Ready for an Infilling? (2)

Happy New Year!

I love a new year! I look forward to the possibilities of the new year. It is a refresh, a restart. In some ways it is an opportunity for a “do-over”. In ministry it is the opportunity to see more people know Christ, begin to “walk in the Light”, and allow the Holy Spirit to have His way.

- Evangelist Jordan Williams – early Feb

- Fresh men’s ministry, 360Man, with men’s retreat in April with John Bevere.

- New youth camping format

- Great community groups…..and more!

These are all ways that we continue to fulfill our mission of “Finding true life in Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit.”

The message that I have this morning was placed on my heart several weeks ago and I’ve been looking forward to sharing it. I believe it is a message that will encourage you and challenge your faith to trust God in whatever situation you may be facing.

The Faith of a Widow

In the OT we find a story during the reign of King Jehoshaphat. The prophet at that time was Elisha. Of course, there were many other minor prophets at the same time and one of them had died, leaving behind a young family. The story is found in 2 Kings 4.

2 Kings 4:1–7 NIV

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.” 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 small jar of olive oil.” Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. 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.” She left him and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. 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. 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.”

What an amazing story! And…it is a story from which we can draw great hope. God always blesses those who dare to trust Him and as we enter a new year it is good for us to remember this. We should trust God regardless of circumstances; have faith when there seems to be no hope; and trust God at all times.

Let’s dive into some of the details of the story…

Life is Hard

The situations that will stretch your faith most will be those times when life falls apart and God is nowhere to be found… - Rick Warren

The widow was facing a serious difficulty. Difficult times happen. In this case, it was the death of her husband. We know that there are lots of things that can cause difficulty – sickness (Covid), lack of education, poor economy, war, marital problems, divorce, and the list could go on. Life is hard.

In the case of this widow, the death of her husband dried up the income of the family and little by little the small family had taken out loans from someone in the community. Unable to pay the loan off the widow was facing sending her sons off as slaves. Jewish law prohibited enslaving a Jew indefinitely, but they could until the year of Jubilee (another message). It is enough to say that this mother’s heart was broken, and she needed a miracle!

A Widow’s Cry

The widow cried out to the only person she believed could help her, the prophet Elisha. It is amazing how long some of us will live in misery before we call out for help. How often do we try to take care of things on our own before we reach out for God’s help. There is an interesting story about the famous scientist Blaise Pascal

Blaise Pascal, one of history’s greatest scientists, was not converted through his scientific queries. Rather, when the scientist’s carriage was once suspended on a bridge and the man was hanging between life and death, the only thing Pascal could think of was the Christian conviction of his sister and her witness of Christ.

Pascal was the inventor of the barometer. He was brilliant as a philosophical scientist. But the one thing that kept piercing his heart till he surrendered his all to Christ was the Christian witness of his sister. —Ravi Zacharias, “Absolute Truth in Relative Terms,” Just Thinking podcast[2]

The widow was hanging between life and death. I have had times when I’ve felt like I’m hanging between life and death. You may be in a place right now where you feel like you are hanging somewhere between life and death. IT IS TIME TO CALL OUT!

In Psalm 63, David speaks of his “thirst” for God. As your read the first few verses of this Psalm, you will discover that David was not a passive man. This was man who had a hunger and a desire that almost seems foreign to us today:[3]

Psalm 63:1–5 NIV

You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water. I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

Calling out is the first thing that we need to do. Sometimes that is all we need to do but other times, God wants us to take another step.

A Ridiculous Action

Faith is not only daring to believe, it is also daring to act. When I believe in myself as a son of God, I attribute to all men the same quality. This goes for men of every class, creed and color. The proof that I believe this way will be measured by the way I act towards others. - Wilfred Peterson

It was this part of the story that initially got my attention.

2 Kings 4:2–4 NIV

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 small jar of olive oil.” Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. 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.”

What do you do when you have next to nothing? Elisha asks, “What do you have in your house?”. “A small jar of olive oil.” It’s not much but it is something. One commentator offers this thought:

The prophet … does not produce gold from somewhere else, even if he could, but respects the widow’s integrity and dignity. She may start with the smallest possible contribution, but she is an active participant in the solution and is not overshadowed by Elisha.[4]

I have a small jar of olive oil…what do you have? It doesn’t have to be legendary. It is probably simple and ordinary…

- Your faith

- Your spiritual gifts

1 Corinthians 12:4–11 NIV

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

- Your determination

The small jar of olive oil was coupled with a decision and an action, “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.”

It doesn’t make any sense and it is completely embarrassing. Imagine this widow woman going to all her neighbors and asking for their jars. “Mildred has lost her mind!” “What is going on in that house!”

Often faith will ask us to do something that doesn’t make any sense to anyone else. “Go ask your neighbors for jars”. I’m sure they are all thinking, “What is Mildred gonna do with these?” You may be asking the same questions about something that God is asking you to do. I think that sometimes our New Year’s resolutions are convictions from the Lord…pray more, read your Bible more, be in church more frequently, or begin to trust God financially and tithe.

I know that God has been speaking to me about having faith that we are on the Verge of something wonderful here at the church. To tell you the truth, I’m not so concerned about the growth of our congregation as I am concerned that you individually believe that you are on the Verge of something amazing. GET YOUR JARS TOGETHER! Can you believe and put in practice enough faith and works to prepare for?

- A Spiritual awakening in your heart

- A revival in this church

- The salvation of your family

- Financial security that sets you up to be able to bless others

- Physical strength and health in your body

- A greater infilling of the Holy Spirit

- A better relationship with your husband/wife

- A godly husband/wife

GET YOUR JARS TOGETHER!

A Miraculous Rescue

God can do big things with small things. All the woman had was a small jar of oil and God made it sufficient to pay her debts and care for her family. This widow woman and her sons went into a room in their house and turned it into an olive oil company.

2 Kings 4:5–7 NIV

She left him and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. 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. 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.”

Can you imagine this little family’s excitement as jar after jar was full. I bet they had an idea of what the value of every jar. Joel is free! Judah is free! 3 months, no worries. 6! 12! Who knows? The boys would be men and able to produce income before the oil supply went down.

Can you imagine the tears and shouts of joy! I think this widow mother of two boys was out of her mind happy….but it didn’t start there. It had to start with faith….and then crazy obedience.

For what are you desperate? Desperate enough to gather some empty jars?

[1] The New International Version (2 Ki 4:1–7). (2011). Zondervan. [2]Larson, C. B., & Ten Elshof, P. (2008). 1001 illustrations that connect (pp. 76–77). Zondervan Publishing House. [3] https://pastoral-theology.com/2011/08/06/desperate-for-god/ [4]Olley, J. W. (2011). The Message of Kings: God is Present (A. Motyer & D. Tidball, Eds.; p. 230). Inter-Varsity Press. [5] The New International Version (2 Ki 4:1–7). (2011). Zondervan.