1 00:00:01,840 --> 00:00:04,920 Speaker 1: Hey, this is Stephen Ferdik. I'm the pastor of Elevation Church, 2 00:00:04,920 --> 00:00:06,880 Speaker 1: and this is our podcast and I wanted to thank 3 00:00:06,880 --> 00:00:10,200 Speaker 1: you for joining us today. Hope this inspires you. Hope 4 00:00:10,240 --> 00:00:12,280 Speaker 1: it builds your faith. Hope it gives you perspective to 5 00:00:12,280 --> 00:00:15,040 Speaker 1: see God is moving in your life. Enjoy the message. 6 00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:18,960 Speaker 1: The Lord put it on my heart to share from 7 00:00:19,040 --> 00:00:21,760 Speaker 1: this passage and this thought with you. And I want 8 00:00:21,760 --> 00:00:23,960 Speaker 1: to speak to you today from tewod Kings four one 9 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:27,640 Speaker 1: through six, and really I want to speak to someone 10 00:00:27,640 --> 00:00:32,560 Speaker 1: who is in a deficit in an area of your life. 11 00:00:32,640 --> 00:00:36,920 Speaker 1: The more I become exposed to I'm convinced there are 12 00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:41,640 Speaker 1: many different varieties of poverty. And so you can be 13 00:00:41,720 --> 00:00:48,560 Speaker 1: rich financially and broke emotionally. You can be rich financially 14 00:00:48,720 --> 00:00:54,560 Speaker 1: and broke relationally. You can have a lot of responsibility 15 00:00:54,680 --> 00:00:56,840 Speaker 1: and not a lot of joy, or you can have 16 00:00:56,880 --> 00:00:58,640 Speaker 1: a lot of joy and not a lot of influence. 17 00:00:59,320 --> 00:01:03,200 Speaker 1: And so I learned that poverty, although we tend to 18 00:01:03,200 --> 00:01:07,360 Speaker 1: associate it with finances, can be a poverty of a 19 00:01:07,400 --> 00:01:10,920 Speaker 1: different kind. And that really helped me when I was 20 00:01:11,160 --> 00:01:13,920 Speaker 1: first starting preaching, I thought, and I was telling Mike 21 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:16,680 Speaker 1: this this morning, right before I came out to preach. 22 00:01:16,720 --> 00:01:22,440 Speaker 1: How you know, some people come to church and take 23 00:01:22,480 --> 00:01:25,120 Speaker 1: the bus and some people come in a bentley in 24 00:01:25,200 --> 00:01:29,480 Speaker 1: the same church, and so you kind of feel on 25 00:01:29,520 --> 00:01:32,520 Speaker 1: the surface like, well, maybe you can't preach the same 26 00:01:32,560 --> 00:01:36,040 Speaker 1: message to the person who is in the top tax 27 00:01:36,080 --> 00:01:38,679 Speaker 1: bracket and maybe the person who hasn't had a job 28 00:01:38,760 --> 00:01:41,840 Speaker 1: for two and a half years. But you learn over time, 29 00:01:41,880 --> 00:01:45,479 Speaker 1: if you pastor people and pay attention, that everybody has 30 00:01:45,480 --> 00:01:52,960 Speaker 1: an efficiency and that we're not all that different. The 31 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:55,160 Speaker 1: reason I like this text from Second Kings four is 32 00:01:55,160 --> 00:01:58,960 Speaker 1: because it seems like a small, little practical, i don't know, 33 00:01:58,960 --> 00:02:02,960 Speaker 1: almost incidental miracle on the surface, but understanding the surrounding 34 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:06,800 Speaker 1: context in the life of the prophet Elisha, he just 35 00:02:06,840 --> 00:02:12,720 Speaker 1: finished solving a problem for three Kings, and right after 36 00:02:12,760 --> 00:02:18,120 Speaker 1: this he performs a great miracle for a very wealthy woman. 37 00:02:19,200 --> 00:02:23,359 Speaker 1: And sandwich between those two magnificent miracles on a grand scale, 38 00:02:23,360 --> 00:02:27,320 Speaker 1: where he's consulting political advisors like a real prophet would, 39 00:02:27,360 --> 00:02:31,760 Speaker 1: and where he's hanging out with a top donor, there's 40 00:02:31,760 --> 00:02:35,520 Speaker 1: something that happens that seems so small on the surface, 41 00:02:36,320 --> 00:02:40,760 Speaker 1: and that's where my assignment is today. In tewod King's 42 00:02:40,760 --> 00:02:43,079 Speaker 1: four one through six, and I hope to be able 43 00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:45,480 Speaker 1: to preach it to you on a very personal level. 44 00:02:45,760 --> 00:02:48,200 Speaker 1: So let's read the text together and discuss it a bit. 45 00:02:48,240 --> 00:02:50,200 Speaker 1: The wife of a man from the company of the 46 00:02:50,200 --> 00:02:53,240 Speaker 1: Prophets cried out to Elisha, your servant, my husband is dead, 47 00:02:54,400 --> 00:02:56,920 Speaker 1: and you know that he revered the Lord. Sometimes we 48 00:02:56,919 --> 00:02:59,280 Speaker 1: find ourselves in situations that are not the result of 49 00:02:59,280 --> 00:03:04,640 Speaker 1: our disobedient And have you noticed that life doesn't make 50 00:03:04,680 --> 00:03:11,400 Speaker 1: allowances for your crisis, That the universe doesn't send out 51 00:03:11,400 --> 00:03:14,760 Speaker 1: a memo when you're having a bad day, Hey, everybody 52 00:03:14,840 --> 00:03:19,560 Speaker 1: be nice to her today. Her mom is sick. It 53 00:03:19,560 --> 00:03:23,280 Speaker 1: would be nice if life's demands would accommodate my crisis, 54 00:03:23,720 --> 00:03:27,239 Speaker 1: but they don't. And so the bills were still due, 55 00:03:27,520 --> 00:03:29,920 Speaker 1: although the woman did not have the means, and so 56 00:03:30,040 --> 00:03:33,800 Speaker 1: this creates a sense of deficit, a very desperate deficit 57 00:03:33,840 --> 00:03:36,640 Speaker 1: in her life. As it turns out, and this crisis 58 00:03:36,680 --> 00:03:39,080 Speaker 1: is not a national crisis, it's a personal crisis. But 59 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:42,040 Speaker 1: the Man of God takes time for one woman, just 60 00:03:42,040 --> 00:03:45,640 Speaker 1: like he took time for three kings. I love that. 61 00:03:45,640 --> 00:03:48,480 Speaker 1: That just touches my heart so much, because he's not 62 00:03:48,680 --> 00:03:52,360 Speaker 1: just presiding over a royal wedding across the pond somewhere, 63 00:03:52,760 --> 00:03:54,800 Speaker 1: but he's right up in your life. While you're crying 64 00:03:54,800 --> 00:03:57,160 Speaker 1: at night, and while you're trying to figure out how 65 00:03:57,200 --> 00:03:59,680 Speaker 1: to build your own relationships. God is into that touch. 