Frozen Oil & Chosen Vessels

0:00:01.520 --> 0:00:02.800 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. 0:00:02.840 --> 0:00:06.400 I'm the pastor of Elevation Church, and this is our podcast. 0:00:05.840 --> 0:00:07.760 And I wanted to thank you for joining us today. 0:00:08.080 --> 0:00:10.680 Hope this inspires you. Hope it builds your faith. 0:00:10.760 --> 0:00:12.840 Hope it gives your perspective to see God is moving 0:00:12.920 --> 0:00:13.600 in your life. 0:00:13.840 --> 0:00:14.640 Enjoy the message. 0:00:17.800 --> 0:00:19.800 The Lord put it on my heart to share from 0:00:19.840 --> 0:00:22.520 this passage and this thought with you. And I want 0:00:22.560 --> 0:00:24.759 to speak to you today from tewod King's four one 0:00:24.800 --> 0:00:28.400 through six, and really I want to speak to someone 0:00:28.400 --> 0:00:32.000 who is in a deficit in an area. 0:00:31.760 --> 0:00:33.320 Of your life. 0:00:33.400 --> 0:00:37.680 The more I become exposed to I'm convinced there are 0:00:37.800 --> 0:00:42.400 many different varieties of poverty. And so you can be 0:00:42.520 --> 0:00:44.400 rich financially and broke emotionally. 0:00:46.600 --> 0:00:49.680 You can be. 0:00:48.400 --> 0:00:53.640 Rich financially and broke relationally. You can have a lot 0:00:53.680 --> 0:00:57.360 of responsibility and not a lot of joy, or you 0:00:57.360 --> 0:00:58.560 can have a lot of joy. 0:00:58.320 --> 0:00:59.440 And not a lot of influence. 0:01:00.120 --> 0:01:03.960 And so I learned that poverty, although we tend to 0:01:04.000 --> 0:01:08.160 associate it with finances, can be a poverty of a 0:01:08.160 --> 0:01:11.680 different kind. And that really helped me when I was 0:01:11.959 --> 0:01:14.679 first starting preaching, I thought, and I was telling Mike 0:01:14.760 --> 0:01:17.480 this this morning, right before I came out to preach. 0:01:17.520 --> 0:01:23.200 How you know, some people come to church and take 0:01:23.240 --> 0:01:25.920 the bus and some people come in a bentley in 0:01:26.000 --> 0:01:30.280 the same church, and so you kind of feel on 0:01:30.319 --> 0:01:33.319 the surface like, well, maybe you can't preach the same 0:01:33.319 --> 0:01:36.800 message to the person who is in the top tax 0:01:36.840 --> 0:01:39.479 bracket and maybe the person who hasn't had a job 0:01:39.560 --> 0:01:42.600 for two and a half years. But you learn over time, 0:01:42.640 --> 0:01:46.280 if you passor people and pay attention, that everybody has 0:01:46.280 --> 0:01:51.040 an efficiency and. 0:01:51.040 --> 0:01:54.360 That we're not all that different. The reason I like 0:01:54.400 --> 0:01:55.800 this text from Second Kings. 0:01:55.560 --> 0:01:59.120 Four is because it seems like a small, little practical, 0:01:59.360 --> 0:02:01.960 i don't know, almost incidental miracle on the surface, but 0:02:02.640 --> 0:02:06.120 understanding the surrounding context in the life of the prophet Elisha, 0:02:07.200 --> 0:02:11.240 he just finished solving a problem for three Kings. 0:02:12.320 --> 0:02:14.120 And right after this he. 0:02:15.600 --> 0:02:20.120 Performs a great miracle for a very wealthy woman. And 0:02:20.200 --> 0:02:24.160 sandwich between those two magnificent miracles on a grand scale, 0:02:24.160 --> 0:02:27.600 where he's consulting political advisors like. 0:02:27.040 --> 0:02:29.640 The real prophet would, and where. 0:02:29.440 --> 0:02:32.960 He's hanging out with a top donor, there's something that 0:02:33.040 --> 0:02:39.119 happens that seems so small on the surface, and that's 0:02:39.160 --> 0:02:42.079 where my assignment is today. In Second King's four one 0:02:42.120 --> 0:02:44.160 through six, and I hope to be able to preach 0:02:44.160 --> 0:02:47.000 it to you on a very personal level. So let's 0:02:47.040 --> 0:02:49.080 read the text together and discuss it a bit. The 0:02:49.120 --> 0:02:51.440 wife of a man from the company of the Prophets 0:02:51.440 --> 0:02:54.040 cried out to Elisha, your servant, my husband is dead, 0:02:55.160 --> 0:02:57.680 and you know that he revered the Lord. Sometimes we 0:02:57.720 --> 0:03:00.040 find ourselves in situations that are not the result of 0:03:00.040 --> 0:03:05.400 our disobedience. And have you noticed that life doesn't make 0:03:05.440 --> 0:03:12.200 allowances for your crisis, That the universe doesn't send out 0:03:12.200 --> 0:03:15.560 a memo when you're having a bad day, Hey, everybody 0:03:15.639 --> 0:03:16.800 be nice to her today. 0:03:18.560 --> 0:03:22.520 Her mom is sick. It would be nice if life's. 0:03:21.960 --> 0:03:26.240 Demands would accommodate my crisis, but they don't. And so 0:03:26.360 --> 0:03:29.519 the bills were still due, although the woman did not 0:03:29.680 --> 0:03:33.120 have the means, And so this creates a sense of deficit, 0:03:33.240 --> 0:03:35.920 the very desperate deficit in her life. As it turns out, 0:03:36.640 --> 0:03:38.800 and this crisis is not a national crisis, it's a 0:03:38.880 --> 0:03:42.120 personal crisis. But the Man of God takes time for 0:03:42.160 --> 0:03:44.480 one woman, just like he took time for three kings. 0:03:45.120 --> 0:03:46.440 I love that. 0:03:46.440 --> 0:03:49.240 That just touches my heart so much, because he's not 0:03:49.480 --> 0:03:53.160 just presiding over a royal wedding across the pond somewhere. 0:03:53.520 --> 0:03:54.840 But he's right up in your life. 0:03:54.880 --> 0:03:56.840 While you're crying at night, and while you're trying to 0:03:56.840 --> 0:03:59.480 figure out how to build your own relationships. 