Learning to Cultivate Oil

2 Kings 4:1–7 (ESV)

Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord, but the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.” And Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me; what have you in the house?” And she said, “your servant had nothing in the house except a jar of oil.” Then he said, “Go outside, borrow vessels from all your neighbors, empty vessels and not too few. Then go in and shut the door behind yourself and your sons and pour into all these vessels. And when one is full, set it aside.” So she went from him and shut the door behind herself and her sons. And as she poured they brought the vessels to her. When the vessels were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not another.” Then the oil stopped flowing. She came and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on the rest.”

I want to talk to you tonight about learning to cultivate oil

And I want to talk about this thought of “How do we stay filled in our relationship with god”

How do we stay passionate

How do we prevent spiritual burn out

How do we stay ready for the soon coming of Jesus..

And ready to witness and minister in season and out.

How do we stay full and ready to weather the storms we encounter in this world?

Climate of our day

I know the them of this rally is Unity..

And I promise that I have not lost sight of that..

and what were going to speak about today truely is the path to unity in the body..

But i am increasingly aware..

that we are walking through difficults times and seasons.

Change

Three years ago..

everything in our country changed with covid..

and we thought it was over..

only to continue to live with the after effects.

and im not nescesarily talking about health effects..

I mean the way our socity has changed..

No hospitality

I dont know about you..

but I speant over a decade in the hopsitality industry..

and since March of 2020, I dont know If i have had a single interactions with a food service or retail employee that was polite..

and while that may be a petty and light hearted example

we have seen major and difficult shifts in around us that has simply made if difficult to live daily life..

Heavy

life, even church life.. has gotten heavy..

and we need the lord today more than every to help us navigate the daily norm..

We need the power of the spirit to help us fulfill the call on our lives in these final days..

and to help prepare the harvest for the soon coming of Jesus..

We need a fresh portion from the holy spirit each day..

to be who god has called us to be..

we need him more..

A Woman with a problem

When we come into 2 kings 4 we find the story of a woman..

A Godly woman..

the Bible tells us that this woman was the wife to one of the sons of the prophets..

and that her late husband was faithful to the lord..

Ministry

This woman knew ministry well..

More so She knew God well..

and what he could do and would do..

problem.

BUT STILL she had a great issue..

her husband has died..

and she has been left with no means to pay the bills..

women

in this day..

women could not do business like they can today..

it was the husbands job..

so when her husband died..

there was no way of provision for her or the family..

creditor.

this doesnt stop the creditors though..

they creditor have come..

and demanded her children..

to make up for the debt..

desperate..

She is desperate..

she is broken..

she is empty..

she is poor..

she is at her end..

and all she has is a little oil..

Which she considers nothing…

Us

I feel like some of us can relate well to this woman

as people of God.

love

We know God..

We love god..

After all you came to church on a sunday night..

You cant even get people in church on sunday morning any more..

so we know poeple who come on sunday night are more holy right? (Laugh)

not enough

but there are just times..

and you may be in one now..

when you come to the end of what you have..

and its just not enough..

...

What you have ends up falling short..

and you end up desperate for something to shift..

for something to change..

your tired..

broken..

empty..

You dont know if you can push through another day..

The cercumstances of life were not your fault..

but they were your life..

and your left..

out of options..

all you have is the little bit left in you..

This is where this woman was..

She had just a little oil..

And she had a lot of problem..

And in her mind it wasnt enough to fix her problem..

God is the anwser

but remember this woman isnt out of options yet

She knows the lord..

and she knows He is the answer

And so she seeks him..

she comes to the vessel of the lord

the prophet

Prophet.

she finds Elisha..

and she tells him the problem..

in faith..

and he asks..

what do you have?

she responds.. I have nothing but a little bit of oil..

See what she said..

I have nothing..

but that was a lie..

she did have a little..

she just didnt think it was much.

If you have a little, you have enough

But I want to remind you today..

That god can do more with just a little, than any of us can do with a lot.

and if YOU still HAVE A LITTLE ...ITS ENOUGH...

Mustard seed

Remember how much faith Jesus says we must have to move mountains?

A mustard seed

The smallest of seeds

And we can see mountains moved

a little faith..

Paul

Remember what paul said about strength?

