152 - The Life of an Empty Vessel Filled with Oil, Guided by the Holy Spirit#
152 - The Life of an Empty Vessel Filled with Oil, Guided by the Holy Spirit
(JP Text Group - Chen Chen Compilation)
Scripture: 2 Kings 4:1-7
2 Kings 4:1-7 A wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, "Your servant, my husband, is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord. And the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves." 2 Elisha said to her, "What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?" And she said, "Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil." 3 Then he said, "Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors—empty vessels; do not gather just a few.
4 And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones." 5 So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured it out. 6 Now it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, "Bring me another vessel." And he said to her, "There is not another vessel." So the oil ceased. 7 Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, "Go, sell the oil and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest."
The title of our sharing today is The Life of an Empty Vessel Filled with Oil, Relying on the Holy Spirit.
Let us pray together:
Heavenly Father, we thank and praise You for Your grace. It is You who continuously supplies us every day. Let us live each day in Your grace. Without Your provision, we cannot survive. As a new week begins, we come before You, looking solely to Your supply.
At this moment, Holy Spirit, guide each of our hearts. Let us deepen our understanding of You through Your words. We look to You for the problems in our lives. Through Your words, let us be renewed in strength. Let us find answers within You. Thank You and praise You, Lord, for every brother and sister who has come before You today. In the name of our Lord Jesus, we pray, Amen.
Today we see that something has happened: a prophet had a wife, and after the prophet died, his wife fell into a state of great poverty.
First, I want to tell everyone: poverty is not God's will. Amen! Can you understand that? Poverty is not God's will! God wants His children to live abundantly in Him. Therefore, "poverty" does not necessarily mean that you "lack money." What I mean by "poverty" refers to a lack in many areas; that is "poverty."
For example, many people are chronically ill; they are "poor." Because they lack health. Some people always lose certain things in life, for instance, they have particularly bad luck; such people actually lack God's blessings. We can say that such people are "poor."
In the Bible, God wants His children to be prosperous, and this prosperity refers to every aspect of your life, where God allows you to be fully sufficient. So when problems arise in our lives, what kind of mindset should we have to face our current situation? It's actually very simple. If we encounter difficulties in life, then for unbelievers, it becomes complaining, grumbling, and even saying, "Whoever I meet, I will tell them how great my difficulties are." But can this solve the problem? No. In fact, you will find that when you tell others about your bitterness, they become infected by it too. Right?
Today, God wants to tell His children: you do not have to live like this; God wants to give you a new way of living, which is to rely on the Holy Spirit. Amen!
Let's first look at today's scripture.
A wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, "Your servant, my husband, is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord. And the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves."
Many people, after something happens, always ask God, "Why? Why has such a thing happened to me?" Today, we see that in Elisha's time, Elijah had already established a "school of prophets," and Elisha was one of his disciples.
In fact, there were many other disciples of prophets. So how could such a person, who wholeheartedly served God, encounter such problems at home? Many people always ask, "Why has this happened to me?" Actually, this is because the focus is wrong.
In today's scripture, this woman did not go around saying how much she was suffering; she went directly to God. Let me explain the background first. So what happened in this woman's home? The prophet here refers to someone sent to proclaim His revelation.
In the "Old Testament," the Bible was not fully written, so at that time, people did not know what God's will was, so they needed "men of God," they needed "prophets" to tell the people what God's will was. Therefore, the role of the prophet is to convey God's message to His people. They are God's "spokespersons."
In simple terms, "men of God" or "prophets" represent God. Do you understand? "Prophets" represent God, speaking to the people on earth. Now, is there a "priest" on earth? "Priests" represent the people serving before God. Amen! Can everyone clarify this relationship? So when you look at a "man of God," you should not see him as an ordinary person; you should see him as what? As God. That is correct. Because the words he speaks represent "God's will."
Similarly, today, for those who convey God's will, we should regard the words they speak as received from God. Amen! In the New Testament, many churches listened to Paul preach; they did not think it was Paul speaking; they thought it was God speaking to each of us through Paul.
Because within this, there are some issues: the things that this "man of God" conveys often exceed our imagination. In other words, they are different from your rationality. Because he has received some words from God. So the most important thing is that we should treat the words of the "man of God" as "God's will."
Now there is a principle here, what principle? It cannot be said that you must listen to every word of the "man of God." What he speaks must have a principle; all "prophets" and "men of God" have a characteristic in their messages: they lead people to God, turning people back to God.