0:03:59.520 --> 0:04:01.400 God is to that touch. Somebody say, God is in 0:04:01.440 --> 0:04:05.360 to you. So she comes with this need. 0:04:05.560 --> 0:04:07.920 Probably seems small in the scope of a big, bad, 0:04:08.000 --> 0:04:12.080 important prophet who's commanding kings, but she comes to him 0:04:12.080 --> 0:04:14.080 boldly and says, your servant, my husband is dead, and 0:04:14.120 --> 0:04:16.760 you know that he revered the Lord, but now his 0:04:16.839 --> 0:04:19.640 creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves. 0:04:19.960 --> 0:04:23.760 Elisha replied to her, how can I help you? So 0:04:23.800 --> 0:04:25.719 it sounds like he's about to get the checkbook out, 0:04:26.520 --> 0:04:30.560 but then he makes this weird move where he answers 0:04:30.800 --> 0:04:35.680 his question with the question, tell me what do you 0:04:35.880 --> 0:04:42.080 have in your house? She said back, Your servant has 0:04:42.279 --> 0:04:46.279 nothing there at all. That's why I'm coming to you. 0:04:46.560 --> 0:04:48.960 If I had something to put on eBay, I would 0:04:49.000 --> 0:04:51.080 have done it by now do I need to back 0:04:51.160 --> 0:04:54.000 up and take it from the top. I've told you 0:04:54.480 --> 0:04:58.320 nothing except a small jar of olive oil. And Elisha said, 0:04:58.320 --> 0:05:00.719 go around and ask all your neighbors for the jars. 0:05:01.120 --> 0:05:03.599 This dude can't hear. He's good at talking, but he 0:05:03.640 --> 0:05:07.119 can't hear. I don't need jars, I need oil. I'm broke. 0:05:07.360 --> 0:05:11.400 I don't need something to put nothing in or do you. 0:05:13.040 --> 0:05:14.839 See in the beginning, when God created the world, it 0:05:14.880 --> 0:05:16.520 was without form and void, and the first thing that 0:05:16.560 --> 0:05:18.520 God did was to form it before he filled it. 0:05:19.960 --> 0:05:22.279 I'm gonna keep reading this Bible passage because we only 0:05:22.320 --> 0:05:25.320 have so long. Go around and ask all your neighbors 0:05:25.320 --> 0:05:26.080 for empty jars. 0:05:26.080 --> 0:05:27.880 Don't ask for just a few. Then go inside and 0:05:27.880 --> 0:05:30.880 shut the door behind you. And your sons pour oil 0:05:31.880 --> 0:05:35.760 into all the jars, and as each us filled, put 0:05:35.760 --> 0:05:37.520 it to one side. She lets him and shut the 0:05:37.560 --> 0:05:40.440 door behind her and her sons they brought the jars 0:05:40.480 --> 0:05:40.800 to her. 0:05:41.680 --> 0:05:42.560 She kept pouring. 0:05:45.160 --> 0:05:47.320 When all the jars were full, she said to her son, 0:05:47.400 --> 0:05:49.680 bring me another one, but he replied, there's not a 0:05:49.760 --> 0:05:50.279 jar left. 0:05:51.360 --> 0:05:52.640 Then the oil stopped flowing. 0:05:52.680 --> 0:05:56.760 And the gravitas of that last versus such we got 0:05:56.760 --> 0:05:59.840 to read it in the King James King James Bible, 0:06:00.240 --> 0:06:03.360 like the one your grandmother had, that big one. I'm 0:06:03.360 --> 0:06:05.000 gonna put it on this big screen for you the 0:06:05.080 --> 0:06:07.400 King James version of that verse, and I'm gonna take 0:06:07.400 --> 0:06:09.279 my title from this one verse. It came to pass 0:06:09.320 --> 0:06:12.599 when the vessels were full, that she said, unto her son, 0:06:12.760 --> 0:06:16.440 bring me yet a vessel, and he said, unto her, 0:06:16.680 --> 0:06:21.000 there is not a vessel more. And the oil state, 0:06:21.080 --> 0:06:23.160 I want to speak today for a few moments about 0:06:23.480 --> 0:06:33.000 frozen oil and chosen vessels. So if there are many 0:06:33.080 --> 0:06:37.320 varieties of poverty, and if the abundance of our life 0:06:37.360 --> 0:06:40.239 really consists in the flow, you know, like Jesus said 0:06:40.240 --> 0:06:43.240 that from your belly will flow rivers of living water, 0:06:43.400 --> 0:06:46.200 or like it says in Proverbs that from your heart 0:06:46.200 --> 0:06:47.280 flows the issues of life. 0:06:47.400 --> 0:06:49.279 So you got to guard it. 0:06:49.279 --> 0:06:52.680 It is instructive that Elisha the prophet, in performing his 0:06:52.720 --> 0:06:55.720 first miracle, cut off the flow of the Jordan River. 0:06:55.920 --> 0:06:59.520 First thing he did when he became the prophet was 0:06:59.600 --> 0:07:03.839 to grab the mantle that fell off of Elijah, who, 0:07:03.880 --> 0:07:08.320 by the way, he was known for giving strange commands 0:07:08.360 --> 0:07:12.680 as well, when he called the false prophets up to 0:07:12.680 --> 0:07:14.679 Mount Carmel. You can read about this in One Kings 0:07:14.720 --> 0:07:18.720 eighteen nineteen. It's amazing because the people were in a drought, 0:07:19.560 --> 0:07:22.800 and he said whichever God answers by fire is the 0:07:22.840 --> 0:07:26.160 true God, because he was challenging their idolatry. And when 0:07:26.160 --> 0:07:29.040 he got up there on the mountain before he called 0:07:29.040 --> 0:07:30.920 down fire, he made them pour water on the wood, 0:07:30.960 --> 0:07:34.880 because sometimes God will make a situation seem impossible to men, 0:07:35.600 --> 0:07:38.360 so that when fire falls and the wood starts to burn, 0:07:38.440 --> 0:07:41.440 you won't think it was because of the quality of 0:07:41.480 --> 0:07:46.320 the firewood, but it is because of the power of God. Now, 0:07:46.320 --> 0:07:48.200 if you got wet wood in your life today, start 0:07:48.240 --> 0:07:50.680 rejoicing right now, because God is setting you up to 0:07:50.680 --> 0:07:56.640 do something so special, and he wants all the credit. 0:07:57.320 --> 0:08:00.720 He wants all the credit. He wants all the credits. 0:08:00.760 --> 0:08:05.080 So he allows this woman to get down to seemingly nothing. 0:08:05.320 --> 0:08:08.559 Do you notice that her first instinct when the prophet says, 0:08:10.240 --> 0:08:12.280 what do you have in your house? 0:08:13.320 --> 0:08:15.400 Is to say nothing. 0:08:16.520 --> 0:08:21.120 Her first instinct is to minimize. 0:08:20.520 --> 0:08:21.840 What little she has left. 0:08:22.800 --> 0:08:24.800 Now, I can't prove this, it's not in the text, 0:08:24.840 --> 0:08:28.200 but just imagine with me, and maybe I don't know, 0:08:29.040 --> 0:08:32.720 you know, profits are weird. Maybe Elijah asked her that 0:08:32.840 --> 0:08:39.000 question and when she started to answer, maybe he made 0:08:39.040 --> 0:08:41.920 eye contact with her, you know, awkward eye contact. 