66 00:03:59,680 --> 00:04:03,960 Speaker 1: Somebody say, God is in to you. So she comes 67 00:04:03,960 --> 00:04:06,400 Speaker 1: with this need. Probably seems small in the scope of 68 00:04:06,440 --> 00:04:10,760 Speaker 1: a big, bad, important prophet who's commanding kings, but she 69 00:04:10,840 --> 00:04:12,840 Speaker 1: comes to him boldly and says, your servant, my husband 70 00:04:12,880 --> 00:04:14,800 Speaker 1: is dead, and you know that he revered the Lord, 71 00:04:15,440 --> 00:04:17,560 Speaker 1: but now his creditor is coming to take my two 72 00:04:17,720 --> 00:04:21,160 Speaker 1: boys as his slaves. Elisha replied to her, how can 73 00:04:21,200 --> 00:04:24,040 Speaker 1: I help you? So it sounds like he's about to 74 00:04:24,040 --> 00:04:26,479 Speaker 1: get the check book out, but then he makes this 75 00:04:26,560 --> 00:04:31,480 Speaker 1: weird move where he answers his question with the question, 76 00:04:33,240 --> 00:04:38,120 Speaker 1: tell me what do you have in your house? She 77 00:04:38,240 --> 00:04:43,719 Speaker 1: said back, your servant has nothing there at all. That's 78 00:04:43,960 --> 00:04:47,000 Speaker 1: why I'm coming to you. If I had something to 79 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:49,320 Speaker 1: put on eBay, I would have done it by now. 80 00:04:49,480 --> 00:04:51,120 Speaker 1: Do I need to back up and take it from 81 00:04:51,120 --> 00:04:55,839 Speaker 1: the top. I've told you nothing except a small jar 82 00:04:55,960 --> 00:04:58,200 Speaker 1: of olive oil. And Elisha said, go around and ask 83 00:04:58,240 --> 00:05:01,320 Speaker 1: all your neighbors for empty jars. This dude can't hear. 84 00:05:01,680 --> 00:05:04,000 Speaker 1: He's good at talking, but he can't hear. I don't 85 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:07,120 Speaker 1: need jars, I need oil. I'm broke. I don't need 86 00:05:07,200 --> 00:05:12,560 Speaker 1: something to put nothing in or do you see in 87 00:05:12,600 --> 00:05:14,440 Speaker 1: the beginning, when God created the world, it was without 88 00:05:14,440 --> 00:05:16,200 Speaker 1: form and void, and the first thing that God did 89 00:05:16,320 --> 00:05:19,560 Speaker 1: was to form it before he filled it. I'm gonna 90 00:05:19,600 --> 00:05:22,120 Speaker 1: keep reading this Bible passage because we only have so long. 91 00:05:23,520 --> 00:05:25,280 Speaker 1: Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. 92 00:05:25,279 --> 00:05:27,120 Speaker 1: Don't ask for just a few. Then go inside and 93 00:05:27,120 --> 00:05:30,120 Speaker 1: shut the door behind you and your sons pour oil 94 00:05:31,120 --> 00:05:34,960 Speaker 1: into all the jars, and as each is filled, put 95 00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:36,760 Speaker 1: it to one side. She lets him and shut the 96 00:05:36,760 --> 00:05:39,679 Speaker 1: door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars 97 00:05:39,680 --> 00:05:45,520 Speaker 1: to her. She kept pouring. When all the jars were full, 98 00:05:45,600 --> 00:05:47,919 Speaker 1: she said to her son, bring me another one, but 99 00:05:47,960 --> 00:05:51,120 Speaker 1: he replied, there's not a jar left. Then the oil 100 00:05:51,200 --> 00:05:55,600 Speaker 1: stopped flowing. And the gravitas of that last versus such 101 00:05:55,640 --> 00:05:58,240 Speaker 1: we got to read it in the King James King 102 00:05:58,320 --> 00:06:02,320 Speaker 1: James Bible, like the one you're grandmother had, that big one. 103 00:06:02,440 --> 00:06:04,120 Speaker 1: I'm gonna put it on this big screen for you 104 00:06:04,160 --> 00:06:06,440 Speaker 1: the King James version of that verse, and I'm gonna 105 00:06:06,440 --> 00:06:08,159 Speaker 1: take my title from this one verse. It came to 106 00:06:08,200 --> 00:06:11,320 Speaker 1: pass when the vessels were full, that she said, unto 107 00:06:11,400 --> 00:06:14,839 Speaker 1: her son, bring me yet a vessel, and he said, 108 00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:18,920 Speaker 1: unto her, there is not a vessel more. And the 109 00:06:18,920 --> 00:06:21,560 Speaker 1: oil state. I want to speak today for a few 110 00:06:21,560 --> 00:06:30,880 Speaker 1: moments about frozen oil and chosen vessels. So if there 111 00:06:30,920 --> 00:06:36,080 Speaker 1: are many varieties of poverty, and if the abundance of 112 00:06:36,080 --> 00:06:38,360 Speaker 1: our life really consists in the flow, you know, like 113 00:06:38,760 --> 00:06:41,719 Speaker 1: Jesus said that from your belly will flow rivers of 114 00:06:41,880 --> 00:06:45,039 Speaker 1: living water, or like it says in Proverbs that from 115 00:06:45,040 --> 00:06:47,120 Speaker 1: your heart flows the issues of life. So you got 116 00:06:47,120 --> 00:06:50,880 Speaker 1: to guard it. It is instructive that Elisha the prophet, 117 00:06:51,080 --> 00:06:54,200 Speaker 1: in performing his first miracle, cut off the flow of 118 00:06:54,240 --> 00:06:57,159 Speaker 1: the Jordan River. First thing he did when he became 119 00:06:57,200 --> 00:07:00,600 Speaker 1: the prophet was to grab the mantle that fell off 120 00:07:01,279 --> 00:07:05,760 Speaker 1: of Elijah, who, by the way, he was known for 121 00:07:06,160 --> 00:07:11,160 Speaker 1: giving strange commands as well, when he called the false 122 00:07:11,200 --> 00:07:13,200 Speaker 1: prophets up to Mount Carmel. You can read about this 123 00:07:13,240 --> 00:07:17,120 Speaker 1: in One Kings eighteen nineteen. It's amazing because the people 124 00:07:17,120 --> 00:07:21,160 Speaker 1: were in a drought and he said whichever God answers 125 00:07:21,160 --> 00:07:23,760 Speaker 1: by fire is the true God, because he was challenging 126 00:07:23,760 --> 00:07:26,160 Speaker 1: their idolatry. And when he got up there on the 127 00:07:26,160 --> 00:07:29,320 Speaker 1: mountain before he called down fire, he made them pour 128 00:07:29,400 --> 00:07:32,160 Speaker 1: water on the wood, because sometimes God will make a 129 00:07:32,200 --> 00:07:36,120 Speaker 1: situation seem impossible to men, so that when fire falls 130 00:07:36,240 --> 00:07:38,480 Speaker 1: and the wood starts to burn, you won't think it 131 00:07:38,560 --> 00:07:42,040 Speaker 1: was because of the quality of the firewood, but it 132 00:07:42,120 --> 00:07:45,720 Speaker 1: is because of the power of God. Now, if you 133 00:07:45,760 --> 00:07:48,400 Speaker 1: got wet wood in your life today, start rejoicing right now, 134 00:07:48,440 --> 00:07:51,160 Speaker 1: because God is setting you up to do something so special, 135 00:07:54,720 --> 00:07:57,560 Speaker 1: and he wants all the credit. He wants all the credit. 136 00:07:58,840 --> 00:08:01,920 Speaker 1: He wants all the credits. So he allows this woman 137 00:08:02,520 --> 00:08:05,400 Speaker 1: to get down to seemingly nothing. Do you notice that 138 00:08:05,680 --> 00:08:09,960 Speaker 1: her first instinct when the prophet says, what do you 139 00:08:10,120 --> 00:08:17,000 Speaker 1: have in your house? Is to say nothing. Her first 140 00:08:17,080 --> 00:08:22,200 Speaker 1: instinct is to minimize what little she has left. Now, 141 00:08:22,240 --> 00:08:24,160 Speaker 1: I can't prove this, it's not in the text, but 142 00:08:24,240 --> 00:08:28,440 Speaker 1: just imagine with me. Maybe I don't know, you know, 143 00:08:28,560 --> 00:08:34,000 Speaker 1: profits are weird. Maybe Elijah asked her that question, and 144 00:08:34,040 --> 00:08:38,920 Speaker 1: when she started to answer, maybe he made eye contact 145 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:42,440 Speaker 1: with her, you know, awkward eye contact. You got anybody 146 00:08:42,440 --> 00:08:47,439 Speaker 1: in your life who has really low relational skills. People 147 00:08:47,480 --> 00:08:50,200 Speaker 1: have no concept of personal space. You got any close 148 00:08:50,240 --> 00:08:51,640 Speaker 1: talkers in your life? Let me see if you got 149 00:08:51,640 --> 00:08:54,480 Speaker 1: any close talkers in your life. You know, some people 150 00:08:54,520 --> 00:08:56,320 Speaker 1: just look at you a little too long and a 151 00:08:56,360 --> 00:08:59,120 Speaker 1: little too hard. Like eye contact is good, but it 152 00:08:59,160 --> 00:09:01,240 Speaker 1: can come to a point where it's a little awkward. 