Keep the Oil Flowing
Sunday, April 3, 2016
By Rev James May
Our God is an awesome God! Jesus is a Risen Savior and he is alive! Before he left this world to go into Heaven and sit down at the Father’s right hand as King of Kings forever, he promised to send us a Comforter.
That Comforter is the Holy Spirit who has come to
• dwell in the hearts of men
• fill us with the power of faith to do a work for the Lord,
• lead us into all truth
• gives us the “unction”, which is that divine anointing and sanctifying grace so that we may be empowered to call into action the supernatural power of God to accomplish kingdom work as we live as obedient and profitable servants!
There’s only one thing needed in the church today to make it a force to be reckoned with in this sinful world, and that’s more of the presence and unction of the Holy Ghost and fire!
A church that’s led by the Spirit, filled with the Spirit, anointed by the Spirit and walks in the presence of the Spirit, is a church that can chase devils, cast out demons, overcome principalities and powers, tear down the strongholds of the devil and expose and destroy wickedness in high places, and call into being those things which are not as though they were! It’s all done by faith in the power of God and in his faithfulness in fulfilling his promises in his word.
A church, and a Christian who is filled with the Holy Ghost and living for God will cause hell to tremble, make Satan run and hide in fear and by speaking the truth in love, will bring conviction for sin upon the heart of man.
If the preaching and teaching of the Word of God is being sanctioned by the Holy Ghost, that word will have the power to penetrate the coldest heart, the most doubting spirit and the most calloused mind!
There’s no barrier He can’t break through and no power He can’t overcome because Jesus has put all things under his feet and through the blood of Jesus we are made overcomers in Christ!
We must have the Oil of Gladness in our hearts! We must allow the oil of God’s anointing to flow through us so that we may make a difference in the lives of people in the earth! Without that supernatural oil of anointing that comes through the Holy Ghost in us, we are no match for the power of the enemy of our souls.
All of the words we speak and the things we do will have little value, and no power, to change the hearts of sinners and bring them to Christ, if we are not carrying that oil of anointing with us.
I’m not talking about a bottle of oil, even though anointing oil is a great thing to have. I’m talking about a spiritual oil that brings supernatural, Holy Ghost given power and a fire that creates a fervency to see people come to Christ and believe upon him for the salvation of their souls.
There’s a story in the Old Testament book of 2 Kings, chapter 4 that I want us to look at this morning. I believe that the Holy Spirit has something that he wants to reveal to us. So let us turn there and ask for the revelation power of the Spirit to open our hearts and minds to hear what the Spirit is saying to the church in this hour.
Before we begin reading the scriptures, let me set up the background for the story,
In the days of one of, if not THE most evil king to ever reign in Israel, a man named King Ahab, whose wife was Jezebel, there was a sort of war declared upon the true prophets of God that brought great persecution upon the true men of God who would not bow to the gods of Jezebel.
The battle began when Elijah called down fire out of Heaven upon an altar of sacrifice and exposed the fact that Israel had fallen into sin by worshipping a dead idol made with hands. He faced down the 400 prophets of Baal on the top of Mt. Carmel and after Baal failed to answer, he obeyed the Lord and killed every false prophet under God’s direction.
Elijah had fought on the Lord’s side and won the battle against sin and evil in Israel, but by showing the true nature of Baal worship, he exposed the sin of Ahab and Jezebel and stirred up a hornet’s nest in the palace of Ahab.
Jezebel wanted Elijah dead, and she was determined to find him. Wherever her armed guards went, they brought death and destruction with them. They were under orders and dared not disobey lest they lose their own heads. So if they ran across a prophet, even a prophet in training, who would one day speak out against the present rulers of Israel, they would kill them.
There was a school of the Prophets in those days, maybe a college of sorts where the prophets were taught the scriptures, taught how to listen and hear the word of the Lord; taught how to pray and how to walk according to God’s direction. They were taught that it takes more than just a “head knowledge” of who God is. They had to get down to serious business in serving the Lord and allow their hearts to be filled with the knowledge and presence of the True God of Israel in order to be one of his prophets in the land.
The schools of the prophets had been established by Samuel but had fallen into decay during the years of Israel’s following after the idol gods of the nations around them.
On Mt. Carmel, Elijah had said, “How long are you going to be divided in your hearts concerning who is the True God and which god you will serve?”
I submit to you this day that the same word is going forth for the church right now; especially the church in America! HOW LONG ARE WE GOING TO TAKE TO MAKE UP OUR MINDS WHETHER WE ARE GOING TO SERVE THE LIVING GOD OR SERVE THE DEAL IDOLS AND PROMISES OF A WORLD THAT’S DESTINED FOR DESTRUCTION?
