Ser

mons
GoBor
rowVessel
s
2Ki
ngs4:
1-7(
Readt
het
ext
)
Shehad5pr
obl
ems
1.Fi
nanci
alproblem;shehadnomoneyandt
hehusbandhadl
eft
alotofDebt
sf orhertoset
tl
e.
2.Lostherhusband:Thoset imesmenwer ethebreadwinner
sof
thefamil
y.Womenmost lyhousewi v
es.Thebreadwinnerwas
gone.Heconfidant,
herlov er
,theoneshesharehetroubl
eswith
andrecei
vephy si
calcomf ort
.WasdeadandGone.
3.Onlysour
ceofhope,
chi
l
dren.Thecr
edi
tor
swer
ecomi
ngt
o
takeaway.
4.Soci
alst
igma:
peopl
etaggi
ngheri
naway
,gi
vi
ngnamesand
stuf
fs
5.Spi
ri
tual
disappoi
ntment(ChurchandGoddi
sappoi
ntedher
).
Godwasnotpr ovi
dingsoasthechurch.

Themaj orpr
ophetsoft heoldtestamentweretheorgani
zer
sand
teacher
softheschool ofprophets.Thewidow’shusbandwasi
n
theschooloftheprophets.Shewentt oaskthebossofher
husbandhopefull
yforhelp.
Shet
oldt
hepr
ophetherwor
ryonl
ytober
epl
i
edwi
tht
woquest
ions
1.Whatdoy
ouhav
e?(
Quest
iononherr
esponsi
bil
i
ty)
2.Whatdoy
ouwantmet
odo?(El
i
sha'
sresponsi
bil
i
ty)
Shewascaref
ulnott
otr
yanddef
inet
her
esponsi
bil
i
tyofGod
butr
ather
Obv
iousl
y,Normal
lyi
fitwasy
ouorIwewoul
dpicktheonet
hati
s
t
heresponsi
bil
i
tyoft
heoneyouar
eseeki
nghel
pfrom.
Meaningwoewouldhav eanswer
edthewhatdoyouwantmetodo
quest
ion.YouanswerandyourSol
uti
onorrepl
ytot
hequest
ion
mightnotcl
earl
ydefi
netherol
eorwhatexact
lyGodhast
odo.Be
r
esponsibl
eforwhatyouaresupposedt
odo.GodisGod,
andlet
Hi
m handleHispar
tHisownway .
Thi
swomanrat
herr
epl
i
edbasedonwhatshewasr
esponsi
blef
or
say
ing,
Ihavenothingbut .
..
..
..
.Ajaroroil.Wheny ouspeakasent enceand
youaddtheconj unctonbuti
i tmeansy ouar eabouttonegat ewhat
everyouhavesai dwithanopposi t
est atement.Forexampl e:Hei s
goodbutstubbor nsometimes, shei spoorbuthasabeaut if
ul heart
.
SheSaidIhav enothingbut…….(Negat ingtheIhavenothingt o
mentionsomet hi
ngshehas) …..Aj arofoil(Negati
onoft he
previ
ousstatementwi t
hbut )
.Letthisbey ournewl anguage, Idon’t
havemoneybutTheLor dwi l
lSuppl y,t
heseasonar ehard, ButGod
i
sbymysi de.Ev ery
oneonehasl eftmysi debuttheLordi sstil
l wit
h
me.TheJarofoi lwasal l
shehadapar tfrom hersons.