153 00:09:02,320 --> 00:09:04,040 Speaker 1: I can see you're a little sleepy right now. Look 154 00:09:04,040 --> 00:09:05,839 Speaker 1: at your neighbor. Look at them so hard in their 155 00:09:05,840 --> 00:09:07,679 Speaker 1: eyes that they feel what I'm talking about. I want 156 00:09:07,720 --> 00:09:09,920 Speaker 1: you to make eye contact. Come on, staring contests all 157 00:09:09,960 --> 00:09:14,840 Speaker 1: over the church, You too, Raley awkward eye contact? So 158 00:09:14,920 --> 00:09:19,800 Speaker 1: look at them while I talk. She says nothing, and 159 00:09:19,880 --> 00:09:37,360 Speaker 1: Elija just waits. Somebody say nothing. Ask the person next 160 00:09:37,360 --> 00:09:43,240 Speaker 1: to you, really nothing, because sometimes we get so overwhelmed 161 00:09:44,120 --> 00:09:50,520 Speaker 1: by our scarcity that we minimize our supply. One of 162 00:09:50,559 --> 00:09:52,760 Speaker 1: my friends was complaining so hard the other day I 163 00:09:52,760 --> 00:09:57,360 Speaker 1: thought he had me confused with the professional counselor. And 164 00:09:57,440 --> 00:10:00,240 Speaker 1: after a few minutes I was tired of it. Can 165 00:10:00,280 --> 00:10:02,400 Speaker 1: listen for a minute, but he would not shut up, 166 00:10:02,920 --> 00:10:05,200 Speaker 1: And finally I said, bro, do you have anything going 167 00:10:05,240 --> 00:10:09,160 Speaker 1: good for you right now? And he said no, nothing, 168 00:10:09,320 --> 00:10:16,920 Speaker 1: I said, really nothing, not eyelids. Let me see your hands. 169 00:10:18,280 --> 00:10:22,000 Speaker 1: You walked in this room, you woke up this morning. 170 00:10:23,520 --> 00:10:32,600 Speaker 1: That's not nothing. Huh, that's not nothing. So the first 171 00:10:32,640 --> 00:10:35,600 Speaker 1: thing that I see in the miracle is Elisha instructs 172 00:10:35,600 --> 00:10:38,800 Speaker 1: this woman who is at a deficit to check her oil. 173 00:10:38,800 --> 00:10:41,120 Speaker 1: And I want to appreach to you today, check your oil. 174 00:10:42,640 --> 00:10:46,079 Speaker 1: It is possible that you are overlooking the very thing 175 00:10:46,120 --> 00:10:50,040 Speaker 1: that God wants to perform a miracle through. When you've 176 00:10:50,040 --> 00:10:53,559 Speaker 1: lived in a deficit long enough, it can be difficult 177 00:10:53,640 --> 00:10:56,400 Speaker 1: to appreciate the supply that you have, especially when you've 178 00:10:56,440 --> 00:11:00,760 Speaker 1: lost a lot. She's lost a husband, she's spent almost everything. 179 00:11:01,040 --> 00:11:04,080 Speaker 1: She's got one little jar of oil in her freezer. 180 00:11:04,160 --> 00:11:05,880 Speaker 1: I know it's not a freezer, but you know, go 181 00:11:06,000 --> 00:11:08,320 Speaker 1: with it. It goes with my title frozen oil. And 182 00:11:08,360 --> 00:11:10,240 Speaker 1: she's got a little bit of oil, just a little 183 00:11:10,240 --> 00:11:12,160 Speaker 1: bit of oil, and it's so little. In fact, the 184 00:11:12,200 --> 00:11:15,920 Speaker 1: oil is so small that she doesn't even think it's 185 00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:20,520 Speaker 1: worth mentioning. Okay, I'll say it. God is about to 186 00:11:20,559 --> 00:11:23,120 Speaker 1: do a miracle through something that you don't even think 187 00:11:23,200 --> 00:11:33,920 Speaker 1: is worth mentioning, something so small and insignificant in your 188 00:11:34,080 --> 00:11:38,040 Speaker 1: sight that your first instinct is to not even mention it. 189 00:11:38,559 --> 00:11:42,920 Speaker 1: But the enemy wants you to despise your oil because 190 00:11:43,000 --> 00:11:46,960 Speaker 1: he can't steal your oil. Oil in the Bible is 191 00:11:47,160 --> 00:11:51,000 Speaker 1: symbolic of the Holy Spirit. When they would anoint a 192 00:11:51,080 --> 00:11:54,199 Speaker 1: king in the Bible, they would anoint the king with oil. 193 00:11:54,520 --> 00:11:59,559 Speaker 1: It represented God's empowerment. It represents joy and gladness. It's 194 00:11:59,600 --> 00:12:02,679 Speaker 1: symbol of the Holy Spirit that came on the day 195 00:12:02,720 --> 00:12:05,920 Speaker 1: of Pentecost to live inside of us. And so when 196 00:12:05,920 --> 00:12:08,560 Speaker 1: I preach about oil, I'm not talking about something that 197 00:12:08,600 --> 00:12:11,679 Speaker 1: you keep in your pantry. I'm talking about something that 198 00:12:11,720 --> 00:12:14,520 Speaker 1: you have in your heart, the gift God gave you, 199 00:12:15,200 --> 00:12:18,640 Speaker 1: the people God put in your life, the idea God 200 00:12:18,720 --> 00:12:23,160 Speaker 1: gave you, the time He gave you, the ceason you're in. 201 00:12:23,760 --> 00:12:26,120 Speaker 1: If I were your enemy and I knew I couldn't 202 00:12:26,200 --> 00:12:28,760 Speaker 1: take your oil, what I would do instead is to 203 00:12:28,800 --> 00:12:32,080 Speaker 1: get you to think that your oil was so little 204 00:12:32,280 --> 00:12:36,640 Speaker 1: that it wasn't even worth using. And that's why some 205 00:12:36,679 --> 00:12:41,720 Speaker 1: people sit in church week after week after week after 206 00:12:41,880 --> 00:12:46,960 Speaker 1: month after month after month after year after year and 207 00:12:47,200 --> 00:12:51,360 Speaker 1: stay in their deficiency and never realize that what you've 208 00:12:51,400 --> 00:12:58,080 Speaker 1: got is something somebody's shout is not nothing. It's not nothing. 209 00:13:01,040 --> 00:13:06,079 Speaker 1: Feeling in my spirit today, it's not nothing. Somebody shout, 210 00:13:06,200 --> 00:13:13,240 Speaker 1: My gift is something, my life is something, My praise 211 00:13:14,160 --> 00:13:17,640 Speaker 1: is something. Now high five, somebody say, I got something? 212 00:13:17,640 --> 00:13:21,080 Speaker 1: How about you? For too long, I've been comparing my 213 00:13:21,240 --> 00:13:24,480 Speaker 1: oil with yours. My oil might not be as much 214 00:13:24,520 --> 00:13:28,160 Speaker 1: as yours, but God won't hold me accountable for your oil. 215 00:13:37,640 --> 00:13:39,920 Speaker 1: We learned this from Elijah. Go look and see if 216 00:13:39,960 --> 00:13:44,080 Speaker 1: you see anything in the sky, and the servant came back, nothing. 