He said in my weakness he is strong..

When I have a little strength..

He has enough..

Ive come to tell someone tonight..

Don’t be concerned with what you have

Don’t be overwhelmed by what you dont

But give what you have to god and see what he will do..

Because a little is enough for him..

What you have

if all you have left is a little faith

give it to him..

if all you have left is a little strength..

give it to him.

If all you have left is a little money..

Give it to him..

If theres just a little passion left..

give it up to him..

And watch what he will do..

Woman

The woman had a little oil

And she brought it to god..

She goes the prophet

Prophet

So She comes to the prophet

and the prophet gives her an uncommon solution..

he says..

go gather vessels..

as many as you can..

and then take them and fill them with the oil you have..

HE ASKS HER TO DO SOMETHING CRAZY..

but she does it..

notice it’s the woman’s faith and obiedience that changes her situation .. not her ability

The woman acts in faith..

she doesn't balk at the prophet..

she obeys..

and she goes and gets pots..

and the Bible says she shuts the door behind her and her sons and she starts to pour..

and look what happens

the more she pours..

the more she has..

she fills jar after jar after jar..

and finally..

when she gets to the last jar..

she stops pouring..

and oil stopped flowing..

Sell

The prophet tells her to go and sell the oil..

and it becomes enough to take care of her current need..

and her future needs..

what I want us to talk about in our time..

is learning to cultivate oil..

What does it mean to Cultivate

What does it mean to cultivate

It means to prepare or acquire…

When you cultivate land

You prepare it for harvest

But when you cultivate friends

You aquire them

So when we are talking about cultivating oil..

we are taking about preparing our selves to aquire oil…

What is the oil?

what is the oil..

basic

one basic understanding of oil in this story is olive oil..

is that it is the product that comes from olives..

and its used to bake..

its used to dip..

to cook..

it symbolizes provision and daily need.

Scripture..

But in the scripture oil has great symbolism..

anointed calling..

oil is used through scripture for anointing..

it was used as a sign of the godly calling and purpose on a persons life..

its poured or smeared over the person.. like Aaron the priest..

as a symbol of being consecrated to god..

as being set apart..

oil represents the calling and appointment of god on your lives..

Examples..

the preist in the temple was anointed..

the temple was anointed..

the king was anointed..

Jesus was anointed..

and God anoints you and I for his purpose

He sets us apart and puts his call on our lifes..

Peter says in 1 Peter 2:9 that we are a royal priesthood now..

that means we are eligible to be anointed by god..

but annointing is not just positional…

it also can bring purpose

anointed purpose

in Luke 4:28 Jesus recites Isaiah 61:1 about himself..

and says that the spirit of the lord is upon him..

and that he has anointed him to bring the good news..

this is purpose..

there is an anointing available to the people of god to do the will of god..

thats why when you preach under an anointing from the holy spirit things happen..

but when you preach from your own abilities.. there is no fruit..

the anointing is the different..

holy spirit

even more.. oil represent the presence and power of the Holy Spirit throughout the Bible.

Luke 4:18 Jesus tells us that the spirit of the lord is upon him.. he has... anointed him..

Matthew 25 oil is used to represent the Holy Spirit in the lives of the 10 virgins

In the temple the lamp held the oil.. and the oil created fire.. and the fire and oil represented the holy spirit

even the oil that was used for anointing in the Old Testament was symbolic of the pre dispensation of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the believer that were anointed..

Holy Spirit

And Its the Holy Spirit who leads and guides

its the Holy Spirit who gives wisdom..

its the Holy Spirit that gives power

its the Holy Spirit who gives revelation

its the Holy Spirit who give refreshing..

its the Holy Spirit who gives life..

Its the Holy Spirit who brings provision..

the Holy Spirit is the conduit through which we have a relationship with Christ

So what oil are we talking about cultivating?

When we are talking about cultivating oil..

we are talking about preparing our selves to receive a daily portion of the oil of the holy spirit..

It is the power and anointing of the holy spirit to have a passionate and intimate relationship with Christ

and to walk in the daily purposes of Christ

And we don’t just want it.. we need it…

The Bible says it not by might not by strength but by the spirit things are done..

we need the anointing, guidance, and power of the Holy Spirit in our lives..