Ihav
enot
hingbutaj
arofoi
l
Weignor
ewhatwehavebecauseitl
ooksinsi
gni
fi
cantt
osolv
ethe
pr
oblemswehave.Thr
eei
mpor t
antt
hingsaboutt
heencount
erwi
th
El
i
sha
 Thereleaseofacr
eat
ivewor
d(God'
spar
t)(i
nst
ruct
ionsf
rom
theProphet)
 Jarofoi
l(Yourpar
ttoPl
ay)(Whaty
ouhav
e)
 Bor
rowedv
essel
(Thepar
toft
hepeopl
e)
Mostatt imeswewantGodt oplayalltheparts.That’showwe
havebeenmadet obelieve,
Godwi l
ldoev eryt
hing,justwai tandsee.
Even,whent hereisacr eati
vewor dreleasewewanti tt ohappen
i
nstantly
.Thesoci etyofImpat i
entpeopl e.Therewast i
mei nterv
al
betweenwhent hePr ophetGavet heCr eati
vewor d,whent he
womanwentt oborrowal lt
hev essel
sshecoul dgetandf il
lingthe
vessel
swi thoilti
l
l t
herewasnonel efttof i
l
l.Godhasr eleasedso
manyt hingsintousbutwear enotpl ayingourpar t
s.Thepar abl
eof

2
theTal
ents.Themasterrel
easedGif
tsuntotheserv
ants.Hedi
dn’
t
comeandwor kwithitf
orthem,buttheyr
atherhadtoworkwit
hthe
tal
ent
sthemselves.
Anytimether
eiscri
sis,
ther
eisGod'
spart
,yourpar
tandot her
people’
spart
.Youcannotsolv
eallt
hepar
tsanddon'texpectGod
toplayall
thepar
tstoo.
TheCr
eat
iveWor
d
Everycreat ivewor dhast obedev eloped.Thewor disaCr eative
word.Thewor dispr egnantwi thever ysinglethi ngt hatisneededt o
causet hewor dtocomet opass; Power ,wisdom, i
nst r
uct i
ons,
dir
ections, knowl edgeandsoon.TheJarofOi list heinbor ngi fts
andabi l
iti
esGodhasgi vent oy ou.Youuset hatt of uelyourl i
fe.
Yourjarofoi l i
suni quet oy ou.Itmaynotbemuch.TheJarofoi l
wasenought ochanget hesi tuation.Anysi tuation, y ouneed
somet hingi nsigni f
icanttochanget hest ory.Youcannotbor row
someoneoi l
, becausei t
snoty oursandy ouwon’ tunder standi t
.
Godmadeev eryonespeci al,theamountofoi ltatwoul dwor kf or
someonemi ghtnotnecessar i
lywor kforyou.I fy oudespi sethej ar
ofoil,
orl ookdownoni t
,y oumi ssy ourbr eakt hr ough.Yourj arofoi l
i
sGodI nv estmenti ny ou.Att i
meswedespi sesi tbecausei tlooks
i
nsignifi
cantt oourey es.Peopl emi ghtnotgi vey out hehonory ou
deservebutdon’ tlookdownony oursel f.YourJari sallGodneeds
fr
om y ou.Youdon' thavei tl
ikeot herpeopl ehav eit.Don' tdespi seit.
It
sy ourst rengt h,andy ouradv antage.
Womanofzarafat,
lastmeal
,thatwhi
chi
syourl
astl
ooks
i
nsi
gni
fi
cantbuttheLordwouldgivey
ouatur
naround.
Thej
arofoi
l
1.Thej
ari
stheCont
ainer
2.Theoi
li
stheSubst
ance
Thevesselar
ethecontai
ner,
wedespiset
helookofthecontai
ner.
Thecontai
nerwassmal l
.Humansar
econtai
ner
s,andwet endto
l
ookdownonour sel
ves;wearesmal
l,hei
sachil
dandwhatatal l

