Full of Hope

Full of Hope 2King 4:1-7 - Widows Oil Introduction / Grape Road - still in discernment - PRAY / New Series "God's Love" next week leading to Easter / wont' want to miss - great time to invite your friend - come back to church - now is a great time. Going to be in book of 2Kings 4 Question to start - "Are you a just-enougher?". (or do you know one?) Examples.... You have an appointment sometime during your day, the appointment is getting close and you think to yourself.... You know what...I have just enough time to.... Get to the store and pickup a few things and still get there on time... Does that ever work? Set your alarm in the morning, with JUST ENOUGH time to get to work or school.... World helps with 'just enoughers' - distance to empty in your car (it's like a game sometimes isn't it? Is that just me?), I'm sure I have just enough gas to get there - live 7 mins away from church... Does 10 miles to empty really mean 10 miles?...My house... 2 boys in the house... we drink a lot of milk... I'm guilty of this....take just enough milk so I can put it in the fridge so I don't have to get another one. Just take enough cereal that there is enough for the next person and don't have to throw it away... breakfast cereal... pick up the box... maybe 1/4 bowl left.. happens almost every week. Reminded in my early 20's, working for a company and traveling to st. Louis have a cat - only be gone for a few days - just enough food didn't want to go buy new bag (I was in a rush - had to fly)... flew out... problems in St. Louis, had to stay a week. CAT?!?! (had to invite co-workers over to feed and water the cat... (he didn't die :) ) SO...do you get it? how many of you are just enoughers? How's that working for you? I want to make a spiritual shift on this thought of just enough - are we leaning on 'just enough' in our spiritual life? A few personal examples, just being transparent, that are stretching me a bit... I really love the Bible - so much wisdom in here - can recall when I first became a Christian read the Bible from a "just enough" standpoint - ok what do I need to know... but scripture says... Psalm 119:11 - I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Still challenges me - It's challenging for me to memorize (and get it in my heart)... because when I do it keeps me on the right path.... My "just enough" opinion isn't going to cut it... (1peter 2:9 when it got in my heart changed me)! What about this... 1Thessolonians 5:16-18 - 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. There' a lot of "all" in those verses and I'm trying to get beyond 'just enough 'The pray continually is challenging me regularly.... What does it mean to pray continually? I mean, can't we just pray in the morning or when we need something? Been on this journey for the last five years - HOW do you do that?!? Trying to push well beyond just enough. Still challenges me... This verse has come up in our series on hope.... Romans 15:13 - 13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Just being honest - there are situations that I'm not overflowing with hope in - current economy, political situation, cancel culture, sickness, cancer in my family, etc.... seems like, at times, I just have enough hope... when I'd love to be overflowing.... Ask a question - we started with a question like this at the beginning of the series... Is there an area of my life that could use more hope? There are in my life.... This message is as much for me today as for any of you and as we think about that question I get to close this series on Hope[series slide]. And my goal is to guide us to an account in 2Kings (and really from any messages that has been in this series) that can get us beyond "just enough" hope - hope that just barely gets us through the current problem and lead us to a point where we can be full of hope that stretches well beyond the current issues and sustains us ongoing. OT account of a woman, don't know her name, but she has a problem and needs God to help... now in the OT when you needed to hear from God, you would go to a prophet and the prophet, who was deeply connected with God would give you an answer.... So that's what's going on in this account.... 2Kings 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." 2 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." 3 Elisha said, "Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don't ask for just a few. 4 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." 5 She left him and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. 6 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. 7 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." In that account of the widow - she has faith in the Lord because she went to the prophet to see out wisdom and if we look at this deeply we can learn something that might allow us to move from this series but be different and carry these things further than this series into our lives. [Pray] The widows hope.... 1) Embraced faithful action Give me a minute to go a little deeper to get some background. If a person could not pay his debt in the time of the text, the law gave his creditor the right to claim his services and that of his children until the year of Jubilee - which was every 50 years. So this is not your ordinary bad situation - the widow was in a jam and her children could be bonded into slavery for a LONG time. She runs to a man of God asking for help - Her Hope was in the Lord providing some answers and this is Elisha's answer: 3 Elisha said, "Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don't ask for just a few. 4 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. Time out.... Her life is a bit of a mess, she's got nothing to her name and she is going to lose your sons as slaves because she has so much debt and her husband is dead. She's got hope that the Lord might do something so she connects with Elisha gives her is to knock on the doors of her neighbors and ask for jars.... This is not necessarily a hope builder for me. If I'm the widow I've got questions... JARS FOR WHAT? When you said "all my neighbors", does that include the annoying one who doesn't like me? What if my neighbors don't give the jars to me? Can you tell me exactly how many jars I need? Pour WHAT oil into the jars? Where is the oil coming from? Anyone else get hung on the details at times - especially when times are a bit challenging? Anyone else, if you are put in that situation have questions? When I have major issues. I'm looking for the solution to the problem, not a bunch of busy work in collecting empty jars - what do I have to do to get this bill paid. I want the "just enough" answer! But the widow doesn't question - She's got hope that the Lord is going to show up, and with that Hope she steps out with some faith to get what she needs even if it sounds a little odd. She doesn't know what exactly is going to happen but with her Hope in the Lord she has enough faith to go knock on this neighbors doors and ask for some empty jars. I can have hope in something, but do I have the faith enough to step out and do something about it, even if it doesn't seem comfortable? Hebrews 11:1 - Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Hope is an assured promise, whereas faith is acting out that promise. Faith is hope put into action. (June Hunt - Anchor of your soul) Hope without action could be just wishful thinking We can put our hope in the Lord, but at least in my experience he many times asks me to then take some steps and have enough faith to follow through on HIS steps not my own. Kids growing up - praying for my kids - putting my hope in God as they grow and engage in new things, explore, sometimes make mistakes - can be stressful as a parent.... GOD I'VE GOT HOPE you can get us through this - recently read Eph 4:29 - Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. Strong realization.... I can put my hope in God, but I need to build them up with my words instead of pointing out all of their problems. God doesn't do that with me! When we put our hope in God, many times he points down and says you're going to need to step out in faith - look at the OT.... Abraham - God tells him to GO to a land that he will show him (doesn't tell him where God tells him that he will bless Abraham Hebrews 11:8 - By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. Let me include the whole church for a minute... ... about 4 years ago at a conference heard someone speaking from India.... Now India not part of my journey or desire... but this guy shared how he had planted 4,000 churches in India.... 