0:08:42.480 --> 0:08:43.400 You got anybody in. 0:08:43.360 --> 0:08:48.360 Your life who has really low relational skills. People have 0:08:48.400 --> 0:08:51.360 no concept of personal space. You got any close talkers 0:08:51.360 --> 0:08:51.760 in your life? 0:08:51.840 --> 0:08:53.200 Let me see if you got any close talkers in 0:08:53.200 --> 0:08:54.400 your life. 0:08:54.559 --> 0:08:56.280 You know, some people just look at you a little 0:08:56.280 --> 0:08:58.920 too long and a little too hard, Like eye contact 0:08:59.120 --> 0:09:01.280 is good, but it come to a point where it's 0:09:01.280 --> 0:09:04.280 a little awkward. I can see you're a little sleepy 0:09:04.360 --> 0:09:06.000 right now. Look at your neighbor. Look at them so 0:09:06.120 --> 0:09:08.160 hard in their eyes that they feel what I'm talking about. 0:09:08.200 --> 0:09:10.000 I want you to make eye contact. Come on, staring 0:09:10.040 --> 0:09:11.400 contests all over the church. 0:09:12.480 --> 0:09:13.600 You two Raleigh. 0:09:14.000 --> 0:09:16.720 Awkward eye contact, So look at him while I talk. 0:09:17.080 --> 0:09:35.440 She says nothing, and Elija just waits. Somebody say nothing. 0:09:37.280 --> 0:09:42.440 Ask the person next to you, really nothing, because sometimes 0:09:42.440 --> 0:09:48.240 we get so overwhelmed by our scarcity that we minimize 0:09:48.240 --> 0:09:52.840 our supply. One of my friends was complaining so hard 0:09:52.880 --> 0:09:55.640 the other day I thought he had me confused with 0:09:55.679 --> 0:09:59.440 the professional counselor. And after a few minutes I was 0:09:59.480 --> 0:10:01.880 tired of it, and I can listen for a minute, 0:10:01.920 --> 0:10:04.760 but he would not shut up, And finally I said, bro, 0:10:04.880 --> 0:10:07.120 do you have anything going good for you right now? 0:10:08.640 --> 0:10:13.600 And he said no, nothing, I said, really nothing, not eyelids. 0:10:16.679 --> 0:10:20.360 Let me see your hands. You walked in this room, 0:10:21.640 --> 0:10:28.240 you woke up this morning. That's not nothing. Huh, that's 0:10:28.280 --> 0:10:34.200 not nothing. So the first thing that I see in 0:10:34.240 --> 0:10:37.280 the miracle is Elisha instructs this woman who is at 0:10:37.320 --> 0:10:39.560 a deficit to check her oil. 0:10:39.600 --> 0:10:41.920 And I want to preach to you today, check your oil. 0:10:43.400 --> 0:10:46.839 It is possible that you are overlooking the very thing 0:10:46.880 --> 0:10:50.800 that God wants to perform a miracle through. When you've 0:10:50.840 --> 0:10:54.400 lived in a deficit long enough, it can be difficult 0:10:54.440 --> 0:10:57.200 to appreciate the supply that you have, especially when you've 0:10:57.240 --> 0:10:57.800 lost a lot. 0:10:58.120 --> 0:10:59.120 She's lost a. 0:10:59.160 --> 0:11:03.600 Husband, spent almost everything. She's got one little jar of 0:11:03.679 --> 0:11:06.040 oil in her freezer. I know it's not a freezer, 0:11:06.040 --> 0:11:07.520 but you know, go with it. It goes with my 0:11:07.559 --> 0:11:08.840 title frozen oil. 0:11:09.040 --> 0:11:10.760 And she's got a little bit of oil, just a 0:11:10.760 --> 0:11:12.480 little bit of oil, and it's so little. 0:11:12.520 --> 0:11:15.720 In fact, the oil is so small that she doesn't 0:11:15.760 --> 0:11:17.760 even think it's worth mentioning. 0:11:19.080 --> 0:11:19.800 Okay, I'll say it. 0:11:20.520 --> 0:11:23.120 God is about to do a miracle through something that 0:11:23.160 --> 0:11:31.800 you don't even think is worth mentioning, something so small 0:11:32.400 --> 0:11:37.400 and insignificant in your sight that your first instinct is 0:11:37.440 --> 0:11:40.560 to not even mention it. But the enemy wants you 0:11:40.640 --> 0:11:45.760 to despise your oil because he can't steal your oil. 0:11:46.559 --> 0:11:50.120 Oil in the Bible is symbolic of the Holy Spirit. 0:11:50.600 --> 0:11:52.920 When they would anoint a king in the Bible, they 0:11:52.960 --> 0:11:57.239 would anoint the king with oil. It represented God's empowerment. 0:11:57.840 --> 0:12:01.840 It represents joy and gladdening. It's symbolic of the Holy 0:12:01.880 --> 0:12:04.839 Spirit that came on the day of Pentecost to live 0:12:04.880 --> 0:12:07.680 inside of us. And so when I preach about oil, 0:12:07.720 --> 0:12:09.480 I'm not talking about something that. 0:12:09.400 --> 0:12:10.719 You keep in your pantry. 0:12:11.120 --> 0:12:13.679 I'm talking about something that you have in your heart, 0:12:13.920 --> 0:12:17.240 the gift God gave you, the people God put in 0:12:17.280 --> 0:12:21.640 your life, the idea God gave you, the time He 0:12:21.760 --> 0:12:25.400 gave you, the ceason you're in. If I were your 0:12:25.559 --> 0:12:27.840 enemy and I knew I couldn't take your oil, what 0:12:27.920 --> 0:12:30.560 I would do instead is to get you to think 0:12:30.760 --> 0:12:34.079 that your oil was so little that it wasn't even 0:12:34.120 --> 0:12:39.120 worth using. And that's why some people sit in church. 0:12:39.280 --> 0:12:42.120 Week after week after week. 0:12:42.200 --> 0:12:47.319 After month after month after month after year after year 0:12:47.640 --> 0:12:51.720 and stay in their deficiency and never realize that what 0:12:51.880 --> 0:12:55.800 you've got is something somebody's shout is not nothing. 0:12:57.960 --> 0:12:58.880 It's not nothing. 0:13:01.840 --> 0:13:06.880 Feeling in my spirit today, it's not nothing. Somebody shout, 0:13:07.000 --> 0:13:14.000 My gift is something, my life is something, My praise 0:13:14.920 --> 0:13:18.400 is something. Now high five, somebody say, I got something? 0:13:18.440 --> 0:13:19.120 How about you? 0:13:19.920 --> 0:13:22.240 For too long, I've been comparing. 0:13:21.800 --> 0:13:23.080 My oil with yours. 0:13:23.600 --> 0:13:26.520 My oil might not be as much as yours, but 0:13:26.600 --> 0:13:28.680 God won't hold me accountable. 0:13:28.160 --> 0:13:39.800 For your oil. He learned this from Elijah. 0:13:39.840 --> 0:13:42.920 Go look and see if you see anything in the sky, 0:13:43.080 --> 0:13:47.840 and the servant came back, nothing. Go look again, nothing, 0:13:48.320 --> 0:13:53.800 Go look again, nothing, Go look again, nothing, Go look again, nothing, 0:13:54.200 --> 0:13:57.320 Go look again nothing. This is getting really old, Steve. 