Keep the Oil Flowing
Sunday, July 29, 2007 – AM
By Pastor Jim May
Oil – the very word brings forth images of gushing wells of black gold as it comes out of the ground. It is a source of wealth, energy and power for our world. Without oil, most of the things that you enjoy as a part of every day life would simply not exist in their present form.
Oil is used in the production of everything from ink pens, plastic spoons, those little foam dinner plates that we use so often, to the circuit boards in every piece of electronic equipment on the planet. Without oil, we would be powerless, reduced to using coal, steam and wood-burning stoves and heaters. How many of you would like to go back to living like they did before oil came on the scene?
In this day and time, life moves at a swift pace, and we just can’t seem to slow down until we are forced to. If you are still trying to get the most out of life that you can, it is just a non-stop rat race. And it doesn’t seem to do much good to stop and smell the roses, especially when they are all plastic – made from oil. Probably, the vast majority of the money you make is spent on oil products and by-products.
But today I want to talk to you about another kind of oil. Over in the book of I Kings we find the story of a man of God by the name of Elijah. He was a man among men; a man called by God to speak for God at a time when Israel was ruled by the worst king in its history. That king’s name was Ahab and he had a queen whose very name personifies evil and idolatry. She was from the land of the Zidonians, a people who worshipped an idol god by the name of Baal, and she was one mean, ornery, hateful, self-centered woman. She had King Ahab wrapped around her little finger and through her influence Israel was plunged into one of the darkest periods of its history.
Elijah served the Living God, not some dead idol. He lived in God’s presence, and walked in God’s presence, and he was close enough to God that he could call upon God whenever he needed to. He was a man of great faith; a man of prayer; and a man of power.
He had made Ahab and Jezebel mad by pronouncing a drought upon Israel for the space of three years because of the idolatry of Israel.
The rain that fell upon Israel was a form of “anointing oil” upon the land. The rain that fell brought life and prosperity to Israel, and God’s blessings were upon them. But there came a time when God’s hand of blessing was lifted from them because they began to worship Baal. Another god had taken the place of the Living God in the hearts of the people.
Elijah spoke the word and the anointing rain ceased to fall. God’s judgments were upon the land and the wayward people. The land no more brought forth its abundant harvest. The little that they had began to dwindle away until nothing was left. Little by little, the wealth and power of Ahab was disappearing. There was unrest among the people, and as the drought continued, the peace of Israel was shattered as people began to die in the streets.
I wonder if we could just stop for a moment and see that same pattern in our nation today? Oh we still get natural rain, sometimes much more than we need. But what about that “Spiritual Rain”? Our nation is experiencing a great drought of the rain of the Holy Ghost. Idolatry in the land has caused the hand of God’s blessing to lift from us and we see the nation reeling from the effects of that drought. Unrest is everywhere. There is no peace or safety anymore. Your children aren’t safe in their own homes.
We were watching a program that talked about online chat rooms where little kids are falling victims to child predators. Parents don’t monitor what their kids are doings as they should and then they are shocked and amazed that their kids end up kidnapped and murdered by someone they met on the computer. All of these things are happening because we have kicked God out of our national conscience. We don’t want to live for God. Instead we live for ourselves and get all that we can, and “can” all we can get.
We need that anointing rain of the Holy Ghost once again. The Words that God spoke to King Solomon still ring true today.
2 Chronicles 7:12-14, "And the LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for an house of sacrifice. If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; 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."
Jezebel was out to kill this prophet named Elijah. All of the bad things that had happened to Israel were blamed on him. He had proclaimed the drought.
Elijah ran in fear and hid by the Brook Cherith. There God fed him, using the birds of prey to bring him bread and fresh meat twice a day. The water of the brook gave him something to drink. While Israel languished in hunger and lack of water, the man of God had all he needed.
God knows how to provide for his own people in time of need. He has ways of providing for us that we couldn’t begin to imagine.
But the drought soon reached Elijah too. The brook dried up and he had to move on. That’s when the Lord spoke to him once again in I Kings chapter 17.
1 Kings 17:8-16, "And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand. And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die. And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth. And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah."
I always find it amazing to see how God works in all of our circumstances to bring us into a place of blessing. His ways are above our ways and he is past finding out. I must confess that there have been many times when I was sure that I was in God’s will for my life, but I just couldn’t see how things would work out. God takes us through some strange twists and turns in this journey of life, but he always has the end in sight.
God told Elijah to go to Zarephath and find a widow who would take care of him while he was on the run from Jezebel. I’m go glad that God doesn’t leave us on our own when times are hard and our faith is weak. He is still there, leading, guiding and directing our path, bringing us into a place where we can be strong in Him once again.
This was a really strange thing for God to do in our way of thinking. Zarephath was a city in the land of the Zidonians, the very birthplace of Jezebel. God was sending Elijah into the heart of his enemy’s territory to find a widow woman who would supply his needs.
How many times have I seen God use the hand of sinners to supply the needs of His children! God uses the people of the world to do His will and they don’t even know what’s happening most of the time.
If you need a job, God is already working on some boss out there to give you the job you need. If you need food, God is already working on some farmer or rancher out there to supply what you need. Whatever your need might be, God is already at work, providing a way, using someone, to bring what you need to your doorstep.
God brought Elijah to exactly the right place in the city of Zarepath, at exactly the right moment in time, so that he could find the widow woman. She was walking under the commandment of God and didn’t even know it. All she knew is that the drought in the land was making life really hard for her and her son. She was out gathering sticks to build a fire to cook her last meal.
This widow was at the end of her rope too. We don’t know her name. The bible never gives it to us. The fact is that she was a widow with no visible means of support.