If the people go astray, then the words of the "man of God" are: "You have gone astray; turn back to God." That is the role of such a "spokesperson." It is not that the "man of God" says, "My leg hurts; come over and rub my leg." It is not like that. He is to bring people before God. Hallelujah! So Elisha is a "prophet," also referred to as a "man of God."
First, we need to understand this: during the reign of Ahab, there was a very wicked queen named Jezebel, who led the entire people of Israel into a form of idolatry, even persecuting, ostracizing, and killing those who truly believed in the Lord.
So today, based on the historical background of that time, the reason why the wife of this prophet's disciple died is likely because she was killed by Jezebel's subordinates. She died as a martyr for the Lord. This has been recorded in Jewish texts.
The prophet referred to here is Obadiah, a prophet during the time of King Ahab. When King Ahab persecuted God's prophets, he hid fifty of God's servants. Especially during the three and a half years of no rain, the prophet Obadiah provided food for them. Obadiah sold all his possessions to supply food and drink for these fifty servants of God.
Later on, when the time was not yet over, he borrowed money to supply these servants of God, and after he died, this situation arose. His wife had no choice but to repay the debt. Because it was her husband who borrowed, she had to repay the debt.
According to the situation of the Israelites at that time, the law stipulated that if you could not repay the debt, you would come and sell yourself as a slave to earn money to repay your debt. There was a time limit, such as seven years or a certain number of years, and after the time limit, you could be free.
In this situation, the woman said, "Your servant, my husband, is dead; he feared the Lord, as you know." This proves that Elisha knew who this servant was. He also knew that he was indeed working for God, and now his family was in such trouble. So generally, from a worldly perspective, one might say, "You serve God, and in the end, you have such an outcome; isn't that quite miserable?" Many people might feel discouraged. But in fact, in any environment, if you choose to rely on God, He can turn you around from hardship. Amen!
Continuing, "And now the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves."
So one thing we need to understand is: when you encounter difficulties in life, what should you do? First, do not complain. Complaining does not help at all. So I want to tell the brothers and sisters that if today you encounter some "poverty," some "problems," some "lack," do not complain; instead of complaining, come before God.
If you say, "I don't know how to pray, what should I do?" Come to church, pray with other brothers and sisters, or tell me your difficulties, and I can pray for you. This is mutual help among the body. Because we are members of one body. So in this situation, this woman actually did the right thing; she went directly to Elisha.
Elisha, being a servant of God, would not say, "Oh, you poor thing." You see, if we tell our difficulties to our friends, how would they respond? "Oh, I really sympathize with you. You see, your husband worked for God, borrowed so much money, and died; oh, your two sons are so pitiful; life is so hard."
So how do we comfort others?
In her situation, can we not comfort her? So brothers and sisters, if you encounter such people around you, do not say, "Oh, I really sympathize with you." Instead, bring them before God to completely solve their problems.
You see, this woman found Elisha, and what did Elisha ask her? "What can I do for you?"
The first point of today's sharing is, What can I do for you? What do you have in your house?
If you encounter some problems in life today, may you, like this woman, seek our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus is a powerful person, just like this man of God today; only He can solve your problems. That is why He can boldly say, "What do you want me to do for you?" Right? Otherwise, would we dare to say such words? No one would easily say that, right? When someone has difficulties, you say, "What do you want me to do for you?"
Brothers and sisters, when you seek the Lord Jesus, or when you hope others will pray for you, first, you need to be clear about what kind of prayer you want others to pray for you. What do you hope others can do for you?
Actually, what I fear the most is when some people say, "Teacher Ren, please pray for me," and I say, "Sure, what do you want me to pray for?" They say, "Just pray whatever." Then after a while, they ask, "Teacher Ren, did God speak to you?" I say, "No." Then a few days later, they say, "Teacher, pray for me." I say, "Sure, what do you want me to pray for?" They say, "Just pray whatever."
Actually, I did pray, but they never want to express their problems, so we cannot solve their issues, can we? Even today, many people pray to God like this: "Lord, please bless me!" Is God's blessing present every day? Yes. So when you pray to God, you must be specific.
Like this woman today, when she sought Elisha, Elisha said, "What can I do for you?" Brothers and sisters, this is a word that only God can say; it means He can solve all your problems. Hallelujah!