0:13:57.520 --> 0:13:59.440 Can you just get to the point how old would 0:13:59.440 --> 0:14:00.800 it get if you were the one running to the 0:14:00.800 --> 0:14:03.040 top of the hill to look at nothing, and then finally, 0:14:03.040 --> 0:14:05.520 by the time you do see something is so small 0:14:06.040 --> 0:14:09.160 you minimize it. There's a cloud, somebody shall there's a 0:14:09.200 --> 0:14:14.600 cloud the size of a man's hand. See, it's not 0:14:14.679 --> 0:14:18.840 the size of the cloud that determines the size of 0:14:18.880 --> 0:14:24.480 the blessing. It's not the amount of the oil. It's 0:14:24.520 --> 0:14:28.440 not how smart I am, how well educated I am. 0:14:28.960 --> 0:14:33.360 It's not even my estimation of myself. If God calls 0:14:33.440 --> 0:14:36.680 me and chooses me, Nothing on earth. 0:14:36.480 --> 0:14:39.600 Shall be able to stop me. Shall If you believe 0:14:39.640 --> 0:14:40.520 that in the back of the. 0:14:40.600 --> 0:14:50.920 Room and check your oil. It might not be much, 0:14:51.000 --> 0:14:56.640 but it's not nothing. It's not nothing. And I think 0:14:56.640 --> 0:14:57.880 it's harder than ever to. 0:14:59.680 --> 0:15:04.920 Feel okay about our oil because we got we got 0:15:04.920 --> 0:15:08.640 too many ways to check other people's oil, whether it's 0:15:08.640 --> 0:15:12.280 their vacation, because that's about to start, you know where 0:15:12.280 --> 0:15:15.080 everybody's posting the happiest moments of their vacation this summer. 0:15:16.600 --> 0:15:18.560 And it's gonna make you feel like a crappy parrot, 0:15:20.120 --> 0:15:22.120 and it's gonna make you question your oil because they're 0:15:22.120 --> 0:15:23.880 gonna all be smiling in the picture. Now, let me 0:15:23.880 --> 0:15:26.120 tell you something that happened right before the picture. It 0:15:26.240 --> 0:15:29.600 was almost a divorce. Those kids almost went out for adoption. 0:15:30.480 --> 0:15:35.960 But they can't put that on the ground. Do somebody say, 0:15:36.080 --> 0:15:42.800 enjoy your oil? So I'll tell exactly what the devil's doing. 0:15:42.880 --> 0:15:45.120 He can't take your gift, he can't take your calling, 0:15:45.160 --> 0:15:47.240 the gifts and calling of God or without repentance. 0:15:47.240 --> 0:15:48.840 God doesn't change his mind about what he gave you. 0:15:50.320 --> 0:15:52.320 If he can get you to think it so little 0:15:52.360 --> 0:15:57.640 that you don't use it. He can starve you. I 0:15:57.720 --> 0:16:02.520 realized that God gave me a ministry. The devil can't 0:16:02.560 --> 0:16:06.880 take the ministry that God gave me. But if I 0:16:06.960 --> 0:16:12.080 give up my joy, then I will forfeit my ministry. 0:16:12.720 --> 0:16:16.960 If I give up my joy, I will forfeit my marriage. 0:16:17.160 --> 0:16:18.600 The devil can't take my marriage. 0:16:20.280 --> 0:16:23.120 But if he can get me to despise my oil, 0:16:24.120 --> 0:16:26.560 like to make me think I'm not a very good husband, 0:16:27.600 --> 0:16:29.640 or I don't have what it takes to be a dad, 0:16:31.120 --> 0:16:33.560 then I'll say it's nothing when it's really something. Noticed 0:16:33.560 --> 0:16:35.800 by the end of this passage, this woman has a 0:16:35.840 --> 0:16:36.800 house full of oil. 0:16:38.200 --> 0:16:39.160 It was not. 0:16:39.240 --> 0:16:48.760 Until she poured the oil that it became more. And 0:16:48.800 --> 0:16:51.800 when you feel poor, you don't poor. 0:16:54.000 --> 0:16:55.280 Because you hold on to what you have. 0:16:56.640 --> 0:16:59.000 So when you feel like a poor parent, it keeps 0:16:59.040 --> 0:17:04.480 you from one to try talk to me. And I 0:17:04.480 --> 0:17:06.480 can go from here to hear real quick as a parent, 0:17:07.280 --> 0:17:09.320 real really quick as a parent. 0:17:10.840 --> 0:17:13.240 You look so perfected right now. 0:17:13.440 --> 0:17:16.439 I can't figure out where one real person in this 0:17:16.520 --> 0:17:20.560 whole church is that will say that even if you 0:17:20.600 --> 0:17:26.840 figure out how to change diapers, they stop wearing them. 0:17:27.119 --> 0:17:31.359 Doesn't work anymore. So like there are things about me 0:17:31.400 --> 0:17:36.199 and things about you that make us feel insecure and 0:17:36.240 --> 0:17:39.800 make us say, you know, it's nothing when it's really something, 0:17:40.280 --> 0:17:45.720 but it seems small. It seems small, and it's overshadowed 0:17:45.720 --> 0:17:49.520 by something that seems when the need seems so big 0:17:49.520 --> 0:17:52.240 compared to the supply, you call it nothing and you 0:17:52.240 --> 0:17:55.680 don't use it, and so it doesn't multiply. You send 0:17:55.680 --> 0:17:57.760 the crowds away so they can get something to eat, 0:17:58.440 --> 0:18:00.680 and you give away the opportunities go gave you kus. 0:18:02.119 --> 0:18:05.159 It's nothing. What you have is nothing. The need the 0:18:05.240 --> 0:18:05.920 need is great. 0:18:07.359 --> 0:18:11.639 And my marriage just hit a sixteen year milestone. 0:18:11.680 --> 0:18:16.560 We celebrated sixteen years of marriage. I love when I do. 0:18:16.560 --> 0:18:20.080 That because there's always people that have been forty years 0:18:20.119 --> 0:18:24.919 and they look at me like what I think it's significant. 0:18:24.960 --> 0:18:30.880 I took Holly to Oak Steakhouse. We dined together. Let 0:18:30.880 --> 0:18:33.520 me tell you how good the date was. The date 0:18:33.720 --> 0:18:39.399 was so good. When we got home, the babysitter was 0:18:39.440 --> 0:18:42.240 texting us that the fire alarm was going off in 0:18:42.280 --> 0:18:42.680 the house. 0:18:43.880 --> 0:18:44.400 It was a. 0:18:44.320 --> 0:18:47.919 Storm in Charlotte that night and something tripped the smoke alarm. 0:18:48.040 --> 0:18:50.880 Abby's freaking out on the porch, and I had other 0:18:50.920 --> 0:19:04.680 plans for post date. So I'm driving fast down the driveway, right, 0:19:07.200 --> 0:19:08.160 Can I talk to y'all? 0:19:10.680 --> 0:19:13.040 But the kids are on the porch and the. 0:19:12.920 --> 0:19:14.879 Fire alarms going off in the house and it's not 0:19:14.960 --> 0:19:18.560 a fire, and it's the alarm system is bugging. 0:19:18.160 --> 0:19:20.560 Out, and she already tried to take the battery out. 0:19:21.080 --> 0:19:25.240 So Abby is freaking out, and I'm holding her because 0:19:25.280 --> 0:19:25.800 she's seven. 