217 00:13:45,360 --> 00:13:51,120 Speaker 1: Go look again, nothing, Go look again, nothing, Go look again, nothing, 218 00:13:51,520 --> 00:13:55,240 Speaker 1: Go look again, nothing, Go look again nothing. This is 219 00:13:55,280 --> 00:13:57,600 Speaker 1: getting really old, Steve. Can you just get to the 220 00:13:57,640 --> 00:13:59,319 Speaker 1: point how old would it get if you were the 221 00:13:59,320 --> 00:14:00,880 Speaker 1: one running to the top of the hill to look 222 00:14:00,880 --> 00:14:02,960 Speaker 1: at nothing, and then finally, by the time you do 223 00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:07,480 Speaker 1: see something is so small you minimize it. There's a cloud, 224 00:14:07,520 --> 00:14:13,520 Speaker 1: somebody shall there's a cloud the size of a man's hand. See, 225 00:14:13,559 --> 00:14:17,560 Speaker 1: it's not the size of the cloud that determines the 226 00:14:17,600 --> 00:14:23,040 Speaker 1: size of the blessing. It's not the amount of the oil. 227 00:14:23,520 --> 00:14:27,640 Speaker 1: It's not how smart I am, how well educated I am. 228 00:14:28,160 --> 00:14:32,520 Speaker 1: It's not even my estimation of myself. If God calls 229 00:14:32,640 --> 00:14:36,520 Speaker 1: me and chooses me, Nothing on earth shall be able 230 00:14:36,560 --> 00:14:39,240 Speaker 1: to stop me. Shall if you believe that in the 231 00:14:39,320 --> 00:14:49,800 Speaker 1: back of the room, check your oil. It might not 232 00:14:49,840 --> 00:14:55,560 Speaker 1: be much, but it's not nothing. It's not nothing. And 233 00:14:55,600 --> 00:14:59,880 Speaker 1: I think it's harder than ever to feel okay about 234 00:15:00,080 --> 00:15:04,800 Speaker 1: our oil because we got we got too many ways 235 00:15:04,800 --> 00:15:10,320 Speaker 1: to check other people's oil, whether it's their vacation, because 236 00:15:10,320 --> 00:15:12,400 Speaker 1: that's about to start, you know where everybody's posting the 237 00:15:12,400 --> 00:15:16,360 Speaker 1: happiest moments of their vacation this summer. And it's gonna 238 00:15:16,400 --> 00:15:19,880 Speaker 1: make you feel like a crappy parent, and it's gonna 239 00:15:19,880 --> 00:15:21,760 Speaker 1: make you question your oil because they're gonna all be 240 00:15:21,760 --> 00:15:23,560 Speaker 1: smiling in the picture. Now, let me tell you something 241 00:15:23,560 --> 00:15:26,440 Speaker 1: that happened right before the picture. It was almost a divorce. 242 00:15:26,520 --> 00:15:30,240 Speaker 1: Those kids almost went out for adoption. But they can't 243 00:15:30,240 --> 00:15:36,240 Speaker 1: put that on the ground. Does somebody say, enjoy your oil? 244 00:15:39,200 --> 00:15:42,440 Speaker 1: So I'll tell exactly what the devil's doing. He can't 245 00:15:42,480 --> 00:15:44,840 Speaker 1: take your gift, He can't take your calling, the gifts 246 00:15:44,920 --> 00:15:47,120 Speaker 1: and calling of God or without repentance. God doesn't change 247 00:15:47,120 --> 00:15:50,000 Speaker 1: his mind about what he gave you. If he can 248 00:15:50,040 --> 00:15:52,160 Speaker 1: get you to think it so little that you don't 249 00:15:52,240 --> 00:15:58,240 Speaker 1: use it, he can starve you. I realized that God 250 00:15:58,880 --> 00:16:02,720 Speaker 1: gave me a ministry. The devil can't take the ministry 251 00:16:02,840 --> 00:16:07,720 Speaker 1: that God gave me. But if I give up my joy, 252 00:16:08,200 --> 00:16:12,600 Speaker 1: then I will forfeit my ministry. If I give up 253 00:16:12,640 --> 00:16:17,000 Speaker 1: my joy, I will forfeit my marriage. The devil can't 254 00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:20,720 Speaker 1: take my marriage, but if he can get me to 255 00:16:20,920 --> 00:16:24,760 Speaker 1: despise my oil, like to make me think I'm not 256 00:16:24,800 --> 00:16:27,880 Speaker 1: a very good husband, or I don't have what it 257 00:16:27,960 --> 00:16:31,440 Speaker 1: takes to be a dad, then I'll say it's nothing 258 00:16:31,440 --> 00:16:34,160 Speaker 1: when it's really something. Noticed by the end of this passage, 259 00:16:34,280 --> 00:16:38,160 Speaker 1: this woman has a house full of oil. It was 260 00:16:38,240 --> 00:16:41,240 Speaker 1: not until she poured the oil that it became more. 261 00:16:47,880 --> 00:16:53,600 Speaker 1: And when you feel poor, you don't poor because you 262 00:16:53,640 --> 00:16:56,520 Speaker 1: hold on to what you have. So when you feel 263 00:16:56,520 --> 00:16:59,560 Speaker 1: like a poor parent, it keeps you from wanting to 264 00:16:59,600 --> 00:17:04,440 Speaker 1: try talk to me. And I can go from here 265 00:17:04,480 --> 00:17:07,760 Speaker 1: to hear real quick as a parent, real really quick 266 00:17:07,840 --> 00:17:12,760 Speaker 1: as a parent. You look so perfected right now. I 267 00:17:12,800 --> 00:17:15,920 Speaker 1: can't figure out where one real person in this whole 268 00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:20,159 Speaker 1: church is that will say that even if you figure 269 00:17:20,200 --> 00:17:26,679 Speaker 1: out how to change diapers, they stop wearing them. Doesn't 270 00:17:26,720 --> 00:17:30,720 Speaker 1: work anymore. So like there are things about me and 271 00:17:30,760 --> 00:17:35,600 Speaker 1: things about you that make us feel insecure and make 272 00:17:35,680 --> 00:17:39,040 Speaker 1: us say, you know, it's nothing when it's really something, 273 00:17:39,520 --> 00:17:44,960 Speaker 1: but it seems small. It seems small, and it's overshadowed 274 00:17:44,960 --> 00:17:48,720 Speaker 1: by something that seems when the need seems so big 275 00:17:48,760 --> 00:17:51,439 Speaker 1: compared to the supply, you call it nothing and you 276 00:17:51,440 --> 00:17:54,840 Speaker 1: don't use it, and so it doesn't multiply. You send 277 00:17:54,880 --> 00:17:56,960 Speaker 1: the crowds away so they can get something to eat, 278 00:17:57,640 --> 00:17:59,960 Speaker 1: and you give away the opportunities God gave you, cause 279 00:18:01,359 --> 00:18:04,359 Speaker 1: it's nothing. What you have is nothing. The need the 280 00:18:04,440 --> 00:18:09,960 Speaker 1: need is great. And my marriage just hit a sixteen 281 00:18:10,040 --> 00:18:15,200 Speaker 1: year milestone. We celebrated sixteen years of marriage. I love 282 00:18:15,280 --> 00:18:18,439 Speaker 1: when I do that because there's always people that have 283 00:18:18,480 --> 00:18:20,439 Speaker 1: been forty years and they look at me like what 284 00:18:23,119 --> 00:18:26,600 Speaker 1: I think it's significant. I took Holly to Oak Steakhouse. 285 00:18:27,240 --> 00:18:30,800 Speaker 1: We dined together. Let me tell you how good the 286 00:18:30,880 --> 00:18:36,159 Speaker 1: date was. The date was so good. When we got home, 287 00:18:37,240 --> 00:18:40,879 Speaker 1: the babysitter was texting us that the fire alarm was 288 00:18:40,920 --> 00:18:44,160 Speaker 1: going off in the house. It was a storm in 289 00:18:44,280 --> 00:18:47,680 Speaker 1: Charlotte that night and something tripped the smoke alarm. Abbey's 290 00:18:47,720 --> 00:18:50,560 Speaker 1: freaking out on the porch, and I had other plans 291 00:18:50,600 --> 00:19:03,920 Speaker 1: for post date. So I'm driving fast down the driveway, right, 292 00:19:06,440 --> 00:19:10,800 Speaker 1: Can I talk to y'all? But the kids are on 293 00:19:10,840 --> 00:19:13,399 Speaker 1: the porch and the fire alarms going off in the 294 00:19:13,440 --> 00:19:16,399 Speaker 1: house and it's not a fire, and it's the alarm 295 00:19:16,440 --> 00:19:18,960 Speaker 1: system is bugging out, and she already tried to take 296 00:19:19,000 --> 00:19:23,640 Speaker 1: the battery out. So Abby is freaking out, and I'm 297 00:19:23,680 --> 00:19:26,680 Speaker 1: holding her because she's seven. And when I grabbed her, 298 00:19:26,960 --> 00:19:31,199 Speaker 1: she stopped crying. And I felt like the dad of 299 00:19:31,280 --> 00:19:34,680 Speaker 1: the decade because I knew what to do. I knew 300 00:19:34,720 --> 00:19:40,359 Speaker 1: if I started singing Hamilton from the Hamilton soundtrack that 301 00:19:40,480 --> 00:19:44,879 Speaker 1: Abby would stop crying. And it worked and she stopped crying, 302 00:19:45,200 --> 00:19:47,960 Speaker 1: and I felt like the man for about five minutes 303 00:19:48,640 --> 00:19:52,960 Speaker 1: until we had to call the fire department, not to 304 00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:56,080 Speaker 1: put out a fire, but to turn off the alarm. 