Today, who is God's representative? Pastors, teachers, preachers, etc., they are all servants of God, Amen! They preach the words of Jesus Christ. When there are issues, if you are indeed in sickness or distress, perhaps you can no longer hear any voice from God or understand any of God's will; at this time, you come before the pastor, the teacher, or a faithful brother or sister, and let them pray with you.
But please remember, when you ask them to pray for you, you must tell them your situation and what you hope they will pray for. Amen! This must be expressed; you cannot say, "Just pray whatever, and see if God speaks to you." We are not doing prophetic worship, so when encountering specific problems in life, just pray specifically.
Now, let us look at a scripture, Matthew 20:32-34,
Jesus stood still and called them, saying, "What do you want me to do for you?" They said to Him, "Lord, that our eyes may be opened." So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him."
What was the background of this scripture? The background is: there was a blind man named Bartimaeus. Two blind men came to Jesus, crying out to Him, and Jesus stood still and called them, saying, "What do you want me to do for you?" They said, "Lord, that our eyes may be opened." This request was very specific.
For example, today many people here have a misconception. If this blind man came to Jesus and said, "Lord, please help me!" and Jesus said, "What do you want me to do for you?" If this person said, "Give me two dollars!" is that a request? Yes. So brothers and sisters, when you come before Jesus, you need to be specific about what you want Him to do for you.
These two men clearly said, "Lord, that our eyes may be opened!" Amen! They knew that Jesus had such power, and they hoped their eyes would be opened. So what happened next? Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes, and immediately they received sight and followed Jesus. Amen! Brothers and sisters, this is our Lord Jesus Christ; you can seek Jesus for any matter, but remember, let Him pray specifically. Amen!
Now let’s look at another scripture, Judges 6:11-14,
11 And the angel of the Lord came and sat under the oak at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. 12 And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, "The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor."
13 And Gideon said to him, "Please, sir, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, 'Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?' But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian." 14 And the Lord turned to him and said, "Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?"
At that time, the Midianites often attacked the Israelites, so the angel of the Lord came to Ophrah and sat under the oak, where Joash's son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress. The Midianites often bullied them. In this situation, the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon and said, "O mighty man of valor, the Lord is with you."
You see, this is originally a very good word, but Gideon looked at his current living environment and situation, and he said some negative words. He said, "Sir, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? Our fathers did not say that the Lord brought us up from Egypt? Where are His wonderful deeds? Now He has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian."
What kind of faith did Gideon have at first? He only looked at the environment and not at God. God had already told him, "O mighty man of valor, the Lord is with you." He said, "If He is with me, then why are there such things? Where is the power of that God who saved the Israelites from Egypt? Now God has forsaken us and let us fall into the hands of our enemies."
If we cannot see that God is with us, if we cannot see the power of the Holy Spirit upon us, we will emit such bitter messages. But as we continue to read, the Lord looked at Gideon and said, "Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?"
So brothers and sisters, at any time, we must learn not to complain about our environment but to see that God can still overcome our environment.
In God's eyes, Gideon is a mighty man of valor, but when Gideon did not see God's power, he thought he could do nothing; he was just beating wheat in the winepress, so he said, "What can I do? I can only beat wheat."
Brothers and sisters, since you can beat wheat, God will use the ability you have now. Please remember, God wants to accomplish great things through what you have in your hands.
In Judges 6, it is mentioned that in the end, Gideon defeated 120,000 enemies with 300 men. What method did they use? Three hundred warriors, holding nothing but jars filled with oil, poured them into the enemy camp. Then the enemy camp caught fire, and the enemies began to kill each other.
Before this, something happened: many of the Midianite soldiers had a dream at night. What dream? They dreamed of a huge barley cake crushing them.
Brothers and sisters, at that time, Gideon was beating wheat in the winepress; the only thing he could conquer was that pile of wheat, right? But God said, "Okay, if you can conquer wheat, then I will use this ability in your hands to defeat your enemies." Hallelujah! God did not say today to create something out of nothing and let your enemies die. He uses the ability you have in your hands now. Hallelujah!
Returning to today's text, we know that God wants to use this widow or this woman, her only little bit of what she has at home, to accomplish great things. So when Elisha asked her, "What can I do for you? What do you have in your house?" She said, "Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil." This is all that this woman has now.