Elijah set about re-established these schools of the prophets, making provision for young men to gain an education that would lead them to magnify the law of God and make it an honorable thing to be a true man of God in Israel once again. There were three of these schools established at that time; one at Gilgal, one at Bethel, and one at Jericho.
More of these schools of the sons of the prophets came into existence later on in history, but in the time of Elijah and Elisha there were only three.
The heart of Elijah was encouraged as he saw what was being accomplished by these schools. The work of reformation was not complete, but he could see throughout Israel that a change for the better was going on.
At his lowest point of depression, the Lord spoke these words of encouragement to Elijah, “Yet I have left Me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal.”
In the midst of Jezebel’s persecution of these prophets while she searched for Elijah, many of these sons of the prophets that went to those schools were hunted down and killed.
Among them was a man who was killed, leaving behind a widow with two sons, who now had no means of support and was living in a state of poverty.
Into this scene now walks the prophet who received the anointing; the unction; the mantle of Elijah as he was taken away in the Chariot of fire. This prophet’s name was Elisha and he was still walking in the Spirit and had the same anointing and power of God manifested in his life that his teacher, Elijah, had shown.
2Kings 4:1 Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the LORD: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen.
Her husband was well known by Elijah. He was one of those 7,000 who had not bowed to Baal. But now he was dead; killed by Jezebel and her devilish schemes.
Why does God allow this to happen? Why are God-fearing, honest, sincere worshippers, and people who seem to have a great future in serving the Lord, allowed to die by the hand of God’s enemies?
I don’t have that answer! I can only say that when they leave this world, they step into a world that is far better, and the testimony of their faithfulness to the end of their lives serves as a testimony to the world that God is faithful to the end. Sometimes their sacrifice for the cause of the Kingdom of God serves as a greater message than all of the works they would have done had they remained alive in the earth. For many of those questions, all that we can do; and all that we must do, is to just trust God. His ways are above our ways, and his purposes are not always known to us. One day we will know, but for now it’s only enough that we should trust God and continue in his service.
One thing we can get out of this tragic scene is that God never leaves us nor forsakes us. Even though this woman was left as a widow without support and having to raise two sons on her own, she was never really alone. God was watching over her, providing all that she needed, even though at time it seemed that God’s provisions didn’t appear when she thought they should have.
God sent a prophet to her in her greatest hour of need; and God will send help to each of us in that hour as well! Maybe it will come in the form of some great miracle such as will happen for this widowed woman. Or maybe it will come in the form of an unexpected blessing from an unexpected source. However it comes we must trust in God’s promise to never leave us or forsake us. He is our Jehovah Jireh – our Provider!
David said, “I’ve never seen the Righteous forsaken or his seed begging for bread!” If God can feed and take care of the birds; how much more will he take care of those who are his own dear children? He’s an “on –time God”, always there when you reach the end of your rope; always there when you call out to him in need; always listening and ready to come to your aid; always faithful to fulfill his promises!
Most of the time, all he’s waiting for is for you to simply go to him in prayer and ask him for what you need. He has already made a way for you to have what you need, long before you ever knew you would have that need in your life!
2 Kings 4:2 And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? Tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil.
Notice the prophet’s first reaction! It’s the same reaction we all have when we see someone in great distress. We often have this overwhelming feeling of pity, but also helplessness. What do you expect me to do about your problems? I have enough problems of my own. I’m on the run from Jezebel. I have no money, nor anything else I can give! I don’t have the answer for your circumstances. I can only offer you my understanding, perhaps a little human wisdom and advice, and most of all, my prayers that God will help you.
Elisha’s first bit of human wisdom was seen in the question, “What do you have in your house that you can sell to raise the money you need to solve your problem? His advice was, get rid of anything you have that is not absolutely necessary. Sell it! Dump it! Why keep it around if it means that it could be used to keep on living?”
All too often in our world, we see people who do not want to take responsibility for themselves. They expect other people to bail them out. They get themselves into a bind and then expect somebody else to pay the price for their deliverance.
We need more personal responsibility! It’s no one’s responsibility to provide for you and your family except you! If a man won’t provide for his own household, the Bible says that he is worse than a man who doesn’t believe in God at all!
I know a lot of people need help! I think it’s a wonderful thing that we have programs that are set up to help those who really need it! But if a man won’t work, he shouldn’t eat! I didn’t make that up. God said that in his own word!
