Sermon Tone Analysis

Living on What’s Left

New Hope Baptist Church

May 28, 2006

 

*Text*: 2 Kings 4:1-7

 

*Introduction:*

 

    This is a familiar passage of Scripture.

Many times we’ve heard about the Widow’s oil and the miracle that Elisha performed for her and her sons.

This account will help us to answer for ourselves just how bad, how much we want the blessings of God in our lives; how bad we want the presence of the Holy Spirit and the guidance of His power for our lives, our families and our households.

There is a tale of a young man who was desperately seeking God.

He went to a well-known and wise old man for help.

He asked him how he could find God.

The old man took the young man to a nearby river and there they waded out into the deep water.

Deeper and deeper they went and when the water got up to their chins, the old man took the young man by the neck and pushed him under the water.

He held the young man down until the young man began flailing the water in desperation.

In another minute, the young man would have surely drowned.

The old man finally let the young man come up for air.

They both found their way back to the bank of the river.

The young man asked the old man, “What did this have to do with finding God?” \\ The old man asked the young man, “While you were under the water, what did you want more than anything else?”

The young man simply replied, “Air.”

The old man concluded with this thought, “When you want God as much as you wanted air, you will find Him.”

We can certainly ascertain several things, several principles from this passage, but today I want to consider three very important things from this widow.

You will recall her situation.

He was recently widowed.

Her husband had been a student in the school for prophets.

Not unlike many of us today, he probably had to borrow lots of student loans to get through school.

However, before he could make good on the loans, he died.

History tells us that the nation Israel was in shambles at that time.

It was not a good time financially.

Interest rates were at their highest; sells were down; the only thing that could still bring in a profit was oil, much like today with our high gas prices.

In that day, when a man died in debt it was not just written off.

No, whatever or whoever he had left behind became responsible.

This widow had two sons, her only possible means to livelihood, and now the debtors were threatening to take them in payment for her husband’s debt.

She was beside herself.

I don’t know if you’ve ever been in a desperate situation like that before?

Have you been to a place in life where it seemed that absolutely no hope was left?

A place where you felt like eating a last meal and dying?

I don’t mean when you’ve just gotten behind in a few bills and you dodge the phone calls from creditors.

That’s bad, but that’s not the desperation I mean.

I mean a place where you could not even imagine daylight ever coming into your life again.

Total desperation was there but there was no solution to your situation.

That’s about where this widow was, except she had one thing.

She had a little oil.

It’s interesting that Elisha didn’t offer her an immediate solution or give her material goods right away.

First, he asked her what she had to offer.

God, who made the world from nothingness can surely provide anything you need, but he also wants something from you.

How much faith do you have in Him and His Word?  Notice that it was a little oil.

It doesn’t take great faith to move God.

Jesus said if you have the faith of the size of a mustard seed…

    Well, the widow was instructed to *Put Up*.

She had to show forth her faith.

She had to go and borrow.

She had to give some action to her faith.

In the process of going she no doubt had to take into account her present situation.

She had to determine within herself that she was going to lay all of her cards on the table and trust the prophet.

God wants to see your faith *working*.

God wants us to exercise faith, and participate in His works.

John 2:6-7 - Wedding Feast - no wine - nearby stood 6 stone water jars…Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water".

\\ · John 11:39 - Jesus was about to call Lazarus out of the grave - He asked the people to move the stone away from the tomb.

\\ · Mark 6:38 - feeding of >5000 people - Jesus asked, "What do you have?"- 5 loaves and 2 fish.

There comes a time when you have to deal with stuff in your life.

Old stuff that needs to be shed.

You have to realize that old dependencies are dead to you.

Just like this widow’s husband, who was the one she depended on was dead, you have to come to grips with old things and people you have depended on and determine that you will depend on God alone.

You have to deal with old stuff in you life.

I tell you, you won’t be able to live on what’s left until you have depleted yourself of some old stuff that has occupied you way of thinking, your way of living form day to day, your mindset, your decisions and beliefs.

*Deal with the old stuff*.

Clean house, wash the walls of doubt and pity.

Scrub the floors of your old habits.

*Deal with the old stuff*.

Not only did she have to put up the old stuff, but she was instructed to *shut up*.

Elisha told her to take her sons and to go into the house and to shut the door behind them.

The word that is used here for “*shut the door*” in the original language means to deliver up; to give over to.

In other words, empty yourself.

Tell Jesus all about it.

Too many times we shut up in the opposite way.

We don’t tell Jesus much at all.

Sometimes your sins can get you in such a place that you just stop talking to God at all.

That’s just where the Devil would have you, silent before God.

But when you are really in need of a blessing from God, when you have come to the end of yourself, when there is no other way out or around your situation, you better learn how to *shut up* to God.  Tell Him all about it.

Not just about your need materially, but your lack spiritually.

Empty yourself to Jesus.

You can’t begin to expect or to receive from the Lord until you have emptied yourself.

The widow was instructed to get empty vessels.

Why?

Because God can’t fill what is already occupied.

How empty are you today?

Better yet, what are you full of?

Are you full of self?

Full of pride?

Are you living on your own wits?

Are you making your own decisions about your day to day life?

Maybe you’re not destitute right now, but do you think it’s your own ingenuity that has kept you?

How empty are you?

The Bible says that we should be being filled with the Holy Spirit.

That means every day, every minute, every second we should be replenished with the Holy Spirit in our lives.

But if we are full of our own sense of handling things, there is no room for Him.

The other part of her *shutting up* or getting the empty vessels was to show her readiness to receive.

You can’t expect abundance with filled vessels.

You can’t expect abundance when unconfessed sin is running over in your life.

Are you living in sin, just can’t let it go?