0:19:26.160 --> 0:19:29.399 And when I grabbed her, she stopped crying. And I 0:19:29.520 --> 0:19:32.280 felt like the dad of the. 0:19:32.280 --> 0:19:35.680 Decade because I knew what to do. I knew if 0:19:35.720 --> 0:19:41.560 I started singing Hamilton from the Hamilton soundtrack that Abby 0:19:41.600 --> 0:19:45.679 would stop crying. And it worked and she stopped crying, 0:19:45.960 --> 0:19:48.760 and I felt like the man for about five minutes 0:19:49.440 --> 0:19:53.760 until we had to call the fire department, not to 0:19:53.800 --> 0:19:56.840 put out a fire, but to turn off the alarm. 0:19:56.920 --> 0:20:00.560 What made it worse was when they got there, when 0:20:00.680 --> 0:20:02.600 only the Braves showed up at my house. 0:20:03.280 --> 0:20:04.520 They're walking down the. 0:20:04.480 --> 0:20:07.520 Driveway the nicest firefighters you would ever want to see. 0:20:07.600 --> 0:20:08.920 Let's hear it for the firefighters. 0:20:09.520 --> 0:20:14.480 These men come walking down the driveway and my wife 0:20:14.600 --> 0:20:17.439 is the one in the house trying to fix the 0:20:17.480 --> 0:20:22.240 detectors because I don't know what to do. And I'm 0:20:22.280 --> 0:20:25.480 holding Abby and five minutes ago I was the man, 0:20:25.800 --> 0:20:29.600 and here come the firefighters and they're looking at me like, really, dude, 0:20:30.080 --> 0:20:32.720 And I can tell that the one that's coming in 0:20:32.880 --> 0:20:35.679 first goes to the church. He didn't say it, but 0:20:35.720 --> 0:20:38.560 he had that look in his eyes, like you're my pastor, 0:20:38.800 --> 0:20:41.520 and I'm ashamed of you. You're much bigger on the screen. 0:20:42.359 --> 0:20:49.360 What kind of man are you? So I didn't make 0:20:49.359 --> 0:20:52.240 eye contact. I just thanked them for their service, and 0:20:52.240 --> 0:20:54.800 they got it off and there was no carbon monoxide 0:20:54.840 --> 0:20:56.159 and we're alive to tell about it. 0:20:56.400 --> 0:21:01.080 Isn't it funny how I was the man one minute? 0:21:02.640 --> 0:21:05.080 But then now you got to understand it's little stuff. 0:21:05.880 --> 0:21:08.960 It's not always some big shame that the enemy brings 0:21:09.040 --> 0:21:09.920 to make you feel. 0:21:10.160 --> 0:21:11.640 This is where I always got it wrong. 0:21:11.680 --> 0:21:14.480 I thought that you had to go through something sexual 0:21:14.560 --> 0:21:18.440 that caused you this great traumatic shame to keep you 0:21:18.840 --> 0:21:20.040 from really trusting God. 0:21:20.119 --> 0:21:20.439 Or now. 0:21:20.440 --> 0:21:22.119 I thought maybe you had to go through a season 0:21:22.119 --> 0:21:24.720 of your life, you know, eight years in prison or 0:21:24.760 --> 0:21:27.040 something like that, and then you would live with regrets. 0:21:27.040 --> 0:21:27.800 But I found out. 0:21:27.720 --> 0:21:33.359 It is the seemingly insignificant insecurities that make you feel 0:21:33.400 --> 0:21:35.400 like I'm not a real man. 0:21:35.560 --> 0:21:37.200 I'm not a real mom. 0:21:37.280 --> 0:21:40.200 Now I'm yelling at my daughter just like my mom 0:21:40.280 --> 0:21:42.760 yelled at me, And I'm just repeating the cycle. And 0:21:42.840 --> 0:21:46.159 it causes you to despise your oil. And that's exactly 0:21:46.440 --> 0:21:49.280 what the enemy wants, is to use a small little 0:21:49.320 --> 0:21:56.480 thing to get you to miss your miracle, because your 0:21:56.960 --> 0:22:04.600 miracle is hidden in what you've been overlooking. And the 0:22:04.680 --> 0:22:08.399 reason you've been overlooking at is because it seems so 0:22:08.520 --> 0:22:10.879 small to you. And the reason it seems small to 0:22:10.920 --> 0:22:13.760 you is because you are insecure about what you're not. 0:22:18.119 --> 0:22:23.560 So he'll he'll work on you until you call it nothing. 0:22:24.840 --> 0:22:26.120 What do you have to be grateful for? 0:22:26.240 --> 0:22:30.240 Nothing? Really? Nothing? What are you good at? Nothing? 0:22:32.000 --> 0:22:33.480 We went around the table the other day and I 0:22:33.480 --> 0:22:35.680 asked a group of people, what are you really great at? 0:22:37.440 --> 0:22:39.199 And it took us all a long time to answer. 0:22:40.040 --> 0:22:40.840 I wonder why. 0:22:40.640 --> 0:22:44.399 That is because we're so humble, or because the enemy 0:22:44.440 --> 0:22:46.800 has messed with us so much now, because we're all 0:22:47.600 --> 0:22:51.440 on the verge of forty and we've gotten so familiar 0:22:52.200 --> 0:22:57.879 with our deficiency. When you've lived in a deficit for 0:22:57.920 --> 0:23:02.680 a long time, it overshadows the oil that you do have. 0:23:04.840 --> 0:23:06.679 He wants you to despise your oil, wants you to 0:23:06.680 --> 0:23:08.439 despise the season of life that you're in. 0:23:10.119 --> 0:23:11.480 He wants you to be thinking about. 0:23:11.240 --> 0:23:14.600 How much time you used to have back before, or 0:23:14.640 --> 0:23:18.680 how much time you're gonna have when Meanwhile, the question 0:23:18.720 --> 0:23:20.679 of the prophet is not what do you wish you 0:23:20.800 --> 0:23:21.600 had in your house? 0:23:22.880 --> 0:23:24.159 What do you have left? 0:23:25.640 --> 0:23:31.320 Because that's what God is going to bless what you 0:23:31.480 --> 0:23:32.639 have left. 0:23:34.119 --> 0:23:38.439 God is gonna bless what he gave you. 0:23:38.440 --> 0:23:43.720 You are his chosen vessel, and the oil you have 0:23:44.480 --> 0:23:47.640 is the oil you need. And the strengths you have 0:23:48.119 --> 0:23:52.200 are the strengths you need. And the experiences that you've 0:23:52.240 --> 0:23:55.280 had are the experiences that you need. 0:23:55.320 --> 0:23:59.359 But notice this, the oil only flows when it is poured. 0:24:01.520 --> 0:24:04.520 You can pray over it, you can cry over it, 0:24:04.840 --> 0:24:08.440 you can wish for it, but until you pour it, it 0:24:08.119 --> 0:24:12.120 will stay one small jar. If the enemy can't take 0:24:12.200 --> 0:24:15.400 your oil, he will try to get you to stop pouring. 0:24:15.840 --> 0:24:18.720 And some of you have stopped pouring. You got your 0:24:18.800 --> 0:24:22.480 heart broken. You poured your love into your last relationship 0:24:22.800 --> 0:24:25.520 and it didn't work out, and they left you and 0:24:25.560 --> 0:24:28.240 they hurt you, and they turned away from you. So 0:24:28.400 --> 0:24:32.760 you stop pouring, and when you stop pouring, it stops flowing. 