3
canhedo,i nsignif i
cant , wedon’ thav et hisqual ifi
cat ionandt hat ,I
don’ thav espeechel oquence(Jer emi ah), howcansomet hingl ike
thiscomeoutofme( Sar ah)andsoon.Wet endt opayat t
ent iont o
thedi splayf eat ureoft hecont ainer .Don’ tjudgey our sel fbyy our
cov ering.Mani saspi ri
tbei ng, wi t
hasoul tatGodgav et ohi m at
creat i
onsoasaf l
esht ocont aint heset woent i
ties.Whyl ookatt he
cont ainert odescr ibet hebei ngi tsel f
.Youcanputwat eri ntoa
rubber ,tieitandi twoul dst illbeabl et oquencht hirst .Youar ewhat
youar ebyGod' sst andar ds.Lookatt heoi l nott hecont ainer ;lookat
thet ruey ouandnoty ourf lesh.Thatgi f
tt hatabi li
tyt hati dea, st art
pour ingi tandi twoul dexpand.TheLor dwant st ouset heoi l.What
youneedt omakear ev essel .Gobor rowv essel ,notf ewbutal ot .I
s
thej ary ouar eusi ngOKwi tht heoi l youhav e.Putnewoi li
nt onew
wineski n.Mat t hew9: 17Nei therdomenputnew  wi ne  intool d
bot t
les: elsethebot tlesbr eak, andt he  wine  runsout ,andt he
bot t
lesper i
sh: butt heyputnew  wine  i
nt onewbot tles, andbot har e
preser ved.  
Godhasnopr oblem wi tht hei dea, theoi l butt hei ssuei s
thecont ainer.St opput tingt heat t
ent ionont hecont ai nerandf ocus
ont hecont ent .Elishat ookt hewoman' sat tent ionoft hecont ainer ,
andunt ot hecont ent .Shedescr ibedt hecont ainerassmal l
,
disregar dingt hecont ent .Nowl et’
st al kaboutoi l
,whet heri tissmal l
ori nlargequant i
ties, itssomet hingt hathasal otofadv antagest o
i
t.Butt hiswoman' sst or yt hesi zeoft hecont ainermadehert o
disregar dt hecont ent .Ther ear epeopl et haty oumeetandy ou
disregar dwhatt heycar ry ,becauseofy ourownj udgement sor
assumpt i
ons.Thatdi sregar dedsmal l oilwast hesol ut i
ont owhat
evermagni tudeofpr obl em shewasf acing.Someofuswehav e
beenanoi ntedf ormi ni str y,inst eadofl ooki ngatt heonewhocal l
ed
andt heHi sabi lit
iesandwhatHehasdeposi tedi ntous, wel ookat
ourowncont ainer s; Me, oht her eisami stakesomewher e,ther ei s
nowayIcandoi t,unl esst hewor l
dst artaneworam bor nin
anot hercont i
nent .Notonl yt hatbutcoupl edwi t
hf eart hatt hedev i
l
use, wehav ebeenshi ftedsomanyt imeswi thoutnumberf rom t he
overf l
owoft heoi linourl i
fe’s.Ther ei sachr oni csituat iony ou
mi ghtbef acing, ahar dpoi nty ouar egoi ngt hrough, thesol ut i
oni s