305 00:19:56,119 --> 00:19:59,680 Speaker 1: What made it worse was when they got there, when 306 00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:03,159 Speaker 1: only the Braves showed up at my house. They're walking 307 00:20:03,240 --> 00:20:06,400 Speaker 1: down the driveway the nicest firefighters you would ever want 308 00:20:06,440 --> 00:20:09,280 Speaker 1: to see. Let's hear it for the firefighters. These men 309 00:20:10,520 --> 00:20:14,080 Speaker 1: come walking down the driveway and my wife is the 310 00:20:14,080 --> 00:20:18,440 Speaker 1: one in the house trying to fix the detectors because 311 00:20:18,480 --> 00:20:22,240 Speaker 1: I don't know what to do. And I'm holding Abby 312 00:20:22,600 --> 00:20:25,360 Speaker 1: and five minutes ago I was the man, and here 313 00:20:25,440 --> 00:20:28,800 Speaker 1: come the firefighters and they're looking at me like, really, dude, 314 00:20:29,320 --> 00:20:31,960 Speaker 1: And I can tell that the one that's coming in 315 00:20:32,080 --> 00:20:34,879 Speaker 1: first goes to the church. He didn't say it, but 316 00:20:34,920 --> 00:20:37,800 Speaker 1: he had that look in his eyes, like you're my pastor, 317 00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:40,719 Speaker 1: and I'm ashamed of you. You're much bigger on the screen. 318 00:20:41,600 --> 00:20:48,560 Speaker 1: What kind of man are you? So I didn't make 319 00:20:48,600 --> 00:20:51,439 Speaker 1: eye contact. I just thanked them for their service, and 320 00:20:51,480 --> 00:20:53,960 Speaker 1: they got it off and there was no carbon monoxide 321 00:20:54,080 --> 00:20:57,520 Speaker 1: and we're alive to tell about it. Isn't it funny 322 00:20:58,119 --> 00:21:02,320 Speaker 1: how I was the man in it? But then now 323 00:21:02,359 --> 00:21:05,920 Speaker 1: you got to understand it's little stuff. It's not always 324 00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:09,119 Speaker 1: some big shame that the enemy brings to make you feel. 325 00:21:09,359 --> 00:21:11,280 Speaker 1: This is where I always got it wrong. I thought 326 00:21:11,480 --> 00:21:14,639 Speaker 1: that you had to go through something sexual that caused 327 00:21:14,680 --> 00:21:18,560 Speaker 1: you this great traumatic shame to keep you from really 328 00:21:18,600 --> 00:21:20,560 Speaker 1: trusting God. Or now. I thought maybe you had to 329 00:21:20,560 --> 00:21:22,600 Speaker 1: go through a season of your life, you know, eight 330 00:21:22,680 --> 00:21:25,240 Speaker 1: years in prison or something like that, and then you 331 00:21:25,240 --> 00:21:27,320 Speaker 1: would live with regrets. But I found out it is 332 00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:33,320 Speaker 1: the seemingly insignificant insecurities that make you feel like I'm 333 00:21:33,359 --> 00:21:36,680 Speaker 1: not a real man. I'm not a real mom. Now 334 00:21:36,720 --> 00:21:39,760 Speaker 1: I'm yelling at my daughter just like my mom yelled 335 00:21:39,760 --> 00:21:42,159 Speaker 1: at me, And I'm just repeating the cycle. And it 336 00:21:42,200 --> 00:21:45,800 Speaker 1: causes you to despise your oil. And that's exactly what 337 00:21:45,840 --> 00:21:48,760 Speaker 1: the enemy wants, is to use a small little thing 338 00:21:48,920 --> 00:21:56,680 Speaker 1: to get you to miss your miracle. Because your miracle 339 00:21:58,080 --> 00:22:04,280 Speaker 1: is hidden in what you've been overlooking. And the reason 340 00:22:04,320 --> 00:22:08,080 Speaker 1: you've been overlooking at is because it seems so small 341 00:22:08,119 --> 00:22:10,280 Speaker 1: to you. And the reason it seems small to you 342 00:22:10,600 --> 00:22:17,520 Speaker 1: is because you are insecure about what you're not. So 343 00:22:17,560 --> 00:22:22,760 Speaker 1: he'll he'll work on you until you call it nothing. 344 00:22:24,080 --> 00:22:26,399 Speaker 1: What do you have to be grateful for? Nothing? Really? Nothing? 345 00:22:28,280 --> 00:22:31,800 Speaker 1: What are you good at? Nothing? We went around the 346 00:22:31,800 --> 00:22:33,560 Speaker 1: table the other day and I asked a group of people, 347 00:22:33,560 --> 00:22:37,239 Speaker 1: what are you really great at? And it took us 348 00:22:37,240 --> 00:22:39,960 Speaker 1: all a long time to answer. I wonder why that 349 00:22:40,040 --> 00:22:43,800 Speaker 1: is because we're so humble, or because the enemy has 350 00:22:43,840 --> 00:22:46,960 Speaker 1: messed with us so much now, because we're all on 351 00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:51,560 Speaker 1: the verge of forty and we've gotten so familiar with 352 00:22:51,600 --> 00:22:57,199 Speaker 1: our deficiency. When you've lived in a deficit for a 353 00:22:57,240 --> 00:23:01,880 Speaker 1: long time, it overshadowed the oil that you do have. 354 00:23:04,080 --> 00:23:05,760 Speaker 1: He wants you to despise your oil. He wants you 355 00:23:05,800 --> 00:23:09,399 Speaker 1: to despise the season of life that you're in. He 356 00:23:09,440 --> 00:23:11,159 Speaker 1: wants you to be thinking about how much time you 357 00:23:11,320 --> 00:23:14,560 Speaker 1: used to have back before, or how much time you're 358 00:23:14,600 --> 00:23:18,719 Speaker 1: gonna have when Meanwhile, the question of the prophet is 359 00:23:18,760 --> 00:23:20,800 Speaker 1: not what do you wish you had in your house? 360 00:23:22,119 --> 00:23:27,720 Speaker 1: What do you have left? Because that's what God is 361 00:23:27,800 --> 00:23:34,080 Speaker 1: going to bless what you have left. God is gonna 362 00:23:34,119 --> 00:23:41,040 Speaker 1: bless what he gave you. You are his chosen vessel, 363 00:23:41,560 --> 00:23:45,000 Speaker 1: And the oil you have is the oil you need. 364 00:23:45,480 --> 00:23:48,760 Speaker 1: And the strengths you have are the strengths you need. 365 00:23:49,480 --> 00:23:54,000 Speaker 1: And the experiences that you've had are the experiences that 366 00:23:54,080 --> 00:23:57,720 Speaker 1: you need. But notice this, the oil only flows when 367 00:23:57,800 --> 00:24:02,800 Speaker 1: it is poured. You can pray over it, you can 368 00:24:02,920 --> 00:24:06,159 Speaker 1: cry over it, you can wish for it, but until 369 00:24:06,240 --> 00:24:10,080 Speaker 1: you pour it, it will stay one small jar. If 370 00:24:10,080 --> 00:24:13,080 Speaker 1: the enemy can't take your oil, he will try to 371 00:24:13,119 --> 00:24:16,040 Speaker 1: get you to stop pouring. And some of you have 372 00:24:16,119 --> 00:24:19,720 Speaker 1: stopped pouring. You got your heart broken. You poured your 373 