"HE WILL DO IT AGAIN"
TEXT: 2 Kings 4: 1-7
INTRODUCTION
1. No doubt every one of us are all too familiar with the blessed old hymns, "Be not dismayed, what're betide, God will take care of you."
2. Does Jesus Care… Oh yes He cares, I know He cares… I know my Savior cares. And, though we sing it, preach it, and hear it, there are times when we really wonder if God is aware of our situation whether it be sickness, some special problem, or the need we have.
3. Years ago I used to read a lot of Christian biographies. One of the best and most influencing was the life of George Muller, who at Ashley Down, England, built several orphanages.
4. Muller, without a personal salary, relied totally upon God to supply the money and food he needed to support the hundreds of homeless children he befriended in the name of Christ. He never made the needs known to anyone or ever asked for one penny of money.
5. It is said that millions, and millions of dollars flooded into the ministry of Muller during his life for those children.
6. Muller, a man of radiant faith, kept a motto on his desk for many years that brought comfort and strength to his heart.
7. It read, "It matters to Him about you!" Muller believed that those words captured the meaning of I Peter 5:7 – “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you” and he rested his claim for divine help on that truth.
8. He testified at the end of his life that the Lord had never failed to supply all of his needs.
9. Yet, like Muller, I can stand before you today, without one moment of hesitation, and say, thanks be to God, He has never failed to supply my need. I may not have George Muller’s faith but I can say He has never failed to supply my need. HE IS ENOUGH!
10. Now, while that seems to be the popular interpretation of this portion of Scripture, it is not the only interpretation. You can look at the passage from an earthly view and see the physical needs she had ---and that is the way we usually look at it and that is good and ok. You can also look at the passage from a spiritual view and see spiritual lessons here --- and that it ok too.
11. For, in this story, we gain a true picture, and portrait of what is involved in having real revival in our churches.
12. You see, as you know, the central focus of this story is oil. It is oil, which is needed, and it is oil which is lacking. She needed physical oil.
13. If we study the Bible we will find, that oil serves as a picture of the presence of the Holy Spirit.
14. Hence, as we consider the true picture of the story before, we see it as it deals with our many needs that God wants to handle for us and also we can see it as it deals with the matter of revival. Briefly, let us consider 3 truths that are set before us.
15. I want you to consider the woman in this story, and what she does. Notice, as we see her that:
1. SHE FACED A GREAT DILEMMA
1. It doesn't take long to read verse 1 to see that this is a woman who was facing a great, and a severe dilemma. Problem- Crisis
2. It appears that, in her case, if anything could go wrong it would. In fact, you will notice that she faced:
A. THE DEATH IN HER FAMILY
1. Notice verse 1. "Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead."
2. Here is a woman who is dealing with great grief as a result of the death of her husband.
3. In fact, we're told that she 'cried.' The word speaks of "moaning, or weeping uncontrollably." She was facing great despair.
Without a husband she was a widow and little was open for a widow in Bible times to make a living,
4. However, the man, her husband, had been a good and godly man. She described him by saying, "and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the Lord."
5. No doubt, she had asked, "Why this had happened?" "Man of God, can you please explain this to me?" "Can you please tell me why my husband, a man who loved God, served God, and feared God is dead?"
6. Her dilemma was partly due to The Death in her Family!
A. THE DEATH IN HER FAMILY
B. THE DEBT OF HER FAMILY
1. Notice verse 1. Not only was her dilemma due to the death in her family, but also to the debt of her family.
2. "And the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen."
3. Her sons have been taken as collateral for a debt that was unpaid. They had becomes 'bondmen,' or slaves. Slaves until the debt was completely paid.
4. In the days of the text, Levitical law allowed for debtors to work off their debts.
5. This was laid down in Leviticus 25:39. Thus, the enslaving of family members, as payment, or collateral for a debt, was a common practice in the ancient Near East.
6. Thus, here was a woman who was facing a bad day. There was The Death in her Family, and The Debt of her Family. Truly, She Faced a Great Dilemma.
1. SHE FACED A GREAT DILEMMA …but also
2. SHE DEVELOPED A GREAT DESIRE
1. Though this woman faced a great dilemma, she, in spite of that, developed a great desire.
2. It is here that we gain a glimpse at the secret for revival. In fact, it is seen in:
A. THE CALL FOR THE MAN OF GOD
1. Notice why it was, and for whom it was that this lady called.
2. In verse 1, we're told that "there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets UNTO ELISHA." She called for the man of God.
