Quick Bring Me Another Jug!

Title: Quick Bring Me Another Jug!

Text: II Kings 4:1-7

Read Text!!!

Pray!!!

Introduction:

The story is told of two old friends bumping into one another on the street one day. One of them looked forlorn, almost on the verge of tears. His friend asked, "What has the world done to you, my old friend?"

The sad fellow said, "Let me tell you. Three weeks ago, an uncle died and left me forty thousand dollars."

"That’s a lot of money."

"But, two weeks ago, a cousin I never even knew died, and left me eighty-five thousand free and clear."

"Sounds like you’ve been blessed...."

"You don’t understand!" he interrupted. "Last week my

great-aunt passed away. I inherited almost a quarter of a million."

Now he was really confused. "Then, why do you look so

glum?"

"This week... nothing!"

- People today, whether Christian or not tend to live life like this person. And how did this person live? He lived life by feelings. He had to receive things in order to make him happy.

- This message this morning points in one direction and that is to live a life of Faith and trust in God.

- Understand it is God’s will for you to be blessed and prosper.

- But not just Materially, but Emotionally and Spiritually.

- It is a fact today that people receive without having to trust in the Lord, they receive materially and physically.

- But there is one thing that people don’t receive from God and that is His peace.

The Bible says in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

- The world offers things only for a season. Satisfaction and pleasure found in materialism, or security in your job for example is only for a season, but there is one thing the world can not offer and that is true lasting peace that only comes from God.

- So how does this apply to our text this morning?

- Very simple, it’s God’s will for you to live in abundance in all things.

- Materially, Spiritually, Emotionally. And not just for a season but into eternity.

- We see this point in our text, that in the worst of conditions God sustains His people that ask Him for help.

- This woman had lost her husband, and was on the verge of losing her two sons.

- Also the nation of Israel was in apostasy and in shambles.

- She was in poverty and had absolutely nothing and was going to lose everything, including her own flesh and blood.

- Yet this woman still trusted in God despite the worst of conditions.

- We also see a side of God, and that being one of blessing in Abundance and responding to the cry of Faith.

Transition:

- There’s a few points I would like us to see, to help us understand that our God is a God of Abundance.

- Before we begin, let me explain a well known fact.

- There are many examples in the Bible of how certain objects mean certain things.

- For Example, Baptism shows the people around watching that the person who is being baptized has been changed on the inside by God.

- Baptism is a picture of what happens in the inside of a person who has just received Christ as Savior and Lord and has asked God to wash away there sins.

- They are telling themselves, the people watching and God that I am going to serve you all the days of my life.

- I want to be your child forever, and the person shows that desire by becoming baptized in water.

- Well in our text the oil represented something.

- To the people of that day, to us and God.

- It would prove to the people then, that God was a God of abundance. That He supply’s all our needs.

- Oil was not just for cooking and lighting, it had a spiritual twist to it, that Elisha and the people understood.

- So what does the oil represent? And what did the people of Elisha’s day see and come to understand, so that we can apply and meditate on today?

Point 1: Oil Symbolizes Gladness (Is 61:3 says, “to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning and a garment of praise instead of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.” But Lack Of Oil Symbolizes Sorrow Or Humiliation (Joel 1:10 says, “The fields are ruined, the ground is dried up, the grain is destroyed, the new wine is dried up, the oil fails.”