Priority Mail Series

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!