No Financial Need is Too Large

Part three of “Nothing’s Too Hard For God”

TOP 10 SIGNS YOU ARE BROKE

10) American Express calls and says, “Leave home without it!”

9) You are formulating a plan to rob the food bank.

8) Solicitors have taken you off of their list.

7) You rob Peter, and then rob Paul.

6) You clean your house for the purpose of finding loose change.

5) You look for a church where the tithe is only 8%.

4) Your bologna has no first name.

3) You give blood every day just for the juice and cookies.

2) McDonalds supplies you with all your condiments.

1) At Holy Communion, you go back for seconds.

2 Corinthians 9:6  Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 9As it is written:
   "He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor;
      his righteousness endures forever." 10Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

Herman and Henrietta were touring their brand-new house, a house that Henrietta had paid for with her money, a fact of which she often reminded Herman. In each room of the house, she said to her husband, “Herman, if it were not for my money, we wouldn’t be here.” Herman didn’t say a word. That afternoon a truck delivered to the house a load of furniture, furniture that Henrietta paid for with her money. After the furniture was in place, the couple toured the house again. As they observed each room, beautifully appointed and magnificently decorated, Henrietta reminded her husband, “Herman, if it were not for my money, this furniture would not be here.” Again, Herman was silent. Late in the afternoon a truck came with a special piece of furniture which was to be the focal point of the den, a combination stereo-television-computer all wrapped into one gorgeous piece of furniture which Henrietta paid for with her money. When it was in place, Henrietta again addressed her husband, “If it were not for my money, that piece of furniture would not be here.” Finally, Herman spoke, “Honey, I don’t want to make you feel bad, but if it were not for your money, I wouldn’t be here!”

2 Kings 4:1  The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, "Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the LORD. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves."

 2 Elisha replied to her, "How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?"
      "Your servant has nothing there at all," she said, "except a little oil."

 3 Elisha said, "Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don't ask for just a few. 4 Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side."

 5 She left him and afterward shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. 6 When all the jars were full, she said to her son, "Bring me another one."
      But he replied, "There is not a jar left." Then the oil stopped flowing.

 7 She went and told the man of God, and he said, "Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left."

In 2 Kings 4, we see a story of a woman in great need. And God came through for her.

Let us learn some lessons.

1) Put your need in perspective.

Q1: Do you realize how blessed you really are?

Take an inventory of what you have.

If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75% of this world. If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace, you are among the top 8% of the world’s wealthy.

The widow took an inventory of what she had in her house.

The ‘house’ can represent the place where you are.

The house spoken of here consists of three people – a mother and two sons.

I want us to see for a minute the picture of our home as a miracle.

I heard about a rich man who was determined to take his wealth with him. He told his wife to get all his money together, put it in a sack, and then hang the sack from the rafters in the attic. He said, "When my spirit is caught up to heaven, I’ll grab the sack on my way." Well he eventually died, and the woman raced to the attic, only to find the money still there. She said, "I knew I should’ve put the sack in the basement."

When I read this story in 2 Kings 4, I see a few different pictures. One picture is this: The widow represents you. The creditors represent the enemy. And the widow’s sons represent our children. Could it be that the enemy is trying to get to our children to enslave them in sin?

Could it be that the mistakes we make give the devil a foothold to the lives and hearts of our children?

And could it be that when we turn to God, He can use our children to not only carry out a miracle, but BE a miracle?

Just a thought.

Children, let me speak to you.

You must realize the blessing you have at home.

Not everyone is blessed as you are.

Sometimes, you think that your parents don’t know anything.

They are so old-fashioned.

They are so out of touch with reality.

They just don’t understand.

Or, so you think.

But they love you.

They may not be perfect, but they love you.

And it’s time to value their love, their support and their authority.

There’s a miracle in your house.

Q2: Is it a “need” or a “want”?

A young man had an accident while driving his car that was quite spectacular. When the policeman arrived he found the young man standing near his car mumbling. As the officer approached he overheard the young man saying, ’Oh, my BMW, oh my BMW, oh my BMW’. Looking at the young man the policeman said, "Are you nuts, look at the condition of your arm, your left are is all mangled’. The young man looked down and said, ’Oh my Rolex, oh my Rolex, oh my Rolex’.

Philippians 4:11   I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.

Q3: Is there anything too hard for God?

2) Expect a miracle.

Have a spirit of expectancy.