00:24:19,800 --> 00:24:23,160 Speaker 1: love into your last relationship and it didn't work out, 374 00:24:23,440 --> 00:24:26,040 Speaker 1: and they left you, and they hurt you, and they 375 00:24:26,080 --> 00:24:29,360 Speaker 1: turned away from you. So you stop pouring, and when 376 00:24:29,359 --> 00:24:33,959 Speaker 1: you stop pouring, it stops flowing. You used to encourage people, 377 00:24:34,200 --> 00:24:37,960 Speaker 1: and then you got discouraged and you stopped encouraging. But 378 00:24:38,000 --> 00:24:41,480 Speaker 1: God told me to tell you keep on pouring, because 379 00:24:41,520 --> 00:24:45,119 Speaker 1: the more you pour, the more it's gonna flow. I 380 00:24:45,200 --> 00:24:50,000 Speaker 1: feel like, preach until somebody, pray until somebody pours out 381 00:24:50,040 --> 00:24:58,240 Speaker 1: the praise you've got. Now, we tend to think I'll 382 00:24:58,280 --> 00:25:02,119 Speaker 1: pour more when I get more. But the way it 383 00:25:02,200 --> 00:25:05,000 Speaker 1: works in the order of God is it becomes more 384 00:25:05,240 --> 00:25:09,720 Speaker 1: as it is poured. Isn't it just like God to 385 00:25:09,880 --> 00:25:12,359 Speaker 1: command you to pour something that you don't feel like 386 00:25:12,400 --> 00:25:20,120 Speaker 1: you have enough of strange instruction, I don't have much 387 00:25:20,200 --> 00:25:27,240 Speaker 1: pour it out. It's the weirdest strategy in the world. 388 00:25:27,320 --> 00:25:30,359 Speaker 1: But I'm gonna tell you I think this stuff works. 389 00:25:32,280 --> 00:25:37,399 Speaker 1: I think as you pour it out, it becomes more. Really, 390 00:25:37,400 --> 00:25:40,640 Speaker 1: I'm convinced of him because I tried that thing where 391 00:25:40,640 --> 00:25:44,160 Speaker 1: you feel sorry for yourself when you're discouraged. I tried 392 00:25:44,160 --> 00:25:47,119 Speaker 1: the other thing where I encouraged somebody else when I 393 00:25:47,119 --> 00:25:51,080 Speaker 1: felt discouraged. The first one took me deeper into my 394 00:25:51,200 --> 00:25:55,080 Speaker 1: deficit and my discouragement. The second one is the weirdest 395 00:25:55,119 --> 00:25:57,520 Speaker 1: thing because I didn't feel like I had it to give. 396 00:25:58,920 --> 00:26:03,600 Speaker 1: I wanted somebody to encourage me. And bitterness will keep 397 00:26:03,640 --> 00:26:06,159 Speaker 1: you from pouring what you have while you wait for 398 00:26:06,200 --> 00:26:16,480 Speaker 1: what you want. And so then you stay poor, you 399 00:26:16,520 --> 00:26:22,600 Speaker 1: stay frustrated, you stay stuck, you stay in bitterness. I wonder, 400 00:26:22,600 --> 00:26:26,920 Speaker 1: what's the woman a little disappointed that the prophet told 401 00:26:26,960 --> 00:26:32,320 Speaker 1: her to pour something. It's frustrating when you have to 402 00:26:32,320 --> 00:26:35,200 Speaker 1: pour into someone else when you really wish someone would 403 00:26:35,200 --> 00:26:40,879 Speaker 1: pour into you. Yet the more you pour, the more 404 00:26:40,920 --> 00:26:45,800 Speaker 1: it flows. I'm just telling you what to do the 405 00:26:45,840 --> 00:26:47,560 Speaker 1: next time. I know you haven't had any struggles in 406 00:26:47,600 --> 00:26:49,400 Speaker 1: the last seven years, but in case you go through 407 00:26:49,400 --> 00:26:56,240 Speaker 1: something this year, the more you pour, the more it flows. 408 00:26:59,480 --> 00:27:04,399 Speaker 1: The more you pour, the more it flows. You're getting 409 00:27:04,400 --> 00:27:09,840 Speaker 1: it over here. And so the devil sill crafty that 410 00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:12,160 Speaker 1: that he will put you in a state where you'll 411 00:27:12,200 --> 00:27:16,240 Speaker 1: tell yourself, nobody appreciates me, so you'll stop giving yourself, 412 00:27:17,440 --> 00:27:22,320 Speaker 1: and it will it will reinforce that self fulfilling prophecy. 413 00:27:22,400 --> 00:27:26,479 Speaker 1: Nobody appreciates me. They won't appreciate you because you'll stop pouring, 414 00:27:26,720 --> 00:27:28,919 Speaker 1: and they'll no longer have anything to appreciate about you. 415 00:27:34,119 --> 00:27:38,240 Speaker 1: That's that's why Holly said the other day, they don't 416 00:27:38,280 --> 00:27:41,359 Speaker 1: They don't even care what I cook. She's talking about 417 00:27:41,359 --> 00:27:45,600 Speaker 1: the kids, she said, they only want the noodles. She 418 00:27:45,720 --> 00:27:49,879 Speaker 1: made this meal. She made this meal. And if you're 419 00:27:49,920 --> 00:27:53,399 Speaker 1: considering marrying, uh, you know, in this age that we 420 00:27:53,440 --> 00:27:55,399 Speaker 1: live in right now, there's a lot of things that 421 00:27:55,400 --> 00:27:58,840 Speaker 1: can attract you to a person. I appreciate many qualities 422 00:27:58,880 --> 00:28:01,680 Speaker 1: about my wife. I appreciate the fact that she has 423 00:28:01,720 --> 00:28:04,200 Speaker 1: excelled to the point where she now, can I tell 424 00:28:04,200 --> 00:28:11,280 Speaker 1: you something. She grows her own Swiss shard. Do you 425 00:28:11,320 --> 00:28:20,560 Speaker 1: know how boogie that is? So now here's some homegrown 426 00:28:20,640 --> 00:28:24,800 Speaker 1: Swiss shard and some chicken. And when the kids went 427 00:28:24,840 --> 00:28:29,040 Speaker 1: back for seconds, she said, they don't care about the chicken. 428 00:28:30,040 --> 00:28:34,320 Speaker 1: They don't care about the homegrown Swiss shard. They just 429 00:28:34,359 --> 00:28:40,080 Speaker 1: want the noodles. That dollar twenty nine box of noodles. 430 00:28:40,560 --> 00:28:43,440 Speaker 1: They would be happy with just the noodles. I said, girl, 431 00:28:43,760 --> 00:28:46,640 Speaker 1: I know exactly how you feel. I feel that way 432 00:28:46,720 --> 00:28:52,680 Speaker 1: sometimes when I'm preaching, the devil will tell me that, 433 00:28:53,080 --> 00:28:55,640 Speaker 1: you know, they really don't care. They're not going to 434 00:28:55,680 --> 00:28:58,480 Speaker 1: remember this sermon. It's the craziest thing. I'll get into 435 00:28:58,480 --> 00:29:01,240 Speaker 1: self pity. And it's like, you know, they don't appreciate 436 00:29:01,600 --> 00:29:08,000 Speaker 1: my Swiss shard, my scriptural Swiss shard, my biblical chicken. 437 00:29:08,520 --> 00:29:10,880 Speaker 1: But I looked at her. I said, girl, if you 438 00:29:10,960 --> 00:29:14,760 Speaker 1: don't cook it for anybody else, keep cooking the chicken 439 00:29:14,840 --> 00:29:19,080 Speaker 1: for me. It's not even about those little press Let 440 00:29:19,120 --> 00:29:22,640 Speaker 1: them eat the noodles. Give me the chicken. I want 441 00:29:22,640 --> 00:29:30,840 Speaker 1: the Swiss sharp. Now, you gotta have this sense in 442 00:29:30,920 --> 00:29:33,800 Speaker 1: your life, servant of God, that I'm not doing it 443 00:29:33,840 --> 00:29:38,520 Speaker 1: for them, because sometimes you will pour into people and 444 00:29:38,560 --> 00:29:41,960 Speaker 1: they won't say a word. But they're not your sorece 445 00:29:43,600 --> 00:29:48,440 Speaker 1: I said, they're not your sores. I might be pouring 446 00:29:48,520 --> 00:29:52,720 Speaker 1: into people, but I'm pouring for the Lord. So I 447 00:29:52,760 --> 00:29:56,719 Speaker 1: can keep pouring if you appreciate me. I can keep pouring. 