What can a jar of oil do? And it must be a small jar; the original text refers to a very small jar of oil. What can this jar of oil do? In our ordinary households, this jar of olive oil cannot do anything. It cannot solve her current debt problem.
So today I want to tell everyone that if you currently have debts financially, you need to meditate on this scripture. This woman has many debts, and her home has nothing; people want to take her two sons as slaves. In such an environment, all she has left is a small jar of oil.
But God wants to use this little jar of oil she has to accomplish great things. Amen! Because God is completely different from man. For us, what can this jar of oil do? It can do nothing. But for God, this little bit is enough. Amen! Brothers and sisters, having this jar of oil is enough.
So if you also hope to escape the curse of poverty like this widow, God does not use supernatural means. For example, can God solve this widow's poverty problem in many ways? For instance, can God turn your entire house into pure gold? Can He do that? Yes! But do you know how terrible the consequences would be? From then on, it might not just be two sons becoming slaves; the whole family might perish. What God wants to give them is safety, a worry-free abundance.
So many times, when we encounter debts, we hope, "Lord, when I go out, may something suddenly fall from the sky and hit me, and when I open my eyes, wow, a piece of gold fell on my head!" People hope to escape debts and poverty in this way; to put it bluntly, this is called "DAY DREAMING."
God never uses such means to solve our problems; otherwise, the consequences would be severe, and all Christians would stop working. So someone always asks me, "Teacher Ren, can I buy a lottery ticket?" I say, "Sure." You see, under grace, I say it's okay.
I say, but please remember, if you don't win, don't complain to God.
Do you understand what I mean?
You have the freedom to buy, but God has the freedom not to bless it. Just remember that. You cannot say, "Lord, I spent two dollars today; I must win the jackpot!" If you have such thoughts, I suggest you don't buy it. If you must contribute to the country's sports industry, we are very willing. Thank the Lord.
Many people, after becoming Christians, think, "Our God should be like this; when I have difficulties and encounter poverty, He will 'bang' and solve it for me in a supernatural way." But God does not use this way to bless us. Please remember, God does not want us to become lazy people. Amen! God wants us to use the ability we have in our hands to solve our difficulties. He wants to perform His miracles in our difficulties. Amen!
Now, we look at today's text, and we see that God used a method that sounds a bit complicated, but this method is one that all of us can use today. Let’s look at what Elisha said: "Go, borrow empty vessels from all your neighbors; do not borrow just a few. When you have come in, shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those vessels. Set aside the full ones."
Brothers and sisters, many times, our thoughts are too far from God's thoughts. We say this is impossible; we think this is unrealistic. But brothers and sisters, do you know? We believe in God's power, not in the power of reality.
Let’s think back to this woman; she has many external debts, and this debt is weighing heavily on her. When she came to find the man of God, the man of God gave her a method that sounds like a fairy tale. Who would have thought this method would work? I have only a little oil left, just a jar of oil, and then the man of God says, "Go back and pour that jar of oil into the jars." How many jars can she fill? And to borrow a bunch of vessels, what for? Isn't it hard to understand?
Brothers and sisters, many times we do not believe in Jesus enough, so we do not see miracles. Or we do not believe in the power of the Holy Spirit, and in this case, we limit the power of the Holy Spirit from flowing in our lives. In fact, do you know? Right now, during this process, the Holy Spirit is in your hearts; the Holy Spirit is among us. He can solve all your current problems.
So when you look to Jesus, do not think that this does not make sense rationally; yes, it does not make sense. What is pouring a jar of oil into a jar for? What is pouring it into a large vessel for? Is it to wash the vessel? No. The man of God said very clearly, "You need to borrow a lot, not just a few." You need to borrow a lot of vessels, then shut the door, and pour your jar of oil into them.
Actually, this idea, if you think about it, seems a bit difficult, right? Let alone doing it. But what is faith? It is to see what you cannot see now. Amen! This is the God you believe in. If this woman did not believe the man of God, she would not have acted according to the man of God's way. Right? Many people always ask me, "Teacher Ren, what is the relationship between faith and action?" I want to tell everyone: faith produces action. What kind of faith produces what kind of action. Amen!
If this woman did not believe the words of Elisha, she would have heard what Elisha said and then gone home to sleep, thinking, "Can this method work? Just borrow some oil bottles to put in my house?" This is not the case.
Truly believing means that even if you do not understand, you are willing to pray in this way. Amen! Just do it.
