Take your Bibles and turn with me to the book of 2 Kings 4:1-7. I want to speak to you a message this morning entitled "There's a miracle in your house". How many of you believe that we serve a miracle working God?
2nd Kings 4:1-7, "A certain woman of the wives 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 2 sons to be his slaves. So Elisha said to her, "What shall I do for you? Tell me what you have in the house. She said, "Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil". Then he said, "Go borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors, empty vessels. Do not gather just a few but 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". She went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons who brought the vessels to her and she poured it out. 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. She came and told the man of God and he said, "Go and sell the oil and pay your debt and you and your sons shall live on the rest".
Heavenly Father, we thank you for the miracles you do. We thank you for the wonder of your word. Holy Spirit, you have been mighty in this place already. Lord, I thank you that this word you are about to bring is going to build such faith and strength in you and in your provision and faith in the life of the church. May we decrease and may you be glorified and increase in this place. In Jesus name.
I think all of us at times in life face a time when we need a miracle from the Lord. I wonder if there's anyone in this room who has ever had God do a miracle when you needed it. How many of us have ever come to God and said, "Lord, I need you to do something because I don't have anything left, there's nothing that I can do, there's nothing in this world that I've got, I need you to do a work".
I want to tell you that we serve a God who specializes in miracles. Why is it important to believe it? Number one it's important because there are times when we're going to need something from the Lord and there are times when nothing else makes sense and we need a touch from Him. The second reason we need to believe it is because if we're truly going to be people who live what this word says, the Bible says that God is going to do miracles through our lives as we minister the gospel of Jesus Christ to others.
God works in supernatural ways, the truth is many times in ways that we could never imagine. Right now you might need a miracle in your life and I want to just dive into this right now. I believe the things that God is doing in the life of this church, God is raising us up so we can reach this city. How many of you believe that He has not just placed churches so people can come and sit and soak. It's good to be in the presence of the Lord but how many of you know that He allows churches so we can meet with Him and so He can do a work in us so that we can go out and do His work in this city. That's what we're supposed to be doing but right now you might need a miracle. I believe that God has a word of hope for you. I believe that God wants to do something in our lives.
There are so many needs and I believe this, that when we allow God to touch our lives and do a work in us, we are so changed forever that we will never minister the same way. We won't come to church the same way, we won't go to prayer the same way, we won't sing songs the same way, we won't witness the same way because there is something that God has done so powerful in us. There's a miracle today. If you don't need a miracle right now I want you to listen to me. At some point you're going to need one and the truth is that God is going to use you to be one. So it's important that you listen to this so that we understand that we are equipped to do the work of God.
This widow as we read about her in 2nd Kings faces incredible circumstances. She is a single parent with no food, no job and she has angry creditors who are coming to take her kids. Right now if you had a need and can't pay it and they're going to foreclose on your house, the truth is if you have a little money you can find a place to rent. People aren't going to come and take your kids from you and make them slaves but back then they did. As a matter of fact the Jewish historian, Josephus, tells us that this lady was possibly the widow of the prophet, Obadiah. She had seen the miracles and the work of God.
I want us to look at six things that may help you see miracles come true in your life and to help you become a miracle as you minister the life of God to others. How many of you understand that Elijah was a man just like you and me? He was a man that said, "God, I'm going to give my whole life to you". He left everything behind. Remember the story, Elijah called Elisha and told him, "Burn the plow, don't look back, go after God and he'll do a work through you". Elisha did and never looked back and God used him. The truth is if we'll follow God and never look back, God will use us in powerful ways.
Number one: you need a miracle and there's no where to go when you don't know what to do. It's interesting because as Christians we all know we can go to God, we all know we can seek His face but how many of you have found that before we go to God, many times we sit and go to other friends and talk more about our problem than the one who can solve the problem. The truth is this, when my car breaks down I don't go to a tv repairman. How many of you know he has no idea how to fix my car? You want to know something else, I don't try to fix it myself because I don't have the faintest idea what to do with it. When I'm sick and I need an operation, I don't go to a mechanic. When I need a miracle we don't look to man, we're to look to God.