448 00:29:57,040 --> 00:29:59,720 Speaker 1: If you don't, I can keep pouring if you stay, 449 00:30:00,160 --> 00:30:05,800 Speaker 1: I could keep pouring if you walk out. Who am 450 00:30:05,880 --> 00:30:16,120 Speaker 1: I helping make some noise? So Swiss sharp, Priscian, I'm 451 00:30:16,160 --> 00:30:20,520 Speaker 1: so grateful. I'm so grateful that God kept pouring into 452 00:30:20,560 --> 00:30:25,760 Speaker 1: me when I seemed unprofitable, and so I got to 453 00:30:25,840 --> 00:30:32,960 Speaker 1: keep pouring. It said that she kept pouring. I wonder 454 00:30:33,000 --> 00:30:38,240 Speaker 1: how stupid she felt when she first started pouring. Now, 455 00:30:38,240 --> 00:30:40,360 Speaker 1: once it starts working, it was probably kind of fun. 456 00:30:41,560 --> 00:30:43,560 Speaker 1: And I will point out one thing that I thought 457 00:30:43,600 --> 00:30:45,200 Speaker 1: was kind of funny. We were talking about this JJ. 458 00:30:45,480 --> 00:30:48,560 Speaker 1: We how Elisha told her in verse three, give me 459 00:30:48,560 --> 00:30:50,240 Speaker 1: the verse, go around and ask all your neighbors for 460 00:30:50,240 --> 00:30:57,520 Speaker 1: empty jars. And then in verse five it says she 461 00:30:57,680 --> 00:30:59,440 Speaker 1: left him and shut the door behind her, and her 462 00:30:59,520 --> 00:31:01,800 Speaker 1: son's day brought the jars to her. She made her 463 00:31:01,880 --> 00:31:06,600 Speaker 1: kids go to the neighbors. You heard what the man said, 464 00:31:09,920 --> 00:31:12,040 Speaker 1: But she did one more thing I want to point out, 465 00:31:12,840 --> 00:31:15,440 Speaker 1: and it's what enabled her to pour. She shut the doors. 466 00:31:18,320 --> 00:31:23,680 Speaker 1: And that's such an important detail in this text because 467 00:31:23,720 --> 00:31:27,720 Speaker 1: it is what you pour out in private when no 468 00:31:27,760 --> 00:31:31,640 Speaker 1: one is looking, and a lot of us are so 469 00:31:31,760 --> 00:31:39,400 Speaker 1: busy praying for more oil, more opportunity, more more, more 470 00:31:39,440 --> 00:31:47,720 Speaker 1: more more, and God says, poor, poor, poor, poor poor, 471 00:31:48,720 --> 00:31:54,200 Speaker 1: And the more you pour, the more it flows. You're 472 00:31:54,240 --> 00:31:56,040 Speaker 1: never going to pour out what you have while you're 473 00:31:56,080 --> 00:32:02,280 Speaker 1: so busy consulting what everybody else has. You be like 474 00:32:02,320 --> 00:32:06,080 Speaker 1: the woman. You'd be like the woman who came in 475 00:32:06,120 --> 00:32:10,800 Speaker 1: and poured out that expensive fragrance on the feet of Jesus, 476 00:32:10,840 --> 00:32:15,680 Speaker 1: and all the men around called it a waste, and 477 00:32:15,720 --> 00:32:22,800 Speaker 1: she called it worship Amen. Because you're always you're always, 478 00:32:23,640 --> 00:32:25,520 Speaker 1: You're always going to feel like it's not enough, and 479 00:32:25,560 --> 00:32:28,440 Speaker 1: even if you feel like it is enough, you feel 480 00:32:28,440 --> 00:32:30,840 Speaker 1: like it doesn't matter. Have you had a day like 481 00:32:30,840 --> 00:32:32,440 Speaker 1: that in the last seven where you felt like this 482 00:32:32,480 --> 00:32:39,680 Speaker 1: doesn't even matter. Shut the door and keep pouring. In fact, 483 00:32:39,680 --> 00:32:41,680 Speaker 1: sometimes the best thing to do is shut your mouth 484 00:32:43,000 --> 00:32:54,280 Speaker 1: and keep pouring, and keep pouring. Because the oil only 485 00:32:54,320 --> 00:32:58,760 Speaker 1: became more when it was in motion, and the oil 486 00:32:58,800 --> 00:33:03,320 Speaker 1: only flowed when the vessel were ready. I don't think 487 00:33:03,360 --> 00:33:06,520 Speaker 1: this message is really about the oil at all. I 488 00:33:06,560 --> 00:33:10,840 Speaker 1: think it's about the vessels because when Elishah told her 489 00:33:10,840 --> 00:33:12,440 Speaker 1: to go around to her neighbors, he gave her a 490 00:33:12,560 --> 00:33:17,520 Speaker 1: very specific type of vessel to request. He said, make 491 00:33:17,560 --> 00:33:23,760 Speaker 1: sure they're empty. Make sure they're empty. God can't fill 492 00:33:24,880 --> 00:33:29,440 Speaker 1: what's already for that's why it's so important that you 493 00:33:29,480 --> 00:33:33,960 Speaker 1: pour out your pride. That's why it's so important that 494 00:33:34,000 --> 00:33:38,320 Speaker 1: we pour out our own opinions and come before the 495 00:33:38,320 --> 00:33:45,080 Speaker 1: Lord empty because listen, when the vessels are ready, the 496 00:33:45,120 --> 00:33:52,240 Speaker 1: oil will flow. And it's something strange about these vessels 497 00:33:52,240 --> 00:33:55,440 Speaker 1: that we only learned with a New Testament revelation. This 498 00:33:55,560 --> 00:33:59,040 Speaker 1: is Second King's for. But if you jump a couple 499 00:33:59,120 --> 00:34:01,800 Speaker 1: of centuries over Second Corinthians for, you get the full 500 00:34:01,800 --> 00:34:08,400 Speaker 1: message where Paul says, we have this treasure in earthen vessels. 501 00:34:09,080 --> 00:34:12,360 Speaker 1: Why would God put something so special in such a 502 00:34:12,400 --> 00:34:16,319 Speaker 1: cracked vessel. What keeps you from showing up is your 503 00:34:16,320 --> 00:34:21,240 Speaker 1: cracks and your conflicts. But that is the very place 504 00:34:21,239 --> 00:34:26,360 Speaker 1: that the blessing flows through. Paul said, we have this 505 00:34:26,400 --> 00:34:29,880 Speaker 1: treasure in earth and vessels, that the excellency of the 506 00:34:29,920 --> 00:34:33,880 Speaker 1: power might be from God, not from us. One season 507 00:34:33,880 --> 00:34:37,520 Speaker 1: in our church that I was feeling particularly overwhelmed, I 508 00:34:37,560 --> 00:34:39,600 Speaker 1: said to Holley, I just don't feel like I'm the 509 00:34:39,640 --> 00:34:42,319 Speaker 1: pastor that they needed. The reason, I said, it is 510 00:34:42,360 --> 00:34:45,319 Speaker 1: because the need was so great and my experience was 511 00:34:45,360 --> 00:34:48,520 Speaker 1: so small. At this particular point, I had just turned 512 00:34:48,520 --> 00:34:51,640 Speaker 1: thirty and the church was already about the same size 513 00:34:51,680 --> 00:34:57,640 Speaker 1: as the town I grew up in. That'll make you 514 00:34:57,640 --> 00:35:02,239 Speaker 1: stop and pause, make you feel like not enough. If 515 00:35:02,239 --> 00:35:04,319 Speaker 1: you ever felt like not enough, wave of me. I 516 00:35:04,320 --> 00:35:09,320 Speaker 1: don't like to do this alone. It's a very vulnerable feeling, Yeah, 517 00:35:09,560 --> 00:35:11,160 Speaker 1: I said, I don't feel like I'm the pastor that 518 00:35:11,200 --> 00:35:14,400 Speaker 1: they need. She looked back at me cold blooded and said, 519 00:35:15,160 --> 00:35:28,080 Speaker 1: you're the one we've got. Y'all are clapping at me, 520 00:35:28,160 --> 00:35:31,359 Speaker 1: but I'm saying it to you. You're the mom they got. 521 00:35:32,520 --> 00:35:35,799 Speaker 1: You're the dad they got. You're the son they've got. 522 00:35:36,760 --> 00:35:40,120 Speaker 1: You're the daughter they've got. You're the one God chose. 