Many times you will find that the healing we receive, the blessings we receive, come simply from believing in the power of Jesus Christ, and this matter is accomplished. Amen!
So this woman listened to Elisha's words and then went back. In the New Testament, there was a time when Jesus preached in the wilderness for a day, and when it was time for dinner, many people were hungry. A little boy gave Jesus five loaves and two fish. Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up to heaven, blessed them, and then distributed them to the crowd, and five thousand men were filled. Why did Jesus use such a troublesome method? Could He have just said, "Loaves, come out, each person gets two loaves"? Can He do such a thing? Does Jesus have that power? Why doesn’t He do it?
When God wants to bless us, He wants to use what you have in your hands to magnify it. It does not matter if you have a little blessing; God wants to magnify that little blessing. The question is, are you willing to completely give what little you have left to God? You see, when that jar of oil is given to God, that jar of oil becomes extraordinary oil; it keeps pouring out, continuously flowing out. Hallelujah!
But can your oil jar have such special functions? Because that is your home. And this woman, she offered this oil to God. Amen! So this principle can be applied to various aspects of our lives. If you say, "I want to receive health from Jesus Christ," it is simple; are you willing to offer your body to God? Every day say, "Lord, this is not my body; it is Yours." If you think like this, then it is easy. In that case, you are living under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, always remembering whose body this is: it is Jesus's. Amen!
So when you want to "mistreat" Jesus, think carefully. For example, drug abuse, drunkenness, panic... In such cases, think about it: Jesus's body cannot be treated like this! If it were mine, it would not matter, but it is Jesus's. Rest assured, Jesus will keep your body healthy. Amen!
Today, the text is about a curse of poverty, right? Many people always think, "Teacher Ren, how can I escape from my debts? How can I escape from my current situation of not being wealthy?" It is simple: are you willing to offer your possessions to God? This is important. Amen!
We are not emphasizing that everyone must give a tithe; what I mean is that if you want to have God's great blessings in your finances, it is better to offer your money before God. Do it according to your heart; the amount does not matter. You will see that God wants to use this little bit of oil to show you many blessings in your life. Amen! This is not the law; it is God's way of blessing. Hallelujah!
God can completely turn nothing into something, giving you a lot of money, but God knows that this would make you lazy. God wants you to offer what you currently have, and through this, God will bless you. So God wants to bless the business you are doing, God wants to bless your current job, God wants to bless everything you are doing right now. Through this, He will bless you to be prosperous. But when you do this, you must know that you are doing it for God. Amen!
For example, if you work in a company, you know you are doing it for God, Hallelujah! Your own business, you know the whole business belongs to God, so you are doing it for God. Amen! In this way, completely give it to Jesus, and at that moment, you will find that everything becomes different. You must know that God wants to use the strength in your hands to bless you; that is an unlimited blessing.
The second point of sharing: Expand Your Boundaries and Let the Holy Spirit Guide You.
Isn't Elisha's word very clear? To your neighbors, he did not mean to grab one person and borrow all their jars; that is not the meaning. She is to borrow empty vessels from all her neighbors. And what does it mean? Do not borrow just a few; it means borrow as many as you can. Amen! In this matter, it is just like I told you earlier; if you open wide, God will fill you. "Do not borrow just a few; go borrow empty vessels from all your neighbors." Do not borrow just a few.
So, brothers and sisters, do not let our thoughts limit God's power, limit the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen!
Many people do not believe in healing at all, do not believe in God's abundance, but the Bible clearly says that because Jesus Christ became poor for us, His riches can come upon us. Isn't that right, brothers and sisters? So God wants to bless you and your family today. Brothers and sisters, we are here to unpack this scripture: borrowing empty vessels from your neighbors, what does it mean for us today? What are empty vessels for? From this text, we see that empty vessels are used to hold oil, right? Because we all know the outcome, that is, all the empty vessels she borrowed were filled with oil by God. This woman was blessed in this way. So if you know God has such power, how much do you want to borrow? The more, the better. Actually, this word is not accurate. Brothers and sisters, many times, we think, "Oh, it can't be; how much can this jar of oil fill?" But do not limit God's power. Amen! The man of God has already made it very clear; you need to borrow more. Then just go borrow more. If this woman only borrowed one jar, how much would God give her? Just one jar. Amen! If she borrowed jars filling the whole house, how much would God fill? The whole house would be filled. Amen!