The truth is this that man does not possess what we need and when we look to men we will be disappointed. Most battles we fight might manifest themselves in the physical but they have a spiritual origin. Because they are spiritual, they will need a supernatural response and provision for there to be a turnaround.
I want to speak this to everyone in this place, when you need a miracle we can go to Jesus. We don't need to run to other TV ministries; where we need to go is run right to the Savior and he'll meet the need. When someone comes to you and they've got a problem and a need, the truth is many times we may not have the provision on our own and we're never to be the one to counsel like we've got it all together. What we are to do is point them right to the Lord. How many of you know that if we'll be obedient to do that we will see God do a powerful work.
Elisha knew that he didn't have the ability in himself to provide. I want to say it again, it is amazing to me how celebrity oriented that Christianity has become. "If I could just have that person pray for me, if I could just go to that meeting, if I could just talk to that guy". The truth is that God's wisdom and God's help far surpasses that of any person at any time. The faith that we have is in Christ alone.
The 2nd thing I want to say is that the way to find a miracle is to find out what's in your house and use it. In verse 2, "Elisha said, "tell me, what do you have in the house?" She said, "Your maidservant has nothing but a jar of oil". Can you imagine if you went into your house and there was nothing in the cupboard and nothing in the refrigerator? How many of you have ever been there? All you had was a little bit of oil. So there she is, she goes through her cupboards and has nothing, that's it. As a matter of fact, if you don't do something, they're going to take my boys and I still don't know how I'm going to eat. Have you ever noticed that when we have a need we always focus on the things we don't have. You could be blessed in all the world but you've got one need in your life and you'll feel like your whole life is falling apart but how many of you know that we are blessed this morning? Many times what God helps us to understand are the possibilities that we already have right there in front of us. Many times God helps us to recognize that He's already provided the beginning of a miracle even though what we have might seem small. The miracle was right in front of her. All she needed to do was see that God had provided.
I want you to listen to me. I don't care what you have, I don't care what you're going through. The Bible says that even if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, it's the smallest seed that there is, that's all you need. If you'll just trust God just a little bit you've got the beginning of a miracle. That's all you need and God promises that he's already given every one of us a measure of faith. The truth is that God specializes in using the ordinary to do the extraordinary, in using the insignificant to do significant work for Him. You may say, "God, I desire to do great things for you". God has probably spoken to some of your hearts at some point that he's going to do some powerful things in your life and you've just looked at God and said, "God, I'm nothing".
You've heard what the Lord has spoken into your heart but you can't even see it. As a matter of fact when you look in the mirror you wonder why anyone would want to be around you or want to be near you. I want to speak to you today, even though your talents may not be much and the things that you do may not be much but if you will start with what you have, you will watch God do a powerful work in your life. Maybe all you have is a good smile and a friendly face and a lot of people won't seek your advice and won't listen to what you have but I want to tell you if you have a hand and a smile, you offer it out and begin to love on people and watch what God will do.
I remember when we were youth and children's pastors up in Walla Walla, Washington. Our church just wasn't big enough to have all kinds of staff. There were three of us, kind of like here, it was a church just about this size. There were some people coming to the church who definitely were not wealthy and were not the best educated. As a matter of fact they probably weren't a whole lot to look at. God began to stir in their hearts and told them he wanted to use them to do something great in this city for Jesus. They began to get a burden to reach out to the kids in that area.
As their children's pastor I would get with them and pray and tell them they're doing a great job with me on Sunday. We had 40 kids in children's church. Something began to stir in their hearts. The guy was a mechanic and he said all he knew how to do was fix cars and drive cars. God spoke to Him saying, "You don't have a lot of money but you have a bass guitar. You sell that guitar and get a bus and you watch what I'll do for you". That man went out and sold that guitar. He said, "I didn't know what I was doing, God just told me to do it. I felt led to go buy a bus, I don't even know where to find one". He sold that guitar and within one week someone was ready to give him a bus. I think they sold him a bus for about $500. There was a little bit wrong with it but as a mechanic he knew exactly how to take care of it.
