The agonistic said he did not have a problem with God. He said:" I do not have an issue with the God part of it." "What bothers me is that people are naive enough to believe in a God think they can have a personal relationship with" "They think somehow that He is someone who can direct their lives.
We live in a society that does not want to believe that God of 2000 years ago, or 200 years ago, or 50 years ago still exists today and is still in operation.
This testimony and others is proof positive that God is still in business. He still operates.
He is living and he has not passed away. God is on the move. God will meet you needs.
God will perform miracles in your life.
Another Example
There is a group of men in a large mid west city who gather on certain Saturdays of the year and quietly walk in the worst crime areas of the city and quietly pray for the area. They do not make a display or a show about it. They simply stroll along and pray. The spend one or two hours doing this. The last time after the walk, one of the group checked the crime statistics for that area in the following weeks and found that there was only one murder for the next two weeks after they prayed. This sort of thing has been happening consistently. Imagine: Only one murder in that area in two weeks. Usually 5 times that amount in that area in that time period.
Christians read about the acts of God in modern society. Christians say things about the acts of God in modern society. However, sometimes the Christians do not always believe these things.
This is the truth of the matter. When we wage war against the enemy, and we stand up to testify and rebuke the enemy for what he things he does and is doing; God moves.
God holds water back. God pushes armies back. God defeats our enemies. He takes walls of cities. He raises revival out of death and destruction. He gives life out of death
When we pray. when we walk the walk. When we act in accordance to the will of God, great things happen
God has given the believers authority to change the world. It is up to you to take the authority given to you. It is up to you to walk in the authority that you have been given.
That is a hard lesson to be learned. It is a needed lesson to learn. God has given Christians authority. Walk in that authority. You can pray and cause great things to happen. An agreement with God multiplies that authority. Walk in that authority
Reference 2 Kings 4
What do you have in your house? What do you have to give to God.
If you stop and think about it, we are the vessel. we know the oil always represents the spirit, the anointing of God. This woman, this widow was very upset. She had lost her husband. She had no way to pay her debts. What did she have? what do you have?
One vessel of oil. It might not have been much. So many of us get over whelmed in our mind and soul. Our spirit can die because we focus so intently on what we don't have. I do not have that. I need this. I am lacking in things. I can't do this. I don't have that
We all know that can't and don't never got anybody anything.
We focus so much on what we don't have and what won't happen and what we cant do.
Rather we need to focus what will happen, what can happen, when faith and trust is applied to the situation.
Look at what happened last week. Brain cancer: Believing casue it to disappear in less then one week. When a doctor says you have 90 days to live, it is serious
that is a miracle.
And that is only just one miracle.
What do you have in your house?
We focus on our problems so much. Focus on God and God will solve your problems. Be active in this.
You are the vessel. What are your talents? You are what you have in your life. What is your oil. What can you do for God. You can let God work through you. be ready because God is getting to do something with your life.
Is faith anything with out action?
No!
We have to put action behind our faith.
When we give God the little bit we have, and he pours himself into us
We say to God: I am empty. My prayer life is a flat line.
You try to squeeze something emotional out of God.
We try to pull something out of a stone God.
These feeling of flatness and diconnectedness from God does not make you less spiritual.
All God wants is for you to give the vessel of yourself This is all you have. This is all God wants out of you.
If these are things in your vessel that keep you from God, get rid of it. Get rid of the things that interfere with you, with your focus. Get rid of it. Throw it away.
You must yield yourself to God.
Do not things let you separate yourself from god.
Listen to God is telling you. Obey that voice.
God will give you favor if you act accord to his will.
When you see God moving. get your vessels, like the woman did in kings.
Get involved
Pour self out and God will refill you.
Do not limit God!