Brothers and sisters, you can think of this picture; this is the flow of God's grace. Amen! Because today we know that when this woman picked up the oil jar, shut the door, and began to pour the oil in the house, the jar kept pouring out oil. Amen! This is actually a picture of healing. When you have lack in your life, when you need healing, and you listen to God's words, then God's healing will continuously pour down until you are completely healed. Amen!
Similarly, in your poverty, you know that God is continuously blessing you in what you are doing right now, continuously blessing you until you are completely filled. Amen! So first, you must know that God is willing to supply you in this way, and then you can boldly pray to God. Isn't that right, brothers and sisters?
This poor widow, or this woman, borrowing empty vessels from her neighbors, what does it mean for us today? Borrowing vessels from others is to expand one's own blessings, right? Is this the correct understanding? The more vessels she borrows, the more her blessings are expanded. So I want to tell everyone: if you want to receive more blessings from God, first expand your vessels. Hallelujah! How to expand your vessels?
It is very simple; the more you recognize how great Jesus's power is, the more you can receive. The more you recognize how much grace Jesus has, the more you can receive. Isn't that so? If you think Jesus is just a doctor, then you will only seek Jesus when you are sick. If you know Jesus is just a comforting God, then you will only seek Jesus when you are sad. But if you know Jesus is an omnipotent God, you will rely on the power of Jesus Christ in everything. So you continuously recognize Jesus Christ; if you do not know how great God's power is, then you should borrow from everyone, borrow what? Borrow empty vessels. Hallelujah!
What does this mean for us? You need to carefully listen to others' testimonies, Amen! For example, some people say, "Oh, you don't know, my neck hurt today, and after I prayed, God healed me." Oh? After you hear this message, do you not have faith in God? You know, God can do such things. When you pray again, you say, "Oh, that person had a herniated disc, and after praying, God healed him." Originally, God can do such things. You see, when you listen to others' testimonies, when you hear how others receive God's grace, you are borrowing empty vessels from others to expand your boundaries. Amen!
Brothers and sisters, so I wish that when you have testimonies, life transformations, or when Jesus has changed something in your life, you tell me that testimony, or testify to your brothers and sisters. Your testimony can expand many vessels for others. Let them also receive the same blessings as you. Amen! So this woman borrowed many vessels; we do not know exactly how many she borrowed, but one thing happened: this woman kept pouring and pouring.
As long as it was a vessel in the house, God said to fill it and set it aside. Then what were her two sons doing? They were continuously moving the vessels, right? And she kept pouring... Then she said, "Bring me another." Her son said, "There are no more." When these two sentences were spoken, what happened? The vessels were full, and the Bible says the oil ceased. Amen!
If we do not believe, what I am saying here is that we all believe in Jesus; if someone does not believe that Jesus makes us prosperous, then the power of the Holy Spirit in him will cease. Amen! If someone believes that sickness is God's discipline for him, then the healing oil will cease in him.
So do not let your thinking limit God's power. Hallelujah! You must remember one thing: our God is willing for you to be prosperous in every way. Hallelujah! Because our God is a God full of love and grace. Many times, it is our own faith that limits God's power.
Elisha said very clearly, do not borrow just a few, which indicates that God is a generous God. This has always been the way our God works. Let us look at a scripture. Psalm 81:10, "I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it."
Egypt symbolizes this world; you must remember that our God has brought you out of the world. Amen! You are now in Christ. So do not look at your current problems with the world's perspective; you should look at your current problems with the Holy Spirit's perspective. In what is impossible for man, all things are possible with God. Amen!
When the world says, "Oh, my life is like this," you should say to yourself, "My life is filled with the blessings of Jesus Christ." Amen! When the world says, "It's over; my illness is incurable," you should say in Christ, "I am healthy!" Amen! Because you are not in the same system as them. They are in Egypt; you are with God. You open your mouth wide, and God will fill you. Hallelujah!
Then pouring out oil means what? The size and number of vessels determine the amount of oil. So this means that no matter how many vessels this woman prepared, God would fill them. Amen! Do you remember? The power of the Holy Spirit is immeasurable. On the day of Pentecost, there were 120 disciples praying in the upper room, and the Holy Spirit filled all of them. Amen! If there had been 500 people that day, the Holy Spirit could have filled all of them too. Hallelujah!