That next week he went out, I didn't talk to him a whole lot, he didn't even know what he was doing. That next week he showed up in children's church and there were 10 extra kids sitting in there. My children's church went from 40 kids to 50 kids. The next week he went out and began to love on those kids. As a matter of fact one of those kids came one morning and hadn't eaten a thing, his family was so poor. I looked around the church and I didn't have anything to give him. My wife went in the kitchen and she found peanut butter and jelly. How many of you know everyone has peanut butter and jelly? Someone ran down to the store during church and got a loaf of bread and we made those kids some lunch. How many of you know if they come to the Lord their bellies should also be full? Next week he went out and had 30 kids on the bus. The church kids were all dressed up and looking fine. The bus kids came in with untied shoes, holes in their pants and all that. I want to tell you people started looking around and saying something is going on. Within 3 months my children's church went from 40 kids to 150 kids. There were kids streaming down the hallway into our church. I don't know how they got 150 kids onto a 60 passenger bus but I want you to know I didn't even ask. We wound up with all those kids in church because one person asked God to use him.
God began to do something powerful. I didn't have a whole lot of children's workers, it was just me and my wife and those people who went out and got the bus. How many of you know when you have 150 kids you need a few more helpers? I began to challenge the people in that church and God began to do a work. That church began to grow. Why? Because just one person said, "God, whatever you will do but if you would just use me, I don't know how to do anything but drive". He did it and God began to multiply.
I want you to know that everything we need to see this city reached for Jesus is right in this church already. A lot of times we look around and say, "God, how could you use Harvest Community Church?" How many of you know the vision is bigger than just this room? Because as long as one person needs Jesus we should be sharing that Gospel. The truth is this, if we will be doing what we're supposed to be doing then in the next 2 years what we're believing God for as we go into a 300 seat sanctuary is that we'll have to have 3 or 4 services just to hold what God is going to do. You may say, "Preacher, you just want a crowd". Listen, I want to tell you, I'll preach if there's 10, I'll preach if there's 5, I'll preach if there's 5000, that's not the issue. As long as one person needs Jesus, we need to be doing the work. I want to tell you that if you would just let God use you, you'd be surprised the lives that you can touch.
The truth is this isn't the Marvin Nemitz show, the Troy Lynch show, the Sergio show, this is all about Jesus. Everyone of us is doing His work. In this room there are people who can sing, people who can teach, people who can play instruments, people who are soul winners, people who have different abilities that are unique and can be used in the Kingdom of God. We have far more available to us than we think. I want to encourage you to be positive about what you see God doing in your life and be positive about what you see God doing in the life of this church as we begin to reach this city for Jesus like never before.
Listen, the miracle will be in proportion to your faith. The things that you need God to do in your life does not deal with the faith of anyone else. Many people will rush here and there but God didn't do it because that person had more of God than you did. The truth is God responded because in faith you reached out somehow so you could get a touch from Him. When you need a miracle from God, the miracle will be in proportion to your faith.
In verse 3 God said, "Go everywhere and borrow vessels from everyone, from your neighbors, empty vessels and don't just borrow a few". I believe this woman began to have some faith, she just went around and grabbed some things. They may not be pretty but they can be clean. How many of you know what I'm talking about? If it were me I'd be going outside and getting our 40 gallon garbage cans out there. I'd wash them out until they were clean and start pouring. Imagine, she grabbed that little bit of oil and the kids grabbed every vessel they could grab. I look around this church and what do we have? Some things for juice, some things for coffee. "I don't care how small it is, I don't care how big it is, the man of God said to go get some vessels and when you get them put them in your house and as soon as you do you just need to begin to pour". The miracle will be in proportion to your faith.
Sometimes you need to believe God for some big things. Believe and expect the Lord to do miracles beyond, don't just get a few. As long as that lady had vessels to put oil in, the miracle never stopped.
I want to speak this to the church, as long as there are vessels that we are pouring into, the miracles will never stop. Do you know the vessels that we need to pour into? Some of you need a miracle in your own life and God will do it but I want to tell you the greatest miracle of all is a life that is changed for the glory of God. If we want to see miracles in this church happen week after week, if you want to see the power of God in your life, if you want to see lives changed then we need to find vessels to pour into. If your own life is starting to dry up, I guarantee if you just find one person that you know needs a touch from God and you grab their hand and you begin to pour into them, the oil of the Holy Ghost will flow from you. How many of you know that's the anointing of the Holy Spirit? God said that if you would be poured out into people's lives their lives would change.