0:24:33.040 --> 0:24:36.520 You used to encourage people, and then you got discouraged 0:24:36.680 --> 0:24:38.200 and you stopped encouraging. 0:24:38.560 --> 0:24:39.600 But God told. 0:24:39.400 --> 0:24:42.760 Me to tell you keep on pouring, because the more 0:24:42.840 --> 0:24:43.720 you pour. 0:24:43.960 --> 0:24:45.359 The more it's gonna flow. 0:24:45.840 --> 0:24:50.560 I feel I appreciate until somebody pray, until somebody pours 0:24:50.600 --> 0:24:57.639 out the praise you've got. Now, we tend to think 0:24:58.840 --> 0:25:02.520 I'll pour more when I I did more. But the 0:25:02.560 --> 0:25:04.800 way it works in the order of God is it 0:25:04.840 --> 0:25:09.399 becomes more as it is poured. Isn't it just like 0:25:09.600 --> 0:25:12.800 God to command you to pour something that you don't 0:25:12.800 --> 0:25:20.320 feel like you have enough of strange instruction, I don't 0:25:20.359 --> 0:25:27.639 have much pour it out. It's the weirdest strategy in 0:25:27.680 --> 0:25:30.479 the world. But I'm gonna tell you I think this 0:25:30.480 --> 0:25:34.720 stuff works. I think as you pour it out, it 0:25:34.800 --> 0:25:40.880 becomes more. Really, I'm convinced of him because I tried 0:25:40.920 --> 0:25:43.480 that thing where you feel sorry for yourself when you're discouraged. 0:25:44.520 --> 0:25:47.640 I tried the other thing where I encouraged somebody else 0:25:47.680 --> 0:25:51.399 when I felt discouraged. The first one took me deeper 0:25:51.440 --> 0:25:55.320 into my deficit and my discouragement. The second one is 0:25:55.359 --> 0:25:57.560 the weirdest thing because I didn't feel like I. 0:25:57.560 --> 0:26:01.639 Had it to give? How did somebody to encourage me? 0:26:03.080 --> 0:26:05.960 And bitterness will keep you from pouring what you have 0:26:06.119 --> 0:26:07.639 while you wait for what you want. 0:26:13.080 --> 0:26:16.320 And so then you stay poor. 0:26:16.960 --> 0:26:22.840 You stay frustrated, you stay stuck, you stay in bitterness. 0:26:22.960 --> 0:26:27.040 I wonder, what's the woman a little disappointed that the 0:26:27.040 --> 0:26:31.439 prophet told her to pour something. It's frustrating when you 0:26:31.480 --> 0:26:35.520 have to pour into someone else when you really wish 0:26:35.520 --> 0:26:39.800 someone would pour into you. Yet the more you pour, 0:26:41.400 --> 0:26:45.679 the more it flows. I'm just telling you what to 0:26:45.760 --> 0:26:47.840 do the next time. I know you haven't had any 0:26:47.880 --> 0:26:49.800 struggles in the last seven years, but in case you 0:26:49.840 --> 0:26:56.359 go through something this year, the more you pour, the 0:26:56.359 --> 0:27:03.240 more it flows. The more you pour, the more it flows. 0:27:04.720 --> 0:27:09.399 You're getting it over here. And so the devils will 0:27:09.480 --> 0:27:12.240 crafty that that He will put you in a state 0:27:12.520 --> 0:27:16.040 where you'll tell yourself, nobody appreciates me, so you'll stop 0:27:16.119 --> 0:27:21.639 giving yourself, and it will it will reinforce that. 0:27:21.720 --> 0:27:23.080 Self fulfilling prophecy. 0:27:23.160 --> 0:27:27.240 Nobody appreciates me, They won't appreciate you because you'll stop pouring, 0:27:27.520 --> 0:27:29.720 and then no longer have anything to appreciate about you. 0:27:34.920 --> 0:27:36.720 That's that's why Holly said the. 0:27:36.680 --> 0:27:40.760 Other day, they don't they don't even care what I cook. 0:27:41.560 --> 0:27:45.320 She's talking about the kids, She said, they only want 0:27:45.359 --> 0:27:49.640 the noodles. She made this meal. She made this meal. 0:27:49.960 --> 0:27:53.439 And if you're considering marrying, uh, you know, in this 0:27:53.680 --> 0:27:55.800 age that we live in right now, there's a lot 0:27:55.800 --> 0:27:57.399 of things that can attract you to a person. 0:27:58.040 --> 0:28:00.479 I appreciate many qualities about my wife. 0:28:00.960 --> 0:28:03.159 I appreciate the fact that she has excelled to the 0:28:03.160 --> 0:28:05.480 point where she now, can I tell you something. 0:28:05.840 --> 0:28:12.320 She grows her own Swiss shard. Do you know how 0:28:12.440 --> 0:28:13.320 boogie that is? 0:28:15.720 --> 0:28:24.719 So here's some homegrown Swiss shard and some chicken. And 0:28:24.760 --> 0:28:28.600 when the kids went back for seconds, she said, they 0:28:28.640 --> 0:28:31.720 don't care about the chicken. They don't care about the 0:28:31.720 --> 0:28:37.600 homegrown Swiss shard. They just want the noodles. That dollar 0:28:37.680 --> 0:28:42.280 twenty nine box of noodles. They would be happy with 0:28:42.400 --> 0:28:45.720 just the noodles. I said, girl, I know exactly how 0:28:45.760 --> 0:28:48.720 you feel. I feel that way sometimes when I'm preaching, 0:28:51.520 --> 0:28:54.600 the devil will tell me that, you know, they really 0:28:54.640 --> 0:28:57.800 don't care. They're not going to remember this sermon. It's 0:28:57.800 --> 0:29:00.280 the craziest thing how I get into self pity, and 0:29:00.320 --> 0:29:04.160 it's like, you know, they don't appreciate my Swiss shard, 0:29:04.240 --> 0:29:08.800 my scriptural Swiss shard, my biblical chicken. 0:29:09.280 --> 0:29:11.760 But I looked at her. I said, girl, if. 0:29:11.600 --> 0:29:15.040 You don't cook it for anybody else, keep cooking the 0:29:15.160 --> 0:29:19.040 chicken for me. It's not even about those little breads. 0:29:19.640 --> 0:29:23.080 Let them eat the noodles. Give me the chicken. I 0:29:23.200 --> 0:29:31.480 want the Swiss sharp. Now, you gotta have this sense 0:29:31.520 --> 0:29:34.400 in your life, servant of God, that I'm not doing 0:29:34.440 --> 0:29:38.880 it for them. Because sometimes you will pour into people 0:29:39.160 --> 0:29:40.560 and they won't say a word. 0:29:41.320 --> 0:29:46.040 But they're not your sauce. I said, they're not your sauce. 0:29:48.200 --> 0:29:51.560 I might be pouring into people, but I'm pouring for 0:29:51.640 --> 0:29:56.040 the Lord. So I can keep pouring. If you appreciate me, 0:29:56.440 --> 0:30:00.520 I can keep pouring. If you don't, I can keep pouring. Stay, 0:30:00.920 --> 0:30:02.280 I could keep pouring if. 0:30:02.160 --> 0:30:07.160 You walk out. Who am I helping? 