Today, if you look around the world, the power of the Holy Spirit is still filling His children. This is the work of the Holy Spirit today. So many people do not understand what the work of the Holy Spirit is; what is the filling of the Holy Spirit? It is actually very simple. Everyone look ahead; do you want to understand what the filling of the Holy Spirit is? When we accept Jesus, the Holy Spirit dwells within us. Amen! You are a person indwelt by the Holy Spirit.
At this time, it is like that little bit of oil in this woman's house; you now have oil, but it is just not filled. Right? It is just that your vessel is still empty. But when you continuously receive God's words, when you continuously receive God's words, the entire word of God fills your heart, and when you open your mouth, you speak God's words. Amen! When you open your mouth, you begin to sing; when you open your mouth, you are filled with authority, filled with the power of Christ; this is called being filled with the Holy Spirit.
After being filled with the Holy Spirit, many strange things will happen, such as miracles occurring, some will sing continuously, some will cry, some will laugh, and some will feel warmth all over their bodies. In short, these are all manifestations after being filled with the Holy Spirit. What is a common condition? It is that we are all filled with the words of Christ. Hallelujah!
When you are filled with the words of Christ, you can do things you normally cannot do. For example, like this woman, she began to pour oil, right? If a non-believer were to do this, they would absolutely not do such a foolish thing. But today, this woman did, and in the end, she saw a miracle. Amen! So many non-believers think that prayer is meaningless, but for us who believe in the power of Jesus Christ, prayer is the way we benefit. Hallelujah!
So brothers and sisters, do you know? What we need today is an empty vessel, which means we must always know that we need to be filled by God. We can do nothing; we are just a vessel. But God wants to fill His power within us. Hallelujah! Always remember, it is God's power within you. So the focus is not on the vessel; the focus is on the oil, right? Let us look at a scripture in Philippians 2:5-11,
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Actually, what this means about empty vessels is: do not think you can do everything; do not think you are better than others. If you have an empty heart before God, then God can fill His presence within you. Jesus Christ was in such a situation; He made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore, God has highly exalted Him.
Brothers and sisters, generally, when people are unwilling to rely on God, they feel capable. When we feel we cannot do anything, we will completely rely on God's words. Amen! I wish that our brothers and sisters can know in life to rely on God's power in everything, not to use the world's way, but to obey the way of the Holy Spirit. So when there are no vessels, the oil will cease. Therefore, our faith is crucial. Amen!
Let us look at a scripture in Matthew.
Jesus said to the centurion, "Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you." And his servant was healed that same hour.
Jesus said to the centurion, "Go your way; according to whose faith? Your faith." This centurion believed that Jesus did not need to go to his house; just a word from Jesus would heal his servant. Amen! So Jesus fulfilled it according to the centurion's faith.
Now in Luke 17:11-19,
11 Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. 12 Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. 13 And they lifted up their voices and said, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" 14 So when He saw them, He said to them, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed. 15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, 16 and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. 17 So Jesus answered and said, "Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? 18 Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?" 19 And He said to him, "Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well."
Here it records an event: there were ten lepers, right? They all came to Jesus to seek healing, and then Jesus said, "Go show yourselves to the priests." As they went, they discovered their leprosy was healed. Only one foreigner returned to Jesus, and then Jesus said, "Were there not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was there no one found to return and give glory to God except this foreigner?" Then He said to him, "Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well." Amen!
We think of this: this woman pouring and pouring, is the grace continuously flowing, right? Continuously filling her house. So when you look at these jars and jars of oil, what do you think? Whose is this? This is God's. Amen!
So this woman has a very correct mindset, just like this foreigner; he knows that it was Jesus Christ who healed him, not that he ran and got healed. Amen! So he returned to give glory to God. Similarly, this woman, when she saw all the vessels filled with oil, verse 7 says, "The woman went and told the man of God," telling him what? Saying, "According to your way, the oil has filled all my vessels."
What should I do with all this oil? In fact, many of us lack this aspect; many times we find that when God blesses us, we think that it is ours, but it is actually God's. Amen! It is actually God's. Just like this house full of oil, this woman asked the man of God, "What should I do? All this is God's." Then the man of God said to her, "Go, sell the oil and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest." Amen!
Brothers and sisters, we must first know one thing: we ourselves and everything we have are God's. He let His son Jesus Christ pay off all your debts to God. And what does this oil symbolize? This oil symbolizes the Holy Spirit.
