God will take care of you
1 Kings 17:8-16
Elijah and the Widow
1 Kings 17:8 - 16 Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.” So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup that I may drink.” And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” So she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.” And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son. For thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth.’” So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days. The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke by Elijah.
2 Kings 4:1-7
Elisha and the Widow’s Pot of Oil
2 Kings 4:1 - 7 A certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord. And the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves.” So 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 but a jar of oil.” Then he said, “Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors—empty vessels; do not gather just a few. And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones.” So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured it out. Now it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not another vessel.” So the oil ceased. 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 live on the rest.”
Introduction: Have you ever felt like your back was up against a wall, the situation was hopeless? There was no way that you were going to make it. It seemed like you had nothing to look forward to but disappointment, despair, and defeat. You just wanted to throw in the towel. Such was the case of two widows who discover the truth that God will take care of His own. The first widow, along with her son, was confronted with starvation and was preparing their final meager meal when the prophet Elijah confronts her. The second widow deeply in debt and facing having her two sons taken into indentured service to her creditor asks Elisha for help. In both situations the women found out that God is the God of the Impossible. He can and will help you if you will first...
I. Look at what you have to offer.
A. So 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 but a jar of oil.”
B. God is going to do a miracle. But He wants us to offer what we have. God can actually create something out of nothing. But He wants us to first see what He has given us and wants us to offer him what we do have.
C. Both widows did not have wealth or assets. Notice what they say:
1. “As the Lord your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.”
2. “The creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves...Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.”
D. They were in situations which seemed hopeless with no means of solving their dilemma. They did not have much but they still had something that God could use. God wanted them to take the focus off of themselves and focus on the Lord and His power.
E. There are no hopeless situations; there are only people who have grown hopeless about them. – Clare Boothe Luce
F. 2 Corinthians 9:7 - 8 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.
G. To give grudgingly, or out of a sense of obligation, is to miss God’s blessings.
II. Be willing trust God and do God whatever he asks.
A. Can you imagine going to a widow, a single parent raising her son alone, and asking her for the last bit of food in the house knowing that both she and her child were themselves hungry, and starving to death? Can you imagine the struggles that this woman went through?
B. The question is was she going to obey? God told Elijah in verse 1, “I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.”
C. Think of the absurdity of Elisha’s request of the other widow – Pull out every pot and pan in your house, go to your neighbors and borrow as many empty vessels as you can.
D. It’s not a matter of understanding; it’s a matter of trusting obedience.
E. The Lord doesn’t always let us in on what He’s doing. Trust fills the gap when we don’t understand. We must give the Father the benefit of the doubt. (Kent Crockett, I Once Was Blind But Now I Squint, Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2004, 150)
F. Proverbs 3:5 - 6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.
G. Very often, we pray for the situation to change. We wanted God to solve our problem, but we are not willing to do as God says.
H. It’s not always easy to smile and be nice, when we are called to sacrifice. It’s not always easy to put others first, especially when tired and feeling our worst. It’s not always easy to do the Father’s will. It wasn’t so easy to climb Calvary’s hill. But we as His children should learn to obey; not seeking our own but seeking His way. It’s not always easy to fight the good fight. But it is always good and it is always right! – Glenda Fulton Davis
I. Malachi 3:10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.
J. God never commands us to do something that He won’t help us to do.
III. Understand that little is much when God is in it.
A. Psalms 46:1 - 3 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah
B. “What do you have...?” – Whatever you have will be enough for God!
C. That “a handful of flour and little oil in a jar” was not used up, nor ran dry until the drought ended.
D. The other widow’s jar of oil filled every empty vessel that she was able to get her hands on.
E. Little is much when God is in it. When one gives his little, God multiplies it.
1. Moses’ rod became the “rod of God”.
2. 5 loaves and 2 fish fed 5000
3. A rock in the wilderness satisfied the thirst of a nation
4. A little girl’s obedient witness leads to a military leader’s healing.
F. Matthew 17:20 So Jesus said... if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.
IV. God will bless you proportionately to the degree you empty yourself to Him.
A. Now it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not another vessel.” So the oil ceased.
B. The oil stopped flowing when there were NO MORE EMPTY JARS!
C. A martial arts student was meeting with his master and teacher at a table, having tea. The student said to his master, "I’ve learned all you have to teach me about defending myself. I want to learn one thing more now. Please teach me about the ways of God." The master took the teakettle and starting pouring the student’s cup full of tea. Soon the cup was full and began to spill over onto the saucer. But the master continued to pour the tea until it spilled over the saucer and then onto the floor. The student finally said, "Stop, stop, the tea is spilling over. The cup can’t take any more." The master then looked at the student and said, "You are so full of yourself that there is no room in your life for God. It is not possible for you to learn the ways of God until you learn to empty yourself." – Are you Empty Enough? Todd Hudnall, www.sermoncentral.com.
D. Has God stopped blessing us because we have not been bringing to Him our empty jars, have we stopped growing because we have not gone to our neighbors and bring their empty jars to be filled?
E. 2 Timothy 2:21 Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.
F. Remember God’s supply of oil is unlimited except by our willingness to bring to Him our empty jars! He can only fill us to the extent that to empty ourselves.
G. Romans 6:13 And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.
V. Realize you can not out give God.
A. So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days. The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke by Elijah.
B. The scripture doesn’t say that the jar of meal and the cruse of oil were always full to the brim and overflowing, but it always contained what they needed.
C. You cannot out give God. God has a bigger shovel than I do or than you do. - copied
D. Luke 6:38 Give and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
E. L. Kraft, head of the Kraft Cheese Corp., who had given approximately 25% of his enormous income to Christian causes for many years, said, “The only investment I ever made which has paid consistently increasing dividends is the money I have given to the Lord.” – WA Criswell, A Guidebook for Pastors, p 154
F. The saying "You can never out give God" may be doubted by overanxious or tightfisted people. But Paul’s letter to the Philippian believers fully supports this saying. Having just received their generous gifts to meet his needs in prison, he assured them that because of their generosity God wouldn’t allow them to suffer undue need. He told them, "My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19)
G. John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Disclaimer: Source material for this sermon has been gleaned from many different sources. I have attempted to acknowledge these sources whenever possible. Please feel free to use this message as God’s Holy Spirit directs your heart.