Churches begin to die when they stop witnessing. As long as the people of God are pouring into others the miracles will never stop. I want to speak to us as a church, I believe that God is challenging everyone of us. For a long time we've come to this house and have heard good sermons being preached. How many of you know if they're not good you shouldn't even be coming? The truth is this, God wants us to reach out and touch other people's lives. If just one of us would touch one person it would be amazing what we would see in this place. In order for faith to be faith, action is required. In order for that lady to have received the miracle she needed to have listened to the man of God.
I'm your pastor and I believe I'm a man of God. You that know Jesus are a person of God too. But I'm declaring to you today, we need to go find some vessels and we need to begin to pour in. In order for her to receive her miracle she needed to go out and find as many vessels as possible. In order for you to receive your miracle, God may require you to do something. What is he asking you to do? Listen, I'm not talking about giving your money, I'm not even going there. She didn't ask the man of God a question, she didn't hesitate, she was desperate enough and just looked at her boys and said, "Sons, go get it now, get as many as you can". I believe that God desires to do a miracle in this church, I believe he desires to do it in every life. I believe in this church, a new vitality. I believe that in the spiritual, we must attempt things for God that are so big that it would take a miracle for Him to do it.
I want you to turn with me to 2 Kings 13:14-19. "Elisha had become sick with the illness of which he would die". How many of you know when God is working through people and God is going to use them, they're doing stuff even on their deathbed to bring glory to the Lord. The truth is it burns in the heart of the believer. Verse 15 "Then Joash, the King of Israel came down to him and wept over his face and said, "Oh my father, the chariots of Israel and the horsemen". What he was saying was that there's a lot of people out there and we're about to get trampled by the enemy.
"So Elisha said to him. "Take a bow and some arrows and put your hand on the bow". So he put his hands on the bow and Elisha put his hands on the king's hands and said, "Open the east window" and he opened it. Then Elisha said, "Shoot" and he shot. He said, "The arrow of the Lord's deliverance and the arrow of deliverance from Syria for you must strike the Syrians at Aphek until you have destroyed them". Then he said, "Take the arrows" and he took them. Then he said to the King of Israel, "Strike the ground" and he struck the ground 3 times and stopped. And the man of God was angry with him and said, "You should have struck 5 or 6 times then you would have struck Syria until you destroyed it but now you will strike Syria only 3 times".
You see there was a big difference between that King and that widow. The difference is the widow sent her sons out and they got as many vessels as they could. She said, "I need a miracle right now. I need God to touch me, I'm going to lose my family, I'm going to lose my life if God doesn't do something. I've got to do it" and she went out and got everything she could. You know what I see when I see that widow, I believe she was squeezing into her house, into the door, trying to find a place to step because her kids put so many things in there, Little things, big things. She was believing God for the miracle. The King of Israel, whose life was in the balance as well only struck 3 times, there was no passion. He felt kind of stupid. He did exactly what he was told. What Elisha was looking for was a man to do something, who would intercede for his nation, who would intercede for his people.
The difference was that lady decided to believe God. She went all out until there wasn't another vessel left. That King of Israel had no passion. He wanted the easy way. I want to speak to you today as a Christian. God is looking for people who are sold out on fire for him, who are saying, "God, I'm going to get with you, I'm going to do everything you ask, even more than you ask so that the work that you'll do in me, the work that you'll do in the church, the work that you'll do in the city will far exceed anything I ever believed". God is looking for those type of people.
The reason why we don't see so many things and a lot of people respond like that King did is because they're a little apathetic. "I don't want to look silly". God works in response to our faith. If we don't attempt great things for the Lord, we won't see God do the great things. When I start thinking about this city and I want to tell you my heart is for souls not for numbers. How many of you know the heart of your pastor right now? The truth is you'll see the numbers. I haven't counted, I haven't looked at the usher count for a lot of weeks. The truth is I'm not looking for numbers, I'm looking for people to be big in Jesus. As long as we are reaching people, I'll count the salvations. I believe that sometimes we think too small.