If people are too lazy and shiftless to get off the couch and find a job; quit smoking and shooting up dope that they bought with money that should be buying groceries; stop drinking alcohol bought with other people’s donations; quit having kids just so they can get more “free money” that they can spend on themselves and not on the poor kids; stop getting “free” phones, “free” money for bills; “free” anything; and get out there and earn their own way through life and give back to society, rather than always taking from others, then let them lie there and starve.
Is that being unsympathetic and hard? YES, but it’s scriptural! Is it being judgmental? YES, and it’s about time that someone stood up and judged their laziness and selfishness for what it is! Is it being uncaring? NO! The best thing that can happen to anyone is to learn that they can be self-reliant and able to take care of themselves. True love will lift a man out of his troubles and make him believe that he has value.
Like the old saying goes, “Show them how to fish; don’t just feed them fish!” That’s what’s wrong with our society today – too many people wanting the free lunch with no responsibilities, not even a drug test to qualify for it. They just want someone else to give them all they want without having to life one finger to do one thing to earn it!
There is nothing really free in this world! God’s love is free and salvation is free, but everything else carries a price that must be paid to have it! Somebody has to pay the price for your needs in life; and that someone should be you – not somebody else!
This poor widow had nothing, at least nothing in her mind! But she did have something, and what she had was very valuable! It was worth far more than she could have ever imagined, but she was about to discover just how valuable it really was.
All she had was a little bit of “oil”!
She had the “oil” – that symbol of the presence of God in her life! She had a little bit left – it was nearly gone – disappearing fast because somehow I believe she had lost faith in God’s ability to provide for her need! All she could see was the problem and not the solution! All she could see was her circumstances and not the hand of God upon her!
My friends, if all you have left in your life is the “oil”, the anointing of the Holy Ghost, that unction of the Spirit of God that gives you supernatural grace and power – YOU STILL HAVE ALL YOU NEED!
It’s just time to stir up the gift that’s in you and get those “faith juices” moving again, and believe God for a miracle, because a miracle is on its way right now! Look beyond your need and see the provision of God that’s coming! Look ahead in faith, knowing that God will not fail! See it in your heart by faith, even though you can’t see it with your natural eyes yet! God is still God, no matter what your need!
The prophet then began to speak by revelation knowledge. He had suddenly gone from using the wisdom of man, to speaking the wisdom of God! He had that unction of the Holy Spirit within, speaking to him and giving him a word of wisdom straight from the mind of God!
2 Kings 4:3 Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbors, even empty vessels; borrow not a few.
What would she need with empty vessels if she only had enough oil for a little pot? It makes no sense in the natural mind to do this! Are we going to sell the borrowed pots, or rent them out, or claim that we lost them and then use them to make some money somehow? (that’s what would happen in our society) What would empty pots do to solve her problems?
Notice this – she didn’t even have any empty pots of her own. She had probably already sold everything she could! She had done her part up to now, but now came the real test. All the pots you sold to neighbors – go borrow them back, and get their empty pots along with the others. Get as many as you can!
The spirit of prophecy and the word of wisdom had come upon Elisha, but now the power of those words, spoken under the unction of the Spirit of God by the prophet, had struck the heart of this widow woman and she sprang into action!
The anointed word of the Lord carries a power to change the heart and move the soul! When the word is from the Lord, it will accomplish what it’s meant to do and will not return empty!
She was told to get empty pots – not pots that had a little oil in them already! Bring no pots back that have something in them. God doesn’t need anything from us except obedience. He is the Provider – we are the obedient servants!
When we come to Jesus, we can only come as empty vessels! His anointing is waiting, but it won’t come if we are full of pride, selfishness, self-righteousness and think that we have anything to offer as a price for his anointing! We must be empty of self! We have no price to give that is worthy! All we can do, and all we must do is just present ourselves as living sacrifices, giving him our emptiness, and asking him to fill us with the oil of his presence.
Elijah continues in his directions under the unction of the Spirit of God in 2 Kings 4:4, 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.
When you come in to your own place; in your own house; in the presence of your God, in the place in the realm of the Spirit where you should dwell – SHUT THE DOOR!
IF YOU WANT GOD’S BEST;
IF YOU WANT THE PRESENCE OF GOD;
IF YOU WANT TO KNOW GOD’S PERFECT WILL;
IF YOU WANT TO HAVE THE MIRACLES OF GOD MANIFESTED IN YOUR LIFE;
IF YOU WANT THE UNCTION OF THE HOLY GHOST TO BE UPON YOU;
IT CAN ONLY HAPPEN ONE WAY – YOU HAVE TO GET ALONE WITH GOD IN A SECRET PLACE AND SHUT OUT EVERYTHING AND EVERYBODY WHO WILL DISTRACT YOU FROM HEARING AND RECEIVING FROM THE LORD!