At this point in time, I believe that we have a vision of how God looked at Israel. In the Old Testament, God looked upon Israel as his “spiritual wife” just as Jesus looks upon the New Testament Church as his “spiritual bride”. But Israel had declared it’s separation from God by worshipping Baal and now Israel was a widow. God’s blessing upon her was lifted. His presence was there, but only as a judge. But still, in God’s eyes, he loved Israel and was working to bring her home again.
Is the church of today in that condition too? The church, by-in-large, has become an unfaithful bride to Christ. We have compromised with the world and allowed the devil to influence our relationship with Jesus until today most of the church world doesn’t even know the same Jesus that I know. Many don’t believe in the blood of Christ and it’s power to wash away sin. Many don’t believe that God cares. Many are looking for the coming of the Lord to take his bride away. They are following the worship of the idols of money, popularity and the things of the world, making those things their gods. They have made themselves widows in the sight of God. But God desires to make his Bride faithful.
This little widow of Zarephath was at her wit’s end. She was getting ready to cook the last little bit of meal into a small cake, with the few drops of oil that she had left. She would put it together in a little pan and then cook it over an open fire with just a few sticks and then it would only be a matter of time until starvation would take her life and the life of her son. She was in a hopeless situation, with no way out.
Have you very felt that way? Have you ever wondered, What Next, God? How am I going to make it through this trial? It’s over God. There is no way out. Just take me home and make it quick and painless.
Then the unthinkable happens. Along comes a hungry evangelist, looking for a place to stay and somebody to feed him. Isn’t that just like a preacher? He always comes along when you least expect him, asking you do to things that you just don’t think you can do, and then expects you to feed him the last chicken you have? Just when you think that you have done all you can do – the man of God says, “Give it all to God! Put God first!”
First of all the preacher asked her for a drink of water. Water was in short supply because of the drought, but she went to get it anyway. This was the first test of her obedience, but that wasn’t all.
The preacher says, “While you’re at it, cook me a cake and bring to me too. I’m hungry, and I’m the man of God. God has spoken to me to tell you to bring it to me.”
Well, She hadn’t heard the voice of God. All she heard was this preacher who wanted what she didn’t have to give and he just kept on making demands.
The widow began to make her excuses. Have you ever made an excuse, even a really good one, to keep from obeying the Lord and His will in your life?
She had a good excuse. In fact, there could be none better. “I don’t have a cake to give to you preacher. All I have is a handful of flour, not enough to make a cake to satisfy your hunger. It’s just enough to make a little biscuit that I’m going to cook with the last drop of oil in the house. My son and I are going to share it and then wait to die. That’s all I have. It’s not enough. I can’t give what I don’t have.”
But the preacher wouldn’t accept her excuse even if it was a good one. In the eyes of the world, he was too demanding. He wanted more than she good give. In fact, if you look at this in a natural sense, you see a self-centered, demanding preacher who is out of touch with reality and always asking for you to do the impossible. Does that sound familiar?
She didn’t have much of anything, but the preacher wanted what little she did have. How many times have I asked you to pay your tithes, give in the offerings, spend time in prayer and studying the Word of God, be faithful in attending church and spending time in service to the Lord in whatever work He sets before you? I know when I say these things that people are already thinking: I can’t make ends meet now, how can I give more to the church? I don’t have time to get all my work done, how could I find the time to pray and study so much? I work hard all week, get very little rest, and now you want me to give what little time I have left to working for the Lord. Preacher, you’re asking me to give what I don’t have and can’t give.
What Elijah had to say reminds me of what the prophet Malachi also had to say. Elijah said, “If you give what you have, then what you have will never be empty and the anointing in your life will never run dry. God will supply your need if you will do His will now in faith. God will see you through the dry spell and he will bring you through in victory if you will just trust him.”
Malachi 3:10-12, "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts. And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts."
Elijah stood before the widow that day, telling her that God would see her through. I’m standing before you today to tell you the same thing.
You may feel like you are in a dry spell. Spiritually, you are at your rope’s end. You barely have enough faith to force yourself out of the house to get to church. You came today with threadbare faith, hanging on to one small glimmer of hope. Praying for something to happen but wondering if it every will.
Physically, you are drained. You work long, hard hours, for low pay, and life’s expenses have utterly drained your resources and you wonder how long you will be able to tread water before you go down for the last time.
Emotionally, you are a basket case. Any little thing that comes along unexpectedly sends you off the deep end and you wonder how long you will be able to keep your sanity.
Financially, you are facing disaster. Bills are going unpaid, creditors are on you like bloodhounds, and they are talking about layoffs on the job. It all seems so hopeless and there’s no answer in sight.
I am standing before you like Elijah stood before the widow of Zarephath this morning. I’m here saying to you, “Give the little that you have to the Lord, and God will bless it.”
God will provide you need if you will give it to Him. He will pour out His spirit in your life and give you the strength and power to live for him. The presence of the Holy Ghost in your life will never run dry. He will always be there with what you need, when you need it, to see you through to eternal life.
God will provide the finances, the job, the energy, the time and all that you need if you will put him first in your life.
Are you going to use up what you have and then lay back to die, or will you give what little you have and let God multiply it? The banks of Heaven never run dry. God’s hand of provision will supply your need. But you have to be an obedient servant to receive God’s best.
The widow and her son would surely have died had she not listened to Elijah. I’m here to tell you that unless you obey the voice of the Lord and do his will, you will surely die too. Disobedience brings spiritual death. Disobedience brings judgment.
If we will only learn to obey God, then God will supply our needs.
Are you hungry today? Are you at your wit’s end this morning? Have you come to the end of your rope and you’re ready to fall? Give it all to Jesus today and watch God’s hand go to work in your life!