0:30:07.240 --> 0:30:17.680 Make some noise? So Swiss sharp Frisian, I'm so grateful. 0:30:19.120 --> 0:30:21.640 I'm so grateful that God kept pouring into me when 0:30:21.680 --> 0:30:27.080 I seemed unprofitable, and so I got to keep pouring. 0:30:29.160 --> 0:30:32.200 It said that she kept pouring. 0:30:33.360 --> 0:30:37.720 I wonder how stupid she felt when she first started pouring. 0:30:38.840 --> 0:30:40.880 Now once it starts working, it was probably kind of 0:30:40.880 --> 0:30:44.080 fun And I will point out one thing that I 0:30:44.080 --> 0:30:45.680 thought was kind of funny. We were talking about this 0:30:45.720 --> 0:30:49.040 JJ were we How Elisha told her in verse three, 0:30:49.080 --> 0:30:50.640 give me the verse go around and ask all your. 0:30:50.560 --> 0:30:51.760 Neighbors for empty jars. 0:30:53.160 --> 0:30:58.880 And then in verse five it says she left him 0:30:58.880 --> 0:31:00.840 and shut the door behind her and her sons they 0:31:00.840 --> 0:31:01.880 brought the jars to her. 0:31:02.120 --> 0:31:06.440 She made her kids go to the neighbors. You heard 0:31:06.480 --> 0:31:06.800 what the. 0:31:06.760 --> 0:31:12.000 Man said, But she did one more thing I want 0:31:12.080 --> 0:31:15.080 to point out, and it's what enabled her to pour. 0:31:15.320 --> 0:31:20.640 She shut the doors. And that's such an important detail 0:31:21.600 --> 0:31:25.520 in this text because it is what you pour out 0:31:25.520 --> 0:31:31.840 in private when no one is looking, and a lot 0:31:31.880 --> 0:31:36.120 of us are so busy praying for more oil, more opportunity, 0:31:36.960 --> 0:31:42.040 more more, more, more more. 0:31:41.720 --> 0:31:49.760 And God says, poor, poor, poor, poor, poor, And the 0:31:49.760 --> 0:31:53.640 more you pour, the more it flows. 0:31:54.800 --> 0:31:56.600 You're never going to pour out what you have while 0:31:56.640 --> 0:31:59.760 you're so busy consulting what everybody else has. 0:32:02.560 --> 0:32:06.320 You'd be like the woman. You'd be like the woman 0:32:06.360 --> 0:32:06.920 who came in. 0:32:06.880 --> 0:32:11.600 And poured out that expensive fragrance on the feet of Jesus. 0:32:11.600 --> 0:32:16.440 And all the men around called it a waste, and 0:32:16.520 --> 0:32:24.600 she called it worship. Because you're always you're always, you're 0:32:24.600 --> 0:32:26.520 always going to feel like it's not enough, and even 0:32:26.560 --> 0:32:29.280 if you feel like it is enough, you feel like 0:32:29.320 --> 0:32:31.760 it doesn't matter. Have you had a day like that 0:32:31.800 --> 0:32:33.560 in the last seven where you felt like this doesn't 0:32:33.600 --> 0:32:34.080 even matter. 0:32:37.040 --> 0:32:38.320 Shut the door and keep pouring. 0:32:40.120 --> 0:32:42.000 In fact, sometimes the best thing to do is shut 0:32:42.000 --> 0:32:54.160 your mouth and keep pouring, and keep pouring. Because the 0:32:54.280 --> 0:32:59.000 oil only became more when it was in motion, and 0:32:59.080 --> 0:33:03.720 the oil only fled when the vessels were ready. I 0:33:03.720 --> 0:33:06.000 don't think this message is really about the oil at all. 0:33:07.240 --> 0:33:08.920 I think it's about the vessels. 0:33:10.400 --> 0:33:12.760 Because when Elishah told her to go around to her neighbors, 0:33:12.760 --> 0:33:16.520 he gave her a very specific type of vessel to request. 0:33:17.840 --> 0:33:22.720 He said, make sure they're empty. Make sure they're empty. 0:33:23.720 --> 0:33:29.479 God can't fill what's already for that's why it's so 0:33:29.520 --> 0:33:34.080 important that you pour out your pride. That's why it's 0:33:34.080 --> 0:33:38.440 so important that we pour out our own opinions and 0:33:38.520 --> 0:33:43.080 come before the Lord empty, because listen, when the vessels. 0:33:44.160 --> 0:33:49.040 Are ready, the oil will flow. 0:33:50.840 --> 0:33:53.520 And it's something strange about these vessels that we only 0:33:53.600 --> 0:33:55.320 learned with a New Testament revelation. 0:33:56.160 --> 0:33:57.160 This is the Second King's for. 0:33:58.480 --> 0:34:00.880 But if you jump a couple of centuries over the 0:34:00.880 --> 0:34:04.960 Second Corinthians For, you get the full message, where Paul says, 0:34:04.960 --> 0:34:10.520 we have this treasure in earthen vessels. Why would God 0:34:10.560 --> 0:34:14.960 put something so special in such a cracked vessel. What 0:34:15.160 --> 0:34:18.400 keeps you from showing up is your cracks and your conflicts. 0:34:20.800 --> 0:34:23.239 But that is the very place that the blessing flows through. 0:34:26.320 --> 0:34:28.040 Paul said, we have this treasure in earth. 0:34:27.880 --> 0:34:31.400 And vessels, that the excellency of the power might be 0:34:31.440 --> 0:34:35.239 from God, not from us. One season in our church 0:34:35.280 --> 0:34:39.040 that I was feeling particularly overwhelmed, I said to Holly, 0:34:39.120 --> 0:34:41.959 I just don't feel like I'm the pastor that they needed. 0:34:42.040 --> 0:34:44.640 The reason, I said, it is because the need was 0:34:44.680 --> 0:34:47.319 so great and my experience was so small. At this 0:34:47.360 --> 0:34:50.399 particular point, I had just turned thirty and the church 0:34:50.520 --> 0:34:53.120 was already about the same size as the town I 0:34:53.160 --> 0:35:00.800 grew up in. That'll make you stop in pause, That'll 0:35:00.840 --> 0:35:03.560 make you feel like not enough if you ever felt 0:35:03.560 --> 0:35:04.120 like not enough? 0:35:04.120 --> 0:35:04.600 Wave of me. 0:35:05.000 --> 0:35:06.880 I don't like to do this alone. It's a very 0:35:06.960 --> 0:35:11.319 vulnerable feeling. Yeah, I said, I don't feel like I'm 0:35:11.360 --> 0:35:14.000 the pastor that they need. She looked back at me 0:35:14.080 --> 0:35:28.160 cold blooded and said, you're the one we've got. Y'all 0:35:28.160 --> 0:35:31.160 are clapping at me, but I'm saying it to you. 0:35:31.160 --> 0:35:34.279 You're the mom they got. You're the dad they got. 0:35:35.480 --> 0:35:38.760 You're the son they've got. You're the daughter they've got. 0:35:39.520 --> 0:35:46.160 You're the one God chose. You are his chosen vessel, 0:35:47.000 --> 0:35:52.120 and he chose you not in spite of your cracks, 0:35:53.000 --> 0:35:57.799 but because of them. That ensures that people will not 0:35:58.000 --> 0:36:02.040 compliment the vessel. They will value the oil. It is 0:36:02.120 --> 0:36:09.200 what God put inside of you, but you've got to 0:36:09.200 --> 0:36:14.160 pour it out. I want to pray for you today. 