4
assimpl eastheoi li
nsidey ouandy oupour i
ngit.Fort hewor dof
God,say sIam theGodofal lflesh,i
st hereanythingtohar dforme.
Wear epleasedt hatthef ul
lnessofGodDwel l
sinChr istandChr ist
dwell
si nus.Ther ef
oret heful l
nessofGoddwel lsinyou.Andt here
i
snothingt oohar dforGod, t hereforecomei ntoagr eementwi t
h
God,hav eundoubt i
ngf ait
hwi t
hwor ksandseet heLor dper formi n
yourl
ife.Don’ttookatt hesi zeoft hatchi ld,Godhassomet hingbig
i
nsideofhi m orher.Heav enl ytreasur eshiddeni nsidemor t
als, y
ou
arenodi ff
erent
.Don’ tl
ookatt hesi zeandwhaty ourstrengt hcan
do,l
ookatwhatGodi ny oucando.Paul knewthi ssecr etandmade
aprofoundst at
ement ;
Chr i
sti nme, theHopeofGl ory.Het ookt he
att
enti
onof fthecont ainerandunt ot hecont ent.
Bor
rowedv
essel
s
Syst emsandst ructuresy oucanl earnfrom ot
her stobui l
dy ours.
Youcan' tuseot herpeopl e’sgift
s.That'
swhyshebor r
owedempt y
vessel s.Wal kyouruni queness.Youcannotgoandcopyot her
peopl egi f
tsandt alentsbecauset heyhaveexcel l
edthaty ouwi l
l
excel .Borrowedv essel scangr owandexpand.Youoi l
scanbel i
tt
le
buti tcangr owandexpand.Ther earelessonsy oucanl earnf r
om.I f
youbor rowv esselswi thot herpeopleoili
nityoubecomeacopy
cat.Lear nf r
om peopl e, andmaket hei
rideasuniquet oyourcal l
ing,
toy ourt al
ent.IfEli
shaaskt hewomant oborr
owv essel
swi thoili
n
them shewoul dhav eowepeopl eagain.Peoplei ntr
oubl earest i
ll
l
ooki ngf orhowt ogeti ntomor etroublethantogetoutofi t.You
needt omakey ourownbr eakthrough.Godisv erykeenon
originali
ty.Dowhatonl yyoucando, beuniquelikeyouhav ebeen
wonder ful
lymade.
JesusChri
st,
whenHecametotheear
th,
Hebor
rowedv
essel
s.He
carr
iedoi
l
,buthebor
rowedv
essel
.
 Heaskedf ortheboatofpet
er.Pet
erv
essel
,Jesuspour
edHi
s
oi
lofpreaching.
 TheDonkey,borr
owedandpouredHi soi
lofHonorandGl
ory
i
nside.Youneedotherpeopl
esvesselt
oaccompli
shyour

5
 v
isi
on.
 Lastsupper,heneedaspacear oom,hesentdiscipl
estogo
andpleadforar oom.Sotheycanhavethei
rlastsupper.The
room wasthev essel
,theCommunionwastheoi lpouredin
thatvessel
.
Theoil
ofmini
str
yoveryourl
i
femayitnev
erseizeunt
ily
ouhave
fi
l
ledever
yhumanvesselGodhasmadeavai
lablef
oryoutof
il
l.
Startpouri
ngyouroi
l.Pourt
hatoi
l
.Theycanstopyouract
ivi
tybut
theycan'tst
opyouroil
.Theoil
hasapurpose,
all
owitworkinyou.

V7Thenshecameandtoldt
hemanofGod.Andhesaid,
"Go,
sel
l
theoil
andpayy
ourdebt
,andyouandy
oursonscanl
iv
eonthe
rest
..
Learningsomet hingouti fnothing.Ittookonej arofoiltoteacha
womanmar keti
ngst rategy .Godcandoev erythingwi t
hy our
nothing.Oilwasl ikemoneyi ny ourhandst hoseday sthatt he
prophetlived.Thepr ophetaskedher ,whatdoy ouhav e?Thi sisa
l
iter
al question,askingaboutherpossessi ons.Al lshesaidwasI
haveaj arofoi l
,coul dithav ebeent hatthewomandi dn’tev enhave
achai rorabedt osleeponi nt hehouse.Thi sist r
uebecauset he
debtorswer enowcomi ngf orhersons.I fshehadsomet hing,they
wouldhav eopt edf ort hat .Thisisthelevel ofempt inessint hi
s
woman' slife.Someofusdon’ tBenseet helit
tleblessingwehav e.
Thatcar ,t
hatchai r,bicycle, fr
idge,tel
evision.
Therewasal otofempt i
nessi nherl i
fe.Thehousewasempt y,
every
thi
ngshehad, wasf inish,cont ainerswereempty.Shewas
askedtoborrowmor eempt yv essels.Afterpouri
ngtheoiltofil
l
every
thi
ngshemadeast atementbr inganotheremptyv esseland
thesonrepli
edtherearenomor ev essel.Thehousethatwasempt y
adaybeforeamomentago, hassuddenl ybecomefullof
abundance.Shehadenought ofil
lev eryempt i
nessi
nherl i
fe,even
totheextentofborr
owedv esselsbecamef i
ll
ed.Shediscovered
hope,astheempt yvessel werebei ngf il
l
ed.Thejarofoil,
didn’t