3. While it is true that she faced a great dilemma, due to the death, and the debt of her family. She now knows exactly where to turn for help, she calls for the prophet of God.
4. I submit unto you that the secret of revival does not lie in the educational institutions of our country.
5. The secret of revival is not found in Congress, the State House, or the White House. The secret of revival is found in God's People and God’s House.
6. And, it is when God's people see the desperation of their need, and call upon the God Who is able to meet that need that revival will break loose.
7. We long for revival, and across America we are longing to see a movement in our communities and in our Churches.
8. We are crying, "God send it." But, heaven seems to cry back, "Is your eye fixed upon me?"
9. Do you desire for God to do the supernatural? Do you desire for Him to do it in you? Are we willing to forsake all else, and keep ourselves only unto Him, for Him, and in Him?
10. If not, then you will do what many have done through the years and seek to find revival in a series of meetings, with a guest speaker, and special singers.
11. However, to the hungry soul, only God will satisfy. To the thirsty heart, only God will satisfy. To the longing being, only God will satisfy. It is only found in Him!
A. THE CALL FOR THE MAN OF GOD
B. THE CONDITION OF THE MAN OF GOD
1. Not only was her desire expressed in her call for the man of God, but also it was evidenced in the condition of the man of God.
2. You see Elisha now puts this woman to the test. He now examines how bad she wants God to do something for her.
3. In fact, you will notice that the condition he gave her rests in two questions.
4. He asks her, first, what do you need?
5. Notice verse 2. "And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee?"
6. There is the story of a gypsy who stood at a crossroads. Three times she threw a stick into the air, letting it fall to the ground each time.
7. A man passing by asked, "Why do you do that?" The gypsy replied, "Because I want to know which is the right road for me to take. I will go whichever way the stick points."
8. The man then asked, "But why throw the stick up three times?" To which the gypsy said, "Because, not until the third time did it point in the direction that I want it to go!"
9. Yet, in much the same way that is often how we deal with God in spiritual things. We try to manipulate Him into what we want, and then we seek to call it revival.
11. But, the fact of the matter is that it is not until we see the urgency of our need that God will break through and meet that need.
12. We often try to meet the need through services, etc. But, I would to God that we would get in touch with Him. The miracle happens when we see our need and go directly to God.
13. But the prophet has 2 questions. He asks her, first, what do you need? However, the prophet's condition also rests within another question. He not only asked her 'what do you need,' but also what do you have?
14. Notice verse 2. "And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? Tell me, what hast thou in the house."
15. The condition for this miracle not only rested in what was needed, but in what was already possessed.
16. As you know, all that the woman had was one single pot of oil. It has been suggested that this was a pot of anointing oil maybe left over from what her husband used in anointing the sick.
17. Her husband possibly used this oil before his death, but since he had died, it had been sitting idle on the shelf.
18. However, it is in this oil that the miracle takes place. It is something that she needed, but it was something that she had.
19. The prophet saw in that one pot of oil something that he could work with. It was something through which the miracle was going to happen. It began with what she already had.
20. So it is with the manifestation of the presence, person, and power of God. It begins with what we already have. It begins with you, and it begins with me.
21. God is not interested in what your neighbor has, or another church in the area has. He is only interested in what you have. I have pastored churches that seemed never to have a thought of their own. They just kept their eyes on all the churches in the area and just copied what they did.
22. The passage tells us that what you already possess is enough. There is something you already have that God can work with and use to reveal the power of Himself.
23. The apostle Paul spoke of this, when he said, "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh IN US!" What do we have in us as Christians? If we are real genuine Christians, we have the Holy Spirit in us. If you have not the Holy Spirit you are none of his…
24. It begins in you. It begins in me. It begins in us. We need not look anywhere else. Though we may only have one pot of oil, it is enough for God to take and use to ignite the flames of revival.
25. However, the problem does not lie in what we possess, but in what we perceive. It does not lie in what we experience, but it what we expect.