WE NEED OIL..

AND not just a little..

we need a sustaining and overflowing portion..

Fan

Its like when Paul told timothy to fan into flame the gift of god inside of you..

When we are cultivating the oil of the spirit.. we are faning that falme of relationship with God daily..

What is the purpose of the oil?

In the life of the woman in our story..

the oil was the solution to her problem..

but not just any solution..

It was a godly solution..

a miraculous solution..

an abundant

a solution couldn't come up with on her own..

The oil provided her need..

Both her current and future...

It paid the debt for her kids to avoid slavery..

and there was enough left to cover future needs.

You and I

for us.. the oil is godly provision..

Its the power, wisdom, guidance, strength, and ability to fulfill the calling God has put on your life..

and not just in your own ability

but Gods doing through you..

Gods doing in you..

THE OIL IS YOUR ALL ENCOMPASSING PROVISION IN GOD

IT IS A REPRESENTATION OF PURPOSE.. OF THE Holy Spirit.. AND OF YOUR INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM..

Oil Lamp Illistration

We can see this if we look at this old lamp..

Us

we are the vessel.. the lamp..

the glasswork that contains the fuel..

spirit

but The Holy Spirit is the oil

the fuel..

He is the flame..

christ

and Jesus is the light that iminates from the flame..

WITHOUT OIL

THERE IS NOT FLAME..

WITHOUT THE FLAME THERE IS NO LIGHT

NOTHING IS ILLUMINATED..

AND WITHOUT THE LIGHT THERE IS NO PURPOSE

We need the oil in our lives..

ITS CRITICAL…

too many Christian’s are waking around today without oil..

trying to live a Christian life without flame

and so we get into trouble because we are trying to do things in our own power and ability.

some of us get there because we let our oils run out.

but we must stay full…

So How do we cultivate oil?

Simple..

like the woman

we learn to close the door..

and pour..

we develop a process in our daily lives..

were we cultivate oil..

The process of cultivating oil..

you see olive oil is not just a natural occurrence.. even though its a nature made product..

There is a process to cultivate oil..

Process of oil..

to make oil.

you have to gather olives..

crush the olives..

strain stuff that comes from the crushing..

pour oil into bottles..

distribute it.. ..

Woman

Even the woman had a process..

gather vessel..

close the door..

pour..

pour..

pour..

and sell it oir use it..

the process of cultivating holy oil..

The same is true for us..

If we are going to continually experience a sustaining portion of the oil of the Holy Spirit in our lives..

we have to learn the process of cultivating it..

Not saying

dont get me wrong..

im not telling you that you can manufacture the oil of the Holy Spirit or the move of it..

the woman didn't make anything..

Im telling you that you have to learn the process of continually keeping your vessel full..

and the source of receiving it..

how

so how do we cultivate oil?

what does that look like to cultivate?

1. Get alone..

I love what the scripture says..

she shut the door with her sons..

and she began to pour..

Jacob had to get alone to wrestle with god..

Elijah had to get alone to hear the voice of god..

Jesus said when we pray we should go in and shut the door behind us..

You have to get alone..

You have to get intimate with the holy spirit..

where he can speak and you can listen..

2. Pour

the pouring god wants from us in our time with him is ourself

To pour yourself out before him

Isiah 61 tells us that god looks upon the one who is humble and contrite

That word contrite means broken..

Emptied

And god is asking you to empty yourself daily

Why so he can fill you with the right oil

3. Seek

when we get a lone we have to seek him..

the Bible says..

Seek me and you will find me with all of your heart..

draw near to me and I will draw near to you..

how?

pray...

get on your knees..

stand and pray..

lay on your face..

read you word.. not to study for a sermon.. but for you..

get a devotion..

but SPEND TIME WITH GOD AND GOD ALONE..

Seeking him is looking for him..

confident trust in him (Trust in the lord with all of your heart)

Its faithful obedience

its believing in him..

4. be willing to be crushed..

oil comes from crushing

And In the same way god allows us to be crushed

So his oil is produced in your life

God allowed the early church to be persecuted so it would be dispersed

God allowed Paul’s thorn to stay so his grace could sustain him

When you are crushed don’t conplain

Embrace what god will do through it..

