Return To Sender
Pt. 3 - Priority Mail
I. Introduction
Written in 1962 by Otis Blackwell and Winfield Scott the song Return To Sender it was first recorded and released by none other than Elvis Presley. On November 11th, 1962, the song peaked at #2 for 5 weeks on Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart because it was featured in Elvis' hit movie "Girls, Girls, Girls." The concept is that a letter or package that was either addressed incorrectly or lacked enough postage is returned to the person who sent it. The idea is that something kept coming back to the one who sent it. The song is all about mail. Did you know there is such a thing as priority mail. It costs more to send but it gets there faster because it is viewed by the sender and the delivery service as more important. I want to take a few moments this morning and talk about priority mail. I want to talk about what is important.
I want to examine two eerily similar passages out of the lives of two prophets that were connected. Elijah was Elisha's mentor. He trains Elisha in ministry. Both of these prophets have a similar encounter and when you examine these two experiences you gain some very important insight into managing the provision that God gives us. Remember He is the Sender! Everything comes from Him, so we are only stewarding what He provides.
1 Kings 17:10-16 (NLT)
So he went to Zarephath. As he arrived at the gates of the village, he saw a widow gathering sticks, and he asked her, “Would you please bring me a little water in a cup?” As she was going to get it, he called to her, “Bring me a bite of bread, too.” But she said, “I swear by the Lord your God that I don’t have a single piece of bread in the house. And I have only a handful of flour left in the jar and a little cooking oil in the bottom of the jug. I was just gathering a few sticks to cook this last meal, and then my son and I will die.” But Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid! Go ahead and do just what you’ve said, but make a little bread for me first. Then use what’s left to prepare a meal for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers until the time when the Lord sends rain and the crops grow again!” So she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her family continued to eat for many days. There was always enough flour and olive oil left in the containers, just as the Lord had promised through Elijah.
2 Kings 4:1-7
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.” 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 small jar of olive oil.” Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. 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.” She left him and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. 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. 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.”
Both Elijah and Elisha encounter a widow in need. In the first account Elijah finds a woman that is about to eat her last meal with her sons and then plans on dying. He steps in with what seems like a selfish request and asks her to feed him first. Simple question . . . what if she had refused to take care of a God request first? This account teaches us order. We are required to give God His first! Order matters. Order is crucial. It is not a tithe if you do it last. It isn't a tithe if you wait till the end of the month to make sure your bills are paid first.
This account also speaks to situations that are bad. Surely, this woman should be allowed a break in giving. Surely, this woman should be exempt from sacrifice. Surely, God could understand that in this predicament giving is really not an option. Instead, this woman's experience teaches us that when we are in need we are still required to give. In fact, what her story teaches us is that it is when we give out of our need and in a dire situation God gets involved. Has anyone in the room ever discovered that it is when I am need and I give that God meets my need? I have! Our willingness to put Him first moves Him! If you don't believe that, then go to NT and read how moved Jesus was by another widow who gave the smallest offering and receives the biggest compliment from Jesus. Jesus states - but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.” It moved Jesus and it still does!
Why does it work that way? If we wait until the end, then we are stating that we think we can manage this situation through own strength and ingenuity. At the end of the month, it is no longer a tithe it is a tip. Tithe is first fruits. So, this woman illustrates for us that our responsibility to give to God first is not determined by our current situation. We have a responsibility to take care of God first even when times are tough. Good lesson for us in an environment of inflation. Well cost is up God so I guess I will have to cut yours. We will participate in God's Guarantee this morning. God's Guarantee is that when we willingly and faithfully give God the first 10% that He will bless us. I have watched as this has turned people's lives around. We have countless miracles testified to because people do this . . . but they do it in the right order.
The Elisha comes along and has a similar experience. But I want you to notice a couple of critical pieces of information.
Notice if you will what the text said . . . 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." Then in the very next breath she informs Elisha that creditors are coming to take my two boys as his slaves.
Notice that this woman's husband was in the ministry. He was in the school of prophets. He served Elisha. He is being mentored to be a prophet. He is described as Elisha's servant. She states that this man was a godly man. He revered the Lord. And then in the next breath tells Elisha that her sons are about to become slaves because her husband's debts are coming due and she doesn't have the means to pay them.
So, the first widow taught us that we have a responsibility to give to God first. This second widow teaches us that we also have a responsibility to take care of our home. In fact, according to Proverbs 13:22, "A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children."
So, her experience is teaching us that we are responsible for and must work in two realms . . . the natural and supernatural. It is not enough to build the kingdom and destroy your castle. So, there is a balance of stewarding what we have to take care of God and our family.
How do you do that? If we get the order right and we take care of God first, then how do we handle the rest?
Let me help you quickly. You can only do 5 things with money. Spend, save, invest, loan, give. That is how most of us deal with our money. However, what I want to do is help you position yourself to be able to take care of God and then to take care of your family. In order to do that you must flip the list.
Give (God first), loan (Bible talks about this so we have to be careful here), invest (parable of talents - we get most return possible), save, then spend.
I want to encourage you to examine your resources against this list. Which way are you living? Are you setting yourself up to be in the situation of this 2nd widow? I have given to God, but I have nothing for my family.
For instance, let me tell you about my personal struggle. I don't bat an eye at a car payment each month. But then it came time to renew my life insurance. The issue is I am 30 years older than when I first got my life insurance and oh by the way I have had a heart attack in the meantime. And when I see the premium which is less than the car payment a month that would enable me to leave an inheritance to my children I balk. I can't afford that. So, I am willing to pay monthly for a car that by the time my boys get their hands on it will have hundreds of thousands of miles on it and be worth nothing, but I can't spend the necessary money to ensure that Julie and the boys are taken care of when I am gone. I was getting the list wrong! I bet most of you in this room today are out of order too!
My challenge to you today is to get the order right. Give first. But then don't revert back to an out of order list when it comes to the resources that God is providing or you will miss a blessing that can go generation to generation! We know God is a God that wants to bless generation to generation. He has proven that over and over throughout Scripture. He thinks generationally. We think this weekend! Perhaps we miss out on that type of blessing because we settle for a “my generation” blessing by how we handle, manage, steward the resources God has given us. Isaiah 55 states that God sends seed to the farmer and bread to the eater. Could it be what He sends you is determined by how He knows you will use it? He could send you seed to plant for future generations but, you are only getting bread because He knows you would eat the seed if He sent that.
Notice in the second account we are taught what to do with seed. They take the oil and they are instructed to sell it! They invest the resources and they are set for life! It says they can live on the rest not just for the remaining years of the widow's life, but it also says her sons can live on it too.
Get order right. Get the rest of the list right. This is simply a matter of getting priorities right! Priorities plural. We are giving you the chance to get the first priority right. However, this isn't an either or proposition. When you get the first priority right you will be blessed with resources. So, it must become both and. I will continue to take care of the supernatural, but I will also look after my other responsibilities and make sure my family is my second priority! I won't eat my seed as bread!