26. In fact, the very reason we do not see anything happen in these days is because we do not expect it to happen.
27. We know God can, and we know God wants to, but we really don't believe that God will.
28. However, when this woman saw that in her one pot oil laid the miracle, the prophet had her attention.
1. SHE FACED A GREAT DILMENA
2. SHE DEVELOPED A GREAT DESIRE
3. SHE FOUND GREAT DELIGHT in a great deliverance
1. This woman's dilemma, and desire, turned into great deliverance. In fact, you will notice:
A. THE SUPREMACY OF GOD'S PROVISION
1. Notice verse 3. The man of God says, "Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbors, even empty vessels; borrow not a few."
2. "And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full."
3. God is now going to do what only God can do. He is going to go above and beyond all of her comprehension and expectation. His provision will be supreme. But notice real faith and trust in God is needed. If God did not answer she would look foolish to her neighbors, to her sons, and to herself.
4. Notice verse 6. "And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more." What if they did not believe enough to get as many vessels as they did. What if they had got tired or bored doing what God told them to do.
5. I can just see her as she begins to do what the man of God has commanded her to do.
6. She begins to fill pots of oil out of the only pot of oil that she possessed. Then another. And another. And another. And another. And another.
7. Finally, when she gets to the point where it is time for the oil she had to run out, it just keeps coming. And, it comes to the point that there isn't one more vessel within the whole town and area that they could get their hands on that hasn't been used. That's just like God. God can do a lot more for us if we really believed in Him and his word.
8. That is exactly what He is desiring to do in our midst. His plan is not for you and I to meddle through the Christian life on our one pot of oil.
9. Rather, He desires to take the one pot that we do have, obey Him, trust Him, and follow Him; and, allow Him to create an endless supply out of it. Through the Holy Spirit that lives in us as believers..
A. THE SUPREMACY OF GOD'S PROVISION
B. THE SUFFICIENCY OF GOD'S PROVISION
1. Notice the last phrase of verse 6. "And the oil stayed." His provision was not only supreme, but it was also sufficient.
God not only did it, but He did it right. It was not only supreme, but it was sufficient. It was all that this woman needed. I remember in the early 1960’s of a rich executive who had bought a Rolles Royce.In those days the R.R. company never told anything about the engine including the horsepower. In fact you were never to work on the engine. If the car broke down in any way the company sent a factory mechanic anywhere in the world to fix it…. The new owner loved the car and how great it ran and sent a telegram to R.R. giving all the information he had on his new car and requested the horsepower. A reply telegraph was received with only one word ---Adequate.
2. Notice verse 7. "Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay the debt, and live thou and thy children off the rest."
3. Yet, the same is true when God moves in our midst and in our hearts. He will do what the evangelist can't do, what the singers, and choir can't do and even what the preacher cannot do.
4. When true revival sets in, it will be God, and it will be exactly what we need.
6. I think of the Ulster revival in the 1920's. It is said that shipyard workers brought back so many stolen tools that new sheds had to be built to house the recovered property! Repentance resulted in restitution.
7. That is exactly what will take place when a true move of God begins. It will not be a counterfeit, it will be genuine.
8. In 1932 about forty Christians were meeting in a town in North China for prayer four times a day beginning at 5:00 a.m.
Believers were convicted of sin. Two men repented of hating each other. Love was strong and deep. Joy abounded.
10. When real revival came more people were born again that year than in any previous year in North China. One missionary estimated that 3,000 people came to Christ in his small town alone. Pastors, missionaries, and believers experienced a deeper Christian life than they had ever known before. A spirit of prayer seemed to pour out on the church.
13. People actually loved to pray. Many times prayer meetings lasted two or three hours. The prayers were short, fervent, and sometimes tearful.
14. The same is still possible today. It doesn't rest upon the shoulders of God. It solely rests upon the shoulders of God's people.
15. If we get desperate about the need and go to God for help. Hearts will be cleansed, sin will be confessed, and lives will be changed. This only takes place when God shows up on the scene.
16. Such was the case with this woman. She needed what only God could do for her. She Faced a Great Dilemma, She Formed a Great Desire, and as a result, She Found a Great Delight and deliverance.
17. He's still the God of 2 Kings chapter 4. He'll still the God of the impossible. If His people will do what needs to be done to beckon His presence, "He'll Do It Again!"
2 Chronicles 7:14 (KJV)
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
By CovenantMedia
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