Twenty of you who signed up on that list, twenty of you who will come and pray with me. I'm looking for people who are going to believe God for big things. People like that King who will come into this sanctuary the first Friday of each month and seek the face of God and will hit this altar like they are going to God but they are attacking hell; that they know that what they're doing is going to make a difference for all eternity. Realizing what we're doing is praying for souls, that God would move in this church, that God would do a work in our lives, that we would see miracles, signs and wonders to prove that he's a powerful God; that people would be touched and their lives would be changed, that we would become a great soul winning church. How many of you believe we need to be a soul winning church?
I want to tell you I'm not to be a soul winner because I'm a pastor. I'm to be a soul winner because I'm a Christian. That's the job of every one of us. I want to encourage you not to put limitations on God's ability to provide. What is your need? What is it that you need from God? The next step in getting that miracle is what that widow did, she obeyed the man of God. He said, "When you have come in you shall shut the door behind you". So as that widow was getting into that place and she's working her way around, I kind of see the oil in the front in the kitchen and she's coming in the back door and the boys are all over the house. How many of you know when there's something out of the normal the kids are going all crazy in the house? All the neighbors are saying, "You're just a weird lady. I know that your husband was Obadiah the prophet but now you've gone loco, you've got all our empty vessels". You know what she did, she shut the door. She said, "Listen, this is between me and God. This isn't between you and everybody else. I don't want anyone else in my business, I've got faith. I don't need to listen to you telling me that this is impossible. I don't want you to say I'm messing up my house". Listen, how many of you know when God says he's going to do a work and you believe him, other people are going to be looking at you like you're crazy? She went in and began to seek God.
When you need a miracle, you need to shut yourself in with the Lord and pray and seek his face until you feel a release in your spirit. Shut the door on doubt. As a matter of fact if God asks you to do something unusual, get alone with your family and don't worry about what anyone else is going to do. When that guy went and got that bus, there were a lot of people in the church saying, "Do you know what that's going to do? It's going to wear out our carpets, people are going to break some things and get crayon on the walls. We're going to have extra expenses, now we have to buy peanut butter and jelly so we can feed the kids". Listen, do you know what I told those people? I told them they needed to shut their mouths. They said, "How are we going to take care of all this? Do you know what kind of people you're going to be reaching? Do you realize what kind of people that's going to bring to the church? Yes, hurting people who need Jesus, that's what it's going to bring to the church, that's who we're trying to reach.
God began to change lives and began to speak into their hearts. We saw people that came into church and they smelled bad and looked bad, they were on drugs and had problems but you know something, God began to do a powerful work in their life. There were single moms whose husbands had left them because they saw someone else they thought was more beautiful. Ladies that were just down and didn't have a penny to their name, they were living on welfare and working two jobs just to try and make ends meet. They were beautiful, working hard for their kids, they were down on their self esteem, they didn't know that anyone cared about them but the people of the church began to love and help them. I want to tell you, not only did they come out of poverty but began to live the dream that God had for their life. We even saw some of those marriages restored. Men that would come in and say, "I can't believe you're bringing my wife to church. Do you know what she's like?" Well you were pretty much a jerk too, you hit her last night. How many of you know boldness will come over the men of God sometimes? I want to tell you sir, Jesus loves you anyway and he can set you free.
By shutting herself in with God, the widow shut the door on doubt. Her whole perspective on the situation began to change because she wasn't listening to the naysayers and the dream killers and the poor advice givers. People who mean well and are trying to be a comfort to you but they bring discouragement. How many of you have had that in the midst of your miracle? Shut the door on them and get alone with God. You see, miracles are physical impossibilities that happen. For those without faith, what we're trusting God for seems like foolishness.
Matthew 6:4 says, "Your Father who sees in secret will himself reward you openly".