You’re not going to get that “oil” of God’s presence from another person!
You’re not going to get that “oil” from someone else’s blessing!
You’re not going to get that “oil” by just wishing!
You can only have it if you’re willing to pay the price to get it – personal responsibility!
And when you get shut in with God in that secret place, then start stirrup up that “oil” that already within! Stir up your faith! Stir up your spirit! Stir up that comfort zone and start meaning business with God like you’ve never done before!
There’s a little oil left; but it won’t help until you’ve allowed the Spirit of God to begin to move in you so that it can be poured out in faith, believing that somehow God is going to give you new life, new hope and new direction!
2 Kings 4:5 So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out.
She not only poured out the little oil she had in obedience; but she poured out her very life at God’s command!
I wonder if the thought crossed her mind, “Has this prophet lost it? What if he’s wrong? What if I pour out this oil and it just keeps getting less and less until there’s none to gather and use? This is it! It’s either do or die!
But what do I have to lose? What’s one more meal in the face of death? Why prolong the agony?”
She committed her life to the pouring out of the oil into the empty vessels.
I’ve seen those times when I wondered, “God, I have nothing much to give. I have few talents, little time, no great wisdom, no wealth of this world – but what I do have is a little of the “Oil” of the Spirit; the unction of the Holy Ghost – and I can pour that out into the empty vessels of those around me who are in greater need than I. I might have just a little, but they have no “Oil”! They’re empty!
I only have what seems like just enough for me for one more day – but I’m going to pour it out anyway! I have little to lose and much that I can possibly gain! So help me, Lord! Help me to pour out that which I have in service to you!
She was still shut in as she began to pour! Why? It was because if others saw her pouring out her little bit into empty vessels, what would they have to say?
• You’re an idiot! You’re wasting what little you have!
• That’s really nonsense! Why are you giving away everything; taking such a huge chance of losing it all?
• There’s no reason to keep pouring! There’s such a little left and you need all you have. You can’t keep that up or you’ll die!
• Do you really believe that you’re going to make a difference by continually pouring yourself out?
• Do you really think that God is with you and will change anything in your life if you commit everything to doing what some preacher says?
• You don’t really believe in miracles, do you? Only the weak-minded and people without hope would ever depend upon that!
Thank the Lord, she didn’t have to hear all of that, because she was shut in with God! But there have been times when I’ve heard it, and so have you! We finally learned that we have to get away from the voices of this world because they are rarely in agreement with the voice of God!
2 Kings 4:6 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. And the oil stayed.
2 Kings 4:7 Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest.
Her sons had gathered pots; plenty of them, but is there really ever enough?
When the oil began to flow, as she poured it out into others, it just kept flowing!
“One commentator says that Jesus turned water into wine, but in this instance, God turned air into oil!” However it happened, God performed a miracle in keeping the oil flowing. That little bit, filled pot after pot, after pot, until there were no more empty pots around!
When there was nowhere else, no other pot to fill, the oil ceased to flow!
How many pots would you have gathered?
How much oil can you use?
How long will the oil be allowed to be poured out through you into others?
If you had an oil well spring up in your yard, how many vessels could you find to hold it?
This oil meant her life! It meant that this widow could not only pay her debts, but she could now live a good life with her needs met! She could sell the oil and provide for her family for the rest of her days. Oil, even olive oil, was a valuable commodity in those days in Israel and it could sell for a lot of money.
Natural oil is a valuable commodity for us too! I wouldn’t mind having an oil well, or two, or three in my little half acre! And I would want a huge storage tank, or maybe a railroad spur with tank cars lined up into infinity to hold every drop that came up out of the ground!
But even more importantly – I want that oil of the Holy Ghost moving in my soul! That oil is more valuable than anything this world has to offer! It’s life to me, and its life to you!
We have to keep that oil flowing! We have to allow ourselves to be continually filled that we may continually pour out into the lives of empty vessels all around us!
This is a well that will never run dry! The value that it brings to us never diminishes, but keeps growing greater every day!
We have to let the oil flow! We have to allow that well of the oil of gladness to keep springing up from within!
• Do you have that “oil” of the Spirit this morning?
• Do you want to be so full that the oil in you just keeps flowing over onto others?
• Do you need a refilling? Are you one of those empty pots? Or is your vessel nearly empty?
The Spirit of God is here this morning to fill you again!
He’s here to fill you to overflowing!
He’s here to give you that unction of the Holy Ghost!
Come and be filled!
Come and allow the Oil of the Holy Ghost to be continually flowing in your life!
Amen
