A blessed sermon based on Elisha multiplying the widow's oil. "Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the LORD: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen. And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil. Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few. And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full. So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out. And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed. Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest." 2 Kings 4:1-7 Some important points. Note with me a few things in this message. (1) GOD CAN ALWAYS OPEN A WAY FOR HIS CHILDREN IN TROUBLE! * Now, here in Israel this "son of the prophets" died in debt - v.1 A) He brought heartache to his wife & almost brought slavery to his sons by having debts unpaid. * The widow was utterly heartbroken! * She grieved over her dead husband, * No doubt she grieved over the unpaid debts as any godly woman would do! * And she was nearly frantic that the pitiless creditor was about to take her 2 sons into bondage. B) So in desperation, she cried unto Elisha in v.1 "Thy servant my husband is dead ......." * God’s faithful prophet Elisha had a remedy which God showed him! * Thank God there is always a way out for a child of God if we go to God & trust Him! C) Who could be more helpless than such a poor widow in Bible times? * She had no trade, she couldn’t teach school nor be a secretary as modern women can. * She had her children to care for, had no money to live on & was faced with disaster! * You talking about somebody being at the end of their rope, brother she was! D) But she came to God through His prophet and God showed the way out! * Let us remember that when trouble comes, the thing to do is come to God! * Ps.50:15 "And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me." * God loves us; He always has plenty; He always knows a way out! (2) WHAT YOU HAVE IS ENOUGH FOR GOD! * Now in v.2, * Elisha said to the poor widow, "What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house?" * In other words, whatever you have in the house is enough for God! A) If it’s nothing but a pot of oil, God can multiply the oil! * If it’s only a handful of meal in the bottom of the barrel, God can make it last to feed Elijah and a woman and her son until the drought is passed - 1 Kings 17:8-16 * If there are only 5 small barley biscuits & 2 fishes in a little lad’s lunch, when Jesus blesses it, and breaks it, it’ll be enough for 5000 people! B) God said to Moses, "What is that in thine hand?" and Moses said, "A rod." * But that stick became the "rod of God" that could bring plagues upon all of Egypt, * That could become a serpent before Pharaoh, that could open or close the Red Sea, * That could bring water out of a rock for millions of people! C) Samson took the jawbone of an ass & killed 1000 Philistines, the enemies of Israel. * It’s wonderful to come to realize that God is the Master of circumstances! * I asked someone one time, "How’s it going?" * He said, "Oh, pretty good under the ......." * I said, "You ought to get out from under the circumstances!"
