MAKING SOMETHING OUT OF PRACTICALLY NOTHING
2 KINGS 4:1-7
In 1984, Lana and I were married and moved up to Ole Miss where I started pharmacy school. It was 3 long hard years of study, work, and sacrifice. I was living on less than I ever had while Lana was living on about as much as she had hoped to. During one summer, we had practically nothing to live on. I had some deer meat in the freezer but it was running out. Too proud to ask anyone for help, I went fishing 3 mornings per week....not for sport, but for food. I caught enough striped bass that we could eat all week. After 3 months, I swore I’d never eat another striped bass in my life. I laugh at those 3 years when I think about what Lana went thru growing up.
* Lana grew up with a father that would desert them periodically.
A few times Lana and her mom and sister would have no food.
* Once they got down to only spaghetti noodles and hot sauce and lived on that a few days.
* Another time, they had no food at all and her much older sister tore the house apart looking for money to buy food. She found enough change under the couch cushions to buy a can of soup. They ate again.
* A few times they were homeless and living in their car. As a little girl, Lana was sent into a steak house to ask for a little something to eat for her and her mom. The lady manager fixed them both a full meal and paid for it herself.
* Lana’s childhood has always driven me to be one thing to her. I have always strived to be her hero. Her protector. Her provider.
* When I read this passage, my heart breaks. It hurts me to know what my wife went through as a young girl. It hurts me to know what kids in this community are going thru right now because of their alcoholic, dope-headed, immoral parents.
* Lana’s childhood is why I won’t sit back and watch a child go hungry.
* In our passage today, we are introduced to a woman that is in a terrible predicament. Her world is crashing down all around her. She has lost her husband and is on the verge of losing everything else she holds dear in the world. She has practically nothing at all.
* The question before us is “How do you make something out of practically nothing?”
How do you make something.......
1. WHEN ALL YOU HAVE IS NOTHING.
2 Kings 4:1-2 1 Now a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord; and the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.” 2 Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil.”
Here is a woman with more problems than she can bear.
(1) Her husband, Her mate, the love of her life has died. She is broken-hearted and lonely, missing her husband.
(2) There is no food or money in the home. She tells Elisha there is nothing in the house. It is all gone......EXCEPT a jar of oil.
(3) Her children are about to be taken away as slaves to pay their debt. Her sons would serves as slaves until the debt of the father was paid.
(4) She feels that God has let her down. (Her words-- My husband served the Lord and the Lord has let him die.)
A word of advice...When all you have left in life is nothing, bring that emptiness to the Lord.
What about Elisha’s response? “What shall I do for you?”
Let’s first see how he didn’t respond.... He didn’t say to her....
(1) “You need to let go and let God....” That is true in certain situations, but not completely true. Apostle Paul tells us to “keep striving” in spiritual warfare. Don’t lay down and play dead. We may need to find rest in the Lord, but we need to continue striving against the devil. Keep striving against sin! Striving for unity! Share Gospel!
(2) “Don’t worry, God will provide....” That’s an easy thing to say to someone thru the window of your Mercedes.
(3) “God will never give you more than you can handle....”
as those words roll from your lips, I wonder....
* Have you ever watched helplessly as your child died of cancer?
* Have you ever been a homeless hungry child because your daddy deserted you?
** Sometimes we mean well by the things we say. But our cliches are simply not enough.
Listen to what James says.....
Jm 2:14-17 14 What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? 17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.
I like how Elisha handled this situation. No cliches. No well-wishing. No condemnation. He examines how God desired to meet her needs and he involves her in the miracle that God desires to bring!
How do you trust God.........
2. WHEN GOD DOESN’T MAKE SENSE.
2 Kings 4:3-5 3 Then he said, “Go, borrow vessels at large for yourself from all your neighbors, even empty vessels; do not get a few. 4 And you shall go in and shut the door behind you and your sons, and pour out into all these vessels, and you shall set aside what is full.” 5 So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons; they were bringing the vessels to her and she poured.
What did Elisha tell her to do?
(1) Borrow every empty vessel she can from her neighbors. Notice that she had to rid herself of her pride.
* If you are ever going to see God move in your life, you need to humble yourself and submit yourself to Him.
(2) Elisha said “and don’t get a few”. She invested her time in obeying the word of the Lord by filling her home with empty vessels.
* As you seek God’s provisions....
- If you have a financial need, see what YOU can do while you pray.
- If there is a moral failure, repent and commit to do what is right!
- A broken relationship, ask forgiveness even if you’re not wrong.
(3) Obey God even though it didn’t make sense. She showed faith by seeking God’s help and by gathering the vessels. But, she showed great faith by privately pouring that oil when Elisha and God were nowhere to be seen.
How do you respond.....
3. WHEN GOD BLESSES YOUR SOCKS OFF.
2 Kings 4:6-7 6 When the vessels were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not one vessel more.” And the oil stopped. 7 Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt, and you and your sons can live on the rest.”
Notice what has happened.
They gathered every empty vessel they could.
They filled every empty vessel they gathered.
The oil did not stop flowing until they were completely filled!
God did not stop blessing until every need was met!
If you are in an empty place of need in your life today.....
(1) Take your needs to the Lord. It’s great to ask the preacher to pray for you, your church to pray for you, but you need to be on praying ground also.
(2) Trust the Lord even when it doesn’t make sense. Remember, God has a plan for you. He may not tell you everything up front, but you must trust what He does tell you.
(3) Obey the Lord. God blesses obedience. Your obedience to Him proves your love for Him.
(4) Go ahead and remove your shoes and get ready for God to bless your socks off.
(5) Hit your knees with your hands in the air and give God the praise and glory He deserves! It’s time to get your praise on!!
** A closing word for you today.
Even if you were to lose everything in life, there is one thing you can never lose..... the love of God.
You are His child and He loves you more than you can imagine.
And He is Jehovah Jireh, The God Who Provides!