523 00:35:40,800 --> 00:35:50,000 Speaker 1: You are his chosen vessel, and he chose you not 524 00:35:50,120 --> 00:35:55,239 Speaker 1: in spite of your cracks, but because of them. That 525 00:35:55,440 --> 00:35:59,640 Speaker 1: ensures that people will not compliment the vessel. They will 526 00:35:59,719 --> 00:36:03,879 Speaker 1: value you. The oil. It is what God put inside 527 00:36:03,920 --> 00:36:12,200 Speaker 1: of you, but you've got to pour it out. I 528 00:36:12,239 --> 00:36:14,160 Speaker 1: want to pray for you today. Stand to your feet 529 00:36:14,160 --> 00:36:16,000 Speaker 1: because I want to pray for you in this moment. 530 00:36:17,200 --> 00:36:21,120 Speaker 1: If you've been in a deficit emotionally, spiritually, relationally, financially. 531 00:36:22,840 --> 00:36:28,640 Speaker 1: Deficits come in many different varieties. But if you are 532 00:36:28,680 --> 00:36:32,200 Speaker 1: that empty vessel today and you come to the end 533 00:36:32,239 --> 00:36:35,960 Speaker 1: of yourself, I got good news for you. That's the 534 00:36:36,000 --> 00:36:40,120 Speaker 1: starting place for God's supply to be poured out in 535 00:36:40,160 --> 00:36:43,520 Speaker 1: your life. And My God shall supply all of your 536 00:36:43,600 --> 00:36:47,360 Speaker 1: needs according to his glory, not according to your quantity 537 00:36:47,360 --> 00:36:53,360 Speaker 1: of oil, but according to his glorious riches. I appreach 538 00:36:53,480 --> 00:36:58,440 Speaker 1: this message today with the hopes that in this moment 539 00:37:00,160 --> 00:37:02,319 Speaker 1: you would see yourself as a vessel that God is 540 00:37:02,360 --> 00:37:08,839 Speaker 1: ready to fill. When the vessels are ready, the oil 541 00:37:08,880 --> 00:37:13,839 Speaker 1: will flow. And it's good when you feel empty. It's 542 00:37:13,880 --> 00:37:16,799 Speaker 1: good when you feel like you're not enough. It's good 543 00:37:16,800 --> 00:37:20,640 Speaker 1: when you know your need, because then you remember your source. 544 00:37:22,160 --> 00:37:25,480 Speaker 1: Right now, in this moment, I want to ask that 545 00:37:25,520 --> 00:37:28,840 Speaker 1: everybody who needs a touch from God today, in an 546 00:37:28,920 --> 00:37:31,400 Speaker 1: area of your life where you've been feeling defficient, I 547 00:37:31,440 --> 00:37:33,239 Speaker 1: want to ask that you just close your eyes, lift 548 00:37:33,280 --> 00:37:34,959 Speaker 1: your hands to Heaven, and forget about all the people 549 00:37:35,000 --> 00:37:39,840 Speaker 1: around you. Let's shut the door for a moment, and 550 00:37:39,920 --> 00:37:42,640 Speaker 1: let's come before God in honesty and sincerity. Like this 551 00:37:42,680 --> 00:37:47,480 Speaker 1: woman did with the prophet, she knew where to go first. 552 00:37:49,680 --> 00:37:54,200 Speaker 1: She took her needs to the man of God. She 553 00:37:54,320 --> 00:37:58,239 Speaker 1: didn't run around from neighbor to neighbor to neighbor like 554 00:37:58,280 --> 00:38:02,040 Speaker 1: we tend to do sometimes. She went to God first. 555 00:38:03,880 --> 00:38:06,000 Speaker 1: And if we seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, 556 00:38:06,000 --> 00:38:08,719 Speaker 1: all these things will be added to us. But if 557 00:38:08,760 --> 00:38:14,440 Speaker 1: we run around, if we don't open our hearts before Him, 558 00:38:14,760 --> 00:38:17,759 Speaker 1: we will die. For the lack of what he has 559 00:38:17,760 --> 00:38:22,600 Speaker 1: already provided. There is oil in your house. There is 560 00:38:22,640 --> 00:38:24,880 Speaker 1: a reason to be grateful. There is a strength in 561 00:38:24,960 --> 00:38:30,560 Speaker 1: this season of your life. And Father, today, with our 562 00:38:30,600 --> 00:38:35,719 Speaker 1: hands lifted up and with our hearts open, and with 563 00:38:35,760 --> 00:38:39,399 Speaker 1: our minds renewed, we thank you for the oil we have. 564 00:38:42,040 --> 00:38:46,600 Speaker 1: Somebody say, thank you Lord for my oil. God, we're 565 00:38:46,640 --> 00:38:50,799 Speaker 1: sorry for complaining about the oil that we lost, or 566 00:38:51,280 --> 00:38:55,640 Speaker 1: we're sorry for comparing our oil supplied to others. We 567 00:38:55,719 --> 00:38:58,600 Speaker 1: come to you today in humility of spirit, declaring that 568 00:38:58,640 --> 00:39:02,080 Speaker 1: what you have given is all that you require. We 569 00:39:02,120 --> 00:39:04,720 Speaker 1: thank you for the gift of your grace in our lives. 570 00:39:05,640 --> 00:39:08,759 Speaker 1: We thank you for your mercy in this moment. We 571 00:39:08,800 --> 00:39:11,520 Speaker 1: thank you for your enabling power. You're anointing for this 572 00:39:11,640 --> 00:39:14,359 Speaker 1: season of our lives. That where we are is where 573 00:39:14,360 --> 00:39:18,080 Speaker 1: we're supposed to be. It's by design God. We determine 574 00:39:18,080 --> 00:39:20,160 Speaker 1: in our hearts in this moment not to become bitter 575 00:39:21,200 --> 00:39:23,160 Speaker 1: about what we've poured out that we didn't receive a 576 00:39:23,200 --> 00:39:25,880 Speaker 1: return on. We declare that you are the source of 577 00:39:25,920 --> 00:39:28,800 Speaker 1: our strength, and you are the strength of our lives, 578 00:39:29,200 --> 00:39:32,120 Speaker 1: And so we lift our eyes to the hills. Our 579 00:39:32,160 --> 00:39:36,040 Speaker 1: help comes from you. Our joy comes from you, and 580 00:39:36,080 --> 00:39:39,640 Speaker 1: you are more than enough to meet every need. Father, 581 00:39:39,680 --> 00:39:42,680 Speaker 1: we lift our eyes to Heaven today. Once you fill 582 00:39:42,719 --> 00:39:45,680 Speaker 1: our cups to the top, we thank you that goodness 583 00:39:45,680 --> 00:39:49,719 Speaker 1: and mercy flow over our cup overflows. You are with 584 00:39:49,800 --> 00:39:53,120 Speaker 1: us in this moment. We declare that your presence is 585 00:39:53,160 --> 00:39:57,360 Speaker 1: more than enough, Your word is more than enough. Spirit 586 00:39:57,440 --> 00:40:00,640 Speaker 1: of God, fall fresh on your people now, a fresh 587 00:40:00,640 --> 00:40:04,400 Speaker 1: out pouring, a fresh anointing. May they receive it in 588 00:40:04,440 --> 00:40:10,120 Speaker 1: the power of your great name, Jesus. Well. I hope 589 00:40:10,120 --> 00:40:12,600 Speaker 1: you enjoyed the podcast today. If you did, there are 590 00:40:12,640 --> 00:40:14,719 Speaker 1: just a couple things I'd love for you to do. 591 00:40:14,960 --> 00:40:18,439 Speaker 1: Number One, subscribe to our show. That way, the most 592 00:40:18,480 --> 00:40:21,719 Speaker 1: recent episode will always be in your feed, waiting for 593 00:40:21,760 --> 00:40:25,280 Speaker 1: you ready when you are. And Secondly, if this ministry 594 00:40:25,280 --> 00:40:27,720 Speaker 1: has impacted you and you'd like to help us continue 595 00:40:27,760 --> 00:40:29,840 Speaker 1: to reach others, you can click the link in the 596 00:40:29,880 --> 00:40:32,680 Speaker 1: description and you can give now and I'll see you 597 00:40:32,880 --> 00:40:35,360 Speaker 1: next time on the Elevation Podcast.