James 1 says those trials make us complete

We need them

GOD WANTS TO PRODUCE OIL

BUT YOU HAVE TO LEARN THE PROCESS

Hard

cultivating it work..

and learning to cultivate oil..

cultivating oil takes work..

nothing come easy..

and thats the problem..

asbury..

last year we all saw the story of revival.. ..

the story of hungry of young people..

it started with asbury..

but then people began to come from all over the world to see what was happening..

and to be honest.. I have a problem with that..

and before you throw me out let me explain..

easy

as a society.. we look for the easy way..

we like the product of discipline.. but not the process of disicpline..

we like the product of hard work but not the hard work..

asbury..

and people wanted to come from all over the world to asbury to experience the oil..

but they didnt want to learn to cultivate it..

and so they came..

and felt good..

and got filled..

but when the oil ran out..

they didnt know what to do..

because they new learned to pour..

other campuses..

there are other campuses that have started revival sense asubjury..

because they say..

if we would do what they did..

god would come..

what did they do?

simply seek him in humility and repentance..

they made time for him.

and if you will do that the will bring you revival..

Our relationship with god will never be greater than our intimacy with Jesus..

Cultivating oil..

staying full...

is the key to preventing burn out..

its the key to staying refreshed..

its the key to accomplishing gods will..

daily pouring..

The Problem

We know we need these things

But the church has a problem

I want you to notice what the Bible says..

in verse 6..

when she stopped pouring..

the oil stopped flowing..

Problem

the problem that most of us have..

is we think that we get a portion..

and then we just live on that portion until the next time god fills us up..

so we go to a conference..

we go to a rally..

get filled up..

The oil pours..

and we go and live....

then when we are tired..

we go to another.

and want the oil to pour again..

get filled up..

and then live....

BUT ITS NOT GODS DESIRE TO SIMPLY MEET YOU AND FILL YOU EVERY ONCE AND A WHILE..

HE WANTS TO FILL YOU DAILY..

WITH FRESH OIL..

FRESH PROVISION..

FRESH ANOINTING..

BUT THAT WILL ONLY HAPPEN IF WE LEARN TO CULTIVATE OIL...

If you'll just give what you got to god..

and learn to shut the door and pour..

God will do more with what you have than you could ever imagine..

My Story

a couple of year ago in august i came home from a missins trip..

and at that point I had been gone 10/12 weeks of the summer doing ministry..

church camps..

camp meeting

conferences..

general assembly

missions trips..

and a disastrous vacation..

and by the time I got home I was spent..

Exhausted..

I was desperate.. because honestly I had nothing left in the tank..

Long time

at this point in my life I have been in ministry for 24 years..

14 of which in staff or pastoral ministry..

You would have thought.. that in that time..

I would have learned to cultivate oil..

but I hadn't learned it in a sustaining way..

dont get me wrong..

dont get me wrong..

I love the lord..

and I serve god..

and I pray..

I fast..

I seek him..

but it wasn't the way Im talking about..

Learning to pour..

I had to learn to pour..

and over the last year.. god has been teaching me the importance of pouring..

of getting alone intentionally daily..

I mean every single day.. setting time aside for god..

EVEN SUNDAY..

getting alone with him..

and actually cultivating my relationship with him and him alone..

because the most important relationship in my life is not my church.

its not my spouse..

its not my kids..

its christ..

and If I make no time for him then Ive started on a bad foundation..

Ive had to learn to pour..

Hard

and it's hard..

It means saying no to some things..

It means getting up early or staying up late sometimes..

it means turning off the phone or tv sometimes..

it take intention..

but if we dont learn to pour.

we will burn out..

like a lamp without oil left..

the flame will burn out..

and we will be left fumbling in the dark..

Oil Brings Unity

You say pastor whats all this have to do with unity..

well the bible tells us that there is one spirit..

and the spirit brings unity..

so if we are continually filling our vessel with the oil of the holy spirit.

and humbling ourself before god..

guese whats going to happen between us?

The same spirit that is in you, and in me, will bring us togther in one mind and unity!

Where are you in your walk with christ?

Are you tired today?

Do you only have a little left?

I believe that God wants to fill some people with a fresh portion of oil tonight..

To refresh and renew you walk.

and begin to teach you how to cultivate oil daily with him..