Hand Me Another Jar

HAND ME ANOTHER JAR

One New Year’s Day, in the Tournament of Roses parade, a beautiful float suddenly sputtered and quit. It was out of gas. The whole parade was held up until someone could get a can of gas. The amusing thing was this float represented the Standard Oil Company. With its vast oil resources, its truck was out of gas. Often, Christians neglect their spiritual maintenance, and though they are "clothed with God’s power" find themselves out of gas....

2 Kings 4:1-7 4:1 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 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 afterward 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."

• Ever run out of time? ..options? … resources?

• The oil stopped when the empty vessels ran out.

• Empty vessels … there were lots of vessels – none empty.

I. SHE CAME WITH A PROBLEM

a. 4:1 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."

b. Nothing like a good problem to bring us to the Lord.

i. The bank was going to take her sons.

ii. Little different than today. Her sons were her only “commodity”.

iii. She did all she could in her own strength and came to an end.

iv. The woman had lost her husband (which was her source of living)

v. She had lost her earthly possessions

vi. She was about to lose her children

vii. She was reduced to a jar of oil

viii. All she had left were Death and debts

TEENAGE GRANDSON: "Grandma nothing is working in my life!" GRANDMA: "How do you mean?" GRANDSON: "You know! At school, at home, my friends, my girlfriend . you know!".

GRANDMA: "Would you like some of the cake I’m making?" GRANDSON: "Sure!" GRANDMA: "Here, have a ¼ cup of cooking oil." GRANDSON: "Yuck! I can’t drink that!" GRANDMA: "How about a couple raw eggs?" GRANDSON: "Gross, Grandma!" GRANDMA: "Would you like a cube of margarine! Or some flour? Or maybe baking soda?" GRANDSON: "Come on Grams, those are sick! I want some cake!" GRANDMA: "That’s right, they seem bad by themselves. But when you put them together in the right way and slowly bake them in an oven, they make a great cake!"

c. The good news is: SHE CAME TO THE RIGHT PLACE – GOD!

i. Folks sometimes our lives are so filled with things that distract us that God has to remove them before we can see clearly enough to see Him

ii. Often God has to remove those things in our lives that makes us comfortable

d. You come to the end of your ROPE – ABILITY – RESOURCES

i. Phil. 4:19 my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

II. SHE CAME WITH WHAT SHE THOUGHT WAS IMPORTANT

a. She goes to the right place but relies on the wrong things.

In recent years head coach, Jimmy Johnson, divorced his wife of 26 years when he left coaching a college team to become head coach of the Dallas Cowboys in the National Football League. He said he needed a wife while coaching on the college level for social functions and to show families that he would be looking out for their sons. In pro football, however, she was an unnecessary accouterment and a distraction to winning. He said winning football was his number one priority and his two sons second. How tragic! In contrast to this, Tom Landry, former coach of the Dallas cowboys said, "The thrill of knowing Jesus is the greatest thing that ever happened to me ... I think God has put me in a very special place, and He expects me to use it to His glory in everything I do ... whether coaching football or talking to the press, I’m always a Christian ... Christ is first, family second and football third."