I want to tell you this, I believe when we come here on Sunday mornings, I don't care what anyone else says or thinks, I know that God is going to do miracles. I know that God is going to touch lives through the people of this church. I've looked at you, I've heard you pray. I've heard the things you've asked God for and I believe that not only is God going to prove Himself to you individually so he'll meet your needs but he's doing it so you will dare to step out and do great things for him for the Kingdom of God. How many of you are thankful that there's more to life than just having a nice house and a nice car and 3 squares a day and being happy all the time? I'm so thankful that we don't just go to a job, come home and watch tv and go to bed and that's all there is to life. The truth is the things that God has for you and I make an eternal difference in this world and in the life to come because we're touching hearts and lives for Jesus Christ. How many of you know that's what we're supposed to be doing for the glory of God?
I want you to listen to this, the more you're spilled the more you're filled. You see, as long as that widow poured she never ran out of oil. When the vessels were full and there were none left, the oil stopped flowing. Can you imagine the joy? The oil kept flowing and flowing.
Listen to me Christian, if you are feeling empty and dry and you don't think your life is amounting to anything, you don't like where your job is going, you feel like it's a dead end; you've been working and doing your life and you don't feel like it's amounting to much, I want you to hear me, the more you are spilled the more you are filled. The oil has always been a symbol of the Holy Spirit. There are people who desire to know the powerful manifestation. They want to see the Holy Spirit move, they want to see God in the life of this church. How many of you have ever come to church before and said, "Lord, I wish there was more than this"? You know you have, you've asked yourself, "Why do I even go to church if that's all there is to it?" I want to tell you, the reason that church will feel that way is because people have stopped pouring into others. I'm not talking about giving your money. I'm talking about giving people Jesus, about sharing your faith, sharing the Lord, sharing salvation. Out of that all that other stuff comes.
There are people who desire to know God but in order to have the oil from heaven come we need to start pouring out. The truth is, you and I are called to pour in the oil and the wine. Remember that song, "He poured in the oil and the wine, the kind that restores my soul"? The truth is the more we are spilled the more we are filled. The more we do as a church to bring people to Christ the more we'll be filled, not only with more people but with more excitement and more miracles. You'll see people come to the altar and they'll be healed. You want to see the blind see? Bring someone who is blind and let's pray for them. You can't do it unless you're doing it. Do you want to see the lame walk? The deaf hear? You're called by God to become a miracle in other people's lives and miracle workers ourselves.
Paul, in Phillipians 2:17 says, "Yes, If I'm being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and did rejoice with you all".
Paul gave out like nobody we know and he faced so much in his life. More trials than you and I will never know but in the midst of it he was constantly filled with Spirit of God. He was so filled that even in prison he could sing a song of praise. The widow had stopped pouring in the middle of her house and said, "I'm getting tired" and she stopped, the miracle stopped.
I want to tell you too many people stop because sometimes receiving the miracle might take a little work. When you stop being spilled the oil can grow stagnant and what doesn't evaporate will grow moldy. Have you ever seen a moldy church?
One Sunday I was in a church and we were getting ready to do communion the night before. This church had so many problems. They had stopped serving God, they were fighting among themselves, they had stopped winning souls. I had actually went and filled up the communion cups and put it in the refrigerator the night before and covered it with plastic. How many of you know that should have kept it just fine? I went to get the communion out the next morning and the grape juice was moldy, every cup. How many of you know that as the preacher of that church I know we had just heard from God? I was scared at that point. I was looking for fire to come out of heaven and consume us. He made moldy the communion juice. I brought it to the altar. No one took communion that morning. I said, "Folks, we've stopped pouring. We've gotten so bitter and fighting with each other, we aren't even winning souls for Christ". Aren't you glad that's not happening here? Someone say a good amen. If it does we'll have the biggest repentance service you ever saw.
Listen, there was so much that widow poured out, Elisha said this, "Now that you've seen the miracle, it's time to move beyond the miracle, go sell it, pay all your debts and live on what's left over". How many of you know that God will not only give you enough for the miracle but he'll give you more to live on so that you can live securely in him.
I want to speak that to your life today. Some of you have been needing to give to the Lord. You've been needing that miracle from the Lord, you've been needing that touch from the Lord and God is saying, "I'm going to not only give you enough so that the miracle is met but I'm going to give you enough so that you can live on this and so that you can know that I've provided". How many know that we serve a God who does exceedingly abundant above what we ask or think? That's the God that we serve.