4,000's a lot. :) Now we were in a season here at the church, we called REACH - goal of planting 5 church's in 5 years - we hadn't yet finished and we were still learning and 5 is a lot less than 4,000. Felt prompted go talk to this guy. Now this guy is one of the speakers, planted thousands of churches and I'm just a little ol pastor from Mishawaka... Hope in God, but took faith to go find him in the atrium and ask Him.... HOW? Ended up saying during this conversation - come to India... UGH... not in the plans man... lots going on.. ended up going, and formed a great relationship. Ended up building a community center, just recently they had 10 pastors arrested - YOU sent over $12,000 bail to get most of them out - 2 more in prison - need to pray still! But here's the point - without the action steps that required faith...- insight into our journey, and partnership in theirs may not have happened. Now I realize I'm just a portion of this journey, but without a step of faith, I don't know how the larger story would have taken place. There has to be a moment when we realize that to be faithful to the God that we place our hope in, he's telling us to take steps that might look confusing and will take faith. I'm not sure getting empty jars was on the list of possible solutions for the widow who was trying to free her son's from slavery and pay off her debt - but she stepped out. Am I full of hope but short on action? Think through the area of life that you identified earlier in the message that you had barely enough hope... The widows hope 1) Embraced faithful action The other thing I see in the text ... 2) Went beyond just enough They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. The woman and her son's have taken a step of faith - went to the neighbors got the jars.... Close the door...I love this picture - I can just see this woman - she's stepped out in faith to be obedient, through awkward conversations with her neighbors, empty jars all around - her sons, knowing if this doesn't work they are going to be slaves to someone for years if whatever was supposed to happen actually did.... it's just the three of them.... She's got the small jar of oil in her hand and another bigger jar in the other. As she starts pouring the oil, there had to be a moment (can you feel it?) - probably pretty quickly, that they realized - there wasn't this much oil in the jar. And it keeps flowing. It's not stopping - like this thing is working - it's crazy! And she kept pouring...[pause]. Jar after jar.... She... kept... pouring. "Bring me another one." But he [her son] replied, "There is not a jar left." Then the oil stopped flowing. Can we pause for a minute - do you see what the widow was focused on? Was she focused on her problem, was she focused on how many empty jars were left... just a thought - that might be what I'm looking at - wondering if we have enough - will we have just enough to pour into those empty jars left? - NO she's focused on - the flowing oil - God's hope manifest in oil, that isn't stopping that's her focus - she kept pouring and The Lord provided the oil as long as there was a empty vessel ready to be filled, there's hope that keeps flowing - more than enough. Ohhh.... that's something to learn isn't it? I wonder how often I've put my hope in God, taken a step of faith and presented the issue (the empty jar) for him to fill, but stopped short with "that's enough" my issue is solved, thanks and ran away... or how often I've thought, woah, this is going to be hard, not sure I can do that... I'll just take 'enough' even though I've got empty space for him to fill.... I've got jars left, but I get what I thought was 'just enough'. Happened in scripture: John 6:60,61,66 60 On hearing it, many of his disciples said, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?"61 Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, "Does this offend you?.... 66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. They were disciples long enough to get filled with the stuff they liked, but once it got hard they turned back started filling their jars with their own stuff. Have to stay connected even when it's challenging... If I think of today - It seems like we are used to a 'Panera grab and go' experience. Relationship issue? Approach God with that jar and want a quick fill-up / fix and move on... God fix HER / fix Him - FIX my parents....fix my finances - treat God like a grab and go problem solver, but that's not always how God works....and not in the widow's experience.... Let me share it this way....give you a mental picture. Psalm 23:5 - You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Why is God preparing a table in the presence of my enemies - why isn't he fixing my problem and taking care of my enemies? That's what I want! But what does God do.. He prepares a table - you know what you do at tables? You sit.. You enjoy, you talk .... In the presence of your enemies - Who really wants to be around your problems? But here's what God is doing - come to me, stay with me...sit down a while we've got some things to work on, you've got some things to learn - it's not grab and go because he's got more than you could ask for! We miss things when we grab and go with God Look at the widow - she stuck with it, beyond the grab and go ... fills every jar that was in the room. "Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left." God's dream for the widow went beyond just getting her sons out of slavery - she was the beneficiary of God's overflowing hope. Romans 15:13 - 3 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Here's what I want for my own life, for all of us, - If we know that God is the source of hope and he is able to provide enough hope for me to overflow with Hope then I want to posture myself EMPTY before him to fill me up beyond the current issue or need.... God is willing to OVERFLOW us with hope, even during the hard seasons. Even when He asks me to do something that stretches my faith, even when I struggle to understand or when I think my way is easier - the God of all hope will fill us - to overflowing.... What a great example the widow was.... The widows hope 1) Embraced faithful action 2) Went beyond just enough --- Program Scripture: 2Kings 4:1-7 The widows hope 1) Embraced faithful action Hope without action could be just wishful thinking 2) Went beyond just enough We miss things when we grab and go with God 1