0:36:14.200 --> 0:36:15.880 Stand to your feet because I want to pray for 0:36:15.960 --> 0:36:21.879 you in this moment. If you've been in a deficit emotionally, spiritually, relationally, financially. 0:36:23.600 --> 0:36:25.680 Deficits come in many different varieties. 0:36:28.880 --> 0:36:32.279 But if you are that empty vessel today and you 0:36:32.360 --> 0:36:35.200 come to the end of yourself, I got good news 0:36:35.239 --> 0:36:40.160 for you. That's the starting place for God's supply to 0:36:40.239 --> 0:36:42.240 be poured out in your life. And My God shall 0:36:42.280 --> 0:36:46.239 supply all of your needs according to his glory, not 0:36:46.280 --> 0:36:50.840 according to your quantity of oil, but according to his 0:36:50.920 --> 0:36:57.160 glorious riches. I appreached this message today with the hopes 0:36:58.360 --> 0:37:02.200 that in this moment you would see yourself as a 0:37:02.280 --> 0:37:06.920 vessel that God is ready to fill. When the vessels 0:37:06.920 --> 0:37:12.399 are ready, the oil will flow. And it's good when 0:37:12.400 --> 0:37:15.680 you feel empty. It's good when you feel like you're 0:37:15.719 --> 0:37:20.120 not enough. It's good when you know your need, because 0:37:20.160 --> 0:37:24.080 then you remember your source. Right now, in this moment, 0:37:25.560 --> 0:37:28.239 I want to ask that everybody who needs a touch 0:37:28.280 --> 0:37:30.759 from God today in an area of your life where 0:37:30.760 --> 0:37:32.960 you've been feeling deficient, I want to ask that you 0:37:33.040 --> 0:37:34.799 just close your eyes, lift your hands to Heaven, and 0:37:34.840 --> 0:37:36.920 forget about all the people around you. Let's shut the 0:37:36.920 --> 0:37:41.799 door for a moment, and let's come before God in 0:37:41.840 --> 0:37:44.719 honesty and sincerity. Like this woman did with the prophet, 0:37:45.920 --> 0:37:48.240 she knew where to go first. 0:37:50.480 --> 0:37:53.720 She took her needs to the Man of God. 0:37:54.920 --> 0:37:58.720 She didn't run around from neighbor to neighbor to neighbor 0:37:58.920 --> 0:38:00.400 like we tend to do some times. 0:38:01.600 --> 0:38:02.840 She went to God first. 0:38:04.760 --> 0:38:06.880 If we seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, all 0:38:06.920 --> 0:38:08.160 these things will be added to us. 0:38:08.200 --> 0:38:11.520 But if we run around. 0:38:11.920 --> 0:38:16.200 If we don't open our hearts before Him, we will die. 0:38:16.840 --> 0:38:20.920 For the lack of what he has already provided. There 0:38:20.960 --> 0:38:23.960 is oil in your house. There is a reason to 0:38:24.000 --> 0:38:27.160 be grateful. There is a strength in this season of 0:38:27.200 --> 0:38:32.239 your life. And Father, today, with our hands lifted up 0:38:33.400 --> 0:38:37.640 and with our hearts open, and with our minds renewed, 0:38:38.719 --> 0:38:43.439 we thank you for the oil we have. Somebody say, 0:38:43.480 --> 0:38:47.880 thank you Lord for my oil. God, we're sorry for 0:38:48.000 --> 0:38:52.560 complaining about the oil that we lost, or we're sorry 0:38:52.640 --> 0:38:56.799 for comparing our oil supply to others. We come to 0:38:56.840 --> 0:38:59.600 you today in humility of spirit, declaring that what you 0:38:59.680 --> 0:39:03.080 have done given is all that you require. We thank 0:39:03.120 --> 0:39:05.520 you for the gift of your grace in our lives. 0:39:06.400 --> 0:39:09.560 We thank you for your mercy in this moment. We 0:39:09.560 --> 0:39:12.279 thank you for your enabling power you're annointing for this 0:39:12.400 --> 0:39:13.560 season of our lives. 0:39:14.120 --> 0:39:16.000 That where we are is where we're supposed to be. 0:39:16.080 --> 0:39:18.239 It's by design God. 0:39:18.280 --> 0:39:20.239 We determine in our hearts in this moment not to 0:39:20.280 --> 0:39:23.560 become bitter about what we've poured out that we didn't 0:39:23.560 --> 0:39:26.239 receive a return on. We declare that you are the 0:39:26.239 --> 0:39:28.960 source of our strength, and you are the strength of 0:39:28.960 --> 0:39:32.160 our lives. And so we lift our eyes to the hills. 0:39:32.719 --> 0:39:36.080 Our help comes from you. Our joy comes from you, 0:39:36.719 --> 0:39:40.400 and you are more than enough to meet every need. Father, 0:39:40.480 --> 0:39:43.479 we lift our eyes to Heaven today. Would you fill 0:39:43.480 --> 0:39:46.440 our cups to the top. We thank you that goodness 0:39:46.480 --> 0:39:50.480 and mercy flow over our cup overflows. You are with 0:39:50.600 --> 0:39:53.920 us in this moment. We declare that your presence is 0:39:53.960 --> 0:39:58.120 more than enough, Your word is more than enough. Spirit 0:39:58.200 --> 0:40:01.400 of God fall fresh on your people now, a fresh 0:40:01.400 --> 0:40:03.560 out pouring, a fresh anointing. 0:40:04.080 --> 0:40:06.359 May they receive it in the old power of your 0:40:06.440 --> 0:40:12.640 great name, Jesus, Thank you for joining us. 0:40:12.920 --> 0:40:15.400 Special thanks to those of you who give generously to 0:40:15.480 --> 0:40:18.960 this ministry. Is because of you that this ministry is possible. 0:40:19.400 --> 0:40:21.600 You can click the link in the description to give 0:40:21.680 --> 0:40:25.839 now or visit Elevationchurch dot org slash podcast for more 0:40:25.840 --> 0:40:29.640 information and if you enjoyed the podcast, you can subscribe. 0:40:29.920 --> 0:40:31.280 You can share it with your friends. 0:40:31.560 --> 0:40:33.840 You can click the share button, take a screenshot and 0:40:33.880 --> 0:40:36.000 share it on your social stories and tag us at 0:40:36.000 --> 0:40:36.879 Elevation Church. 0:40:36.920 --> 0:40:38.600 Thanks again for listening. God bless you.