In the Bible, oil, olive oil, symbolizes the Holy Spirit. All of us are debtors to God. Jesus Christ came and paid off all our debts. Then He filled us with the Holy Spirit. Amen! He placed the Holy Spirit within us, constantly reminding us that you are blessed in Christ. Constantly reminding you that in Christ, you no longer owe God any debts. He also lets you remember that everything you have now is what Jesus exchanged for you with His life. So when we constantly remember that I, including everything I have, is what Jesus Christ exchanged for with His life.
Your debts have been paid off. The Holy Spirit will tell you, right? Because it is with oil that your debts are paid off; is there anything left? What is left? Is it living by the vessels or living by the oil? The oil! That's right. So when we are saved, we know that all our debts have been paid off by God. After being paid off, our Christian life should be lived by relying on the Holy Spirit. Amen!
This means you must always remember that everything you have is Jesus's. When you remember that everything you have is Jesus's, then you are living in Christ. Always remember a question: what are you like in Christ? You can find in the Bible that in Christ, you are healthy; in Christ, you are not lacking; in Christ, you are pleasing to God; in Christ, you are justified by God. So when you remember this identity, you can bear witness to the Holy Spirit.
Gentleness, self-control, goodness, doing good deeds, these are merely the external fruits of the Holy Spirit. When you see a person bitter, complaining, and grumbling, that is merely the fruit of the flesh. But today, we are willing to live according to the Holy Spirit; what kind of life is that? It is to pour oil into your empty vessels, letting the Holy Spirit fill your life. Amen! You remember, you are now in the Holy Spirit, so do not look at your current environment, your current family, or your current problems with the world's perspective; you should see the power of the Holy Spirit in this problem. When you think this way, you will find that everything becomes much easier, right? When sickness is upon you, you no longer need to fear it; you will say, "In the name of Jesus, I command this sickness to leave me." Because you are speaking and acting by the Holy Spirit. Hallelujah!
So I wish that the brothers and sisters in our church remember that you are guided by the Holy Spirit. Hallelujah! The oil is the Holy Spirit. I wish that each of us lives a life filled with the Holy Spirit. When you are filled with the Holy Spirit, you will find that all problems are no longer problems, because Jesus is always greater than your problems. The grace of Jesus Christ can always fill all your current lacks. Hallelujah! Because He is perfect. We are imperfect, but His perfection can fill our imperfections. Hallelujah!
Now, let us look at the last scripture, and then we will conclude. Galatians 5:25, "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit."
You will find that in Galatians 5, it mentions two types of people: one is living according to the flesh, which is bitterness, jealousy, strife, slander... all kinds of problems arise.
We are not like that; we are those who live by the Spirit. We should also walk according to the Spirit. Amen! Because the Holy Spirit always guides you on the path of peace. No matter what environment you are in, you always have the peace of Jesus Christ in your heart. Hallelujah! This means you do not fear, and you are not timid about this environment.
Because you believe that God will make a way for you. So what is the best way? Do not declare your problems; you should tell your God how great He is in your problems. Amen! Speak out the results you want, Hallelujah!
Let us pray together:
Heavenly Father, we especially thank and praise You. Thank You for leading us through this time today. We are a group of people redeemed by Jesus Christ. In our lives, we will encounter some problems, but we believe that Your power, Jesus Christ, is in our lives. You will turn our lives around through what we do with our hands. Your authority is upon us; You want us to live by using Your authority. You let us not live in this world, constantly complaining; You let us live joyfully every day. Because You have given us the authority of joy.
Lord, we also want to be like this woman; when she encountered problems, she did not complain; she sought God, sought the man of God. Today, when we encounter problems, we are willing to tell our Heavenly Father through prayer. We believe You will listen to our prayers. And You will turn our lives around through what we do with our hands.
In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, bless what you are doing now. God will double the blessings on what you are doing, so that everything you need will be fully supplied. Thank You and praise You, Lord. Hallelujah! May the Holy Spirit continually guide each of our brothers and sisters, let us look at problems in Jesus's way, live in Jesus's way, always bring blessings to others, and always bring forth the power of Jesus Christ. Thank You, Lord. May our testimonies, the testimonies of transformation in our lives, help more people. Hallelujah!
All glory be to our Father in heaven. In the name of our Lord Jesus, we pray, Amen!