Receive

Introduction

Elisha and the Widow’s Oil (2 Kings 4:1-7)

Widow and her two sons. Has only a jar of oil.

Borrow vessels (many vessels)

Sell the oil and pay your debts.

Obedience and blessing go hand in hand.

The story of Joe

He wanted all that God would have for him.

The story of Shay

She believed God was not enough.

Text

Ephesians 5:18 ESV

18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,

Transition

Point 1

Filling your life with the world’s answers will leave you empty and lost.

Seeking peace, hope, and love without God will lead you to counterfeit solutions.

Result: Spiritual bankruptcy

Point 2

Choice opens the door to receive.

You need to make a decision!

Matthew 7:13–14 ESV

13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

Confess: Own up to your attraction to the world.

Repent: Change direction

Obey: Follow the Way of Jesus

Point 3

Open your life to the infilling of God’s Spirit.

Ephesians 5:18 ESV

18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,

There is a sermon in the mood, tense, voice and number of this verb (be filled):

it is imperative mood, indicating a command;

it is present tense, which in Greek represents aspect denoting continuous action—we are to be constantly or continuously filled;

it is passive voice, indicating we are to allow this to be done to us;

it is plural in number, meaning it applies to all believers.

Jerome H. Smith, The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge: The Most Complete Listing of Cross References Available Anywhere- Every Verse, Every Theme, Every Important Word (Nashville TN: Thomas Nelson, 1992), 1386.

Conclusion

Filling your life with the world’s answers will leave you empty and lost.

Choice (the right choice) opens the door to receive.

Open your life to the infilling of God’s Spirit.

Acts 1:8 ESV

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”