If you are looking for a miracle, you’ve got to move toward that miracle. You can’t expect it to move toward you. You’ve got to do your part. A lot of people tell me, "I’m waiting for a miracle." I tell them, "Great, but what are you doing to receive that miracle." "Nothing, I’m just sitting here, waiting for my miracle." Maybe you’ve lost sight of your vision. There was one time when you were on fire for God. You wanted to win the world for Christ. You wanted to tell the world about what Christ has done for you. But today, you’ve lost sight of that vision. Today, you need your miracle restored.

a) Little becomes much when you give it to God.

(v. 2b) "Your servant has nothing at all, except a little oil"

Little becomes much when you place it in the Master’s hand. Like Moses. All he had was a rod. God said, "What do you have in your hand?" In other words, "What do you have in your house?" And with that rod, miracles flowed forth. The Red Sea was parted right before his eyes.

Little becomes much when you place it in the Master’s hand.

The feeding of the 5,000. All that was needed was one sack lunch of fish and chips and 5,000 were fed. Little becomes much, when you place it in the Master’s hand.

What does your jar look like today? Are you willing to give it to God?

b) Don’t let fear rob you of a miracle.

Fear is one of the main reasons you and I do not experience more miracles.

In the case of the widow, I am sure she was scared to go around her friends and neighbors and ask for empty jars. How embarrassing would that be? Her neighbors would probably think that she was crazy. But she did it anyway.

Don’t let fear rob you of a miracle.

Example: Lady praying for God to provide.

c) Before you receive, you must first let go.

Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons.

It was time to give it to God.

It was time to get alone with God.

I believe that shutting the doors behind them, was a picture of getting alone with God and shutting the door on the enemy trying to get in the way of God’s plan.

Ex: Some of you are sitting here today and you are down and out. Depression. Discouragement. Doubt. The enemy has got the best of you.

Why? Because when it comes to doing your part, you’ve given up.

You are on the verge of a miracle, but you stopped collecting your jars.

The effort is no longer there.

Your prayer life is not what is used to be.

You’ve slacking in your daily devotions with the Lord.

You’ve been robbing God of the tithes, because you have other expenses to take care of.

The effort is no longer there.

You are feeling sorry for yourself because your situation is quit grim.

Quit wallowing in your pity-party.  The only two people who show up to your pity party is you and the devil.

Get busy collecting jars, because you are on the verge of a miracle.

3) Put your need in the hands of God.

VIDEO CLIP: “Finances” from “Nothing’s Too hard For God”

a) Delight in the Lord, not in your possessions.

Psalm 37:4 says Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.

There was a wealthy man who was shopping with this 16 year-old son. His son saw a new computer system and showed his dad. The wealthy man said, “Why son, that costs $2,000?” The son said, “Yeah dad, but we’ve got the money.” To which the dad says, “We? Who said anything about we having anything? I know that I’ve got the money, I know that you don’t.” You see, the son misunderstood the nature of the relationship with his father. He thought that He could choose whatever the father spent his money on, while the father wasn’t so careless. God owns it all and we must be careful about how we treat his possessions.

b) Let the oil flow

2 Kings 4:6 When all the jars were full, she said to her son, "Bring me another one." But he replied, "There is not a jar left." Then the oil stopped flowing. 7 She went and told the man of God, and he said, "Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left."

First of all, question: What type of vessels was the widow supposed to look for? Empty vessels.

The type of vessel God is looking for is an empty vessel.

You may say, ‘Lord, I am empty, I have nothing to give!”

The Lord says, “Good, you are empty, now I can fill you!”

“Lord, I’ve been left emptied in my relationships!

The Lord says, “Good, you are empty, now I can fill you!”

“Lord, I’ve been left empty in ministry.”

The Lord says, “Good, you are empty, now I can fill you!”

Perhaps you’ve felt that you’ve given your all to your children. You’ve given your all to your husband. You’ve given your all to your job. You’ve given your all to the church. You’ve given your all to your friends. And now, you find yourself empty.

Maybe that is exactly where you need to be.

What was the vessel filled with? Oil.

Back then, oil was very valuable.

It was used as a cosmetic, as a medicine, to cook with, as a source of light, for religious ceremonies, and as a commodity of exchange.

  - The Holy Spirit wants to flow through you and through your situation.

  - There comes a point in your life when the Holy Spirit needs to take over.

The Bible does not record the widow’s response to the fact that there were no more jars. But I have a feeling that she regretted that there were no more jars.

We cannot lose faith in miracles.

The atmosphere of expectancy is the breeding ground for a miracle.