6
fi
nisheditstopfl
owi ng.Thepresenceoftheemptyv esselwoul
d
tr
iggertheoilnottostopandt oContinue.Godisputti
ngy oui
n
contactwithpeoplef r
iendsstr
uctur
esot hatwhenthet i
mecomes
andt heoil
hitseveryv essel
swouldbef i
ll
ed.
Shutthedoor:notev
eryeyeshouldseethemi r
acle.Someofuswe
tal
ktoomuch.WhenGodst art
sitkeepquiet.WhenGodI swor
king
i
tdon'tdestr
oytheprocessatthebegi
nning.That '
swhyGodput
Adam tosleepwhenhewasmaki ngEve.Wai tfortheful
l
nessof
ti
me.
Godhasaspeci
alt
yinf
il
li
ngempt
iness.
I
ncreat
ion.
..Ear
thwasv
oid(
empt
y).
..Hewaspr
epar
ingt
he
gr
ound.
..Forfi
ll
i
ng.
I
nthebookofJohn,
5000st
omachst
hatwer
ehungr
y,God
Fi
ll
edt
hem.
Thedisci
pleswantedtosendt
hem awayt
osol
vet
hepr
obl
em.But
noti
nt hi
sstat
e,Jesussai
d.
Thesmal lboywithhislunch.What '
sisbr eadandfishforoneboy,
tofi
vethousandpeopl e.Peoplehavev ariouscapacit
ytofil
l(some
caneat5loav esofbreadand10f i
shes, someoneofeach) .Jesus
gavethanks,pull
i
ngpeopl eat t
enti
ontoGodev enintheirempty
stomachs.Withpeopledi f
ferentsati
sfactionl
evelwereallfi
l
ledand
ther
ewasmor eleft
overs.
Weddi ngi nCana, wher eJesusper f
ormedHi sfir
stmi racle.Barrels
wereEmpt y,thewineforthef estivi
tywasf ini
shed.I mpat ient
peoplel eft.Peopleleaveyourl if
ebecauset heyhav en’tseen
anythingofi ty et
.Theyi nturnsaynot hingiscomi ngoutofy ourlife
Ltmel eave.Thegoodt imesaboutt hi
sper soni sfini
shed.The
empt ybar relsweref i
ll
edwi thwat er.I
nsy mbol s,Jesusi st hewat er
ofli
fe.Sot heyputJesusi ntot heempt ysituationandt heewasan
exponent ialturnaround.Wat eralonecantgi veyouwi ne, butinthe
PresenceofGodi twaspossi ble.Thewat erwast ransformed,
metamor phi ntoanotherthingal lt
ogether.Themanwhot astedit,
askedwher eisthi
swi nefrom, whyhav ey ousav edt hebestf orthe

7
l
ast.Peoplest artwit
ht hei
rbestwi nebuty ouhaveputi
tatthel ast
.
Thement alit
yofpeopl emakest hem thinkGodi sdonewithy ou.
Likethereferencewasmadet othewi ne.Theythi
nkthebestof
yourli
feshoul dhitatthebeginning,butGodpl ansot
herwise.
Excell
encegl oryofthecontent,becauseJehov ahhasfil
l
edt he
emptiness.At t
racti
onanointi
ng, peoplewouldseewhatGodi s
doingandmar vel.
WhenGodi
sdeal
i
ngwi
thy
ou,
itwoul
dlookst
ranget
opeopl
e.
Bewar
eofl
i
mit
ingGod'
sbl
essi
ngbyl
ackofFai
thanddi
sobedi
ence.

Thr
eet
hings,
tonot
efr
om t
hev
erse7.
1.Gosel
ltheoil
(Marketi
ngpri
ncipl
es).I
nothert
osell
,sheneeds
toknowthepri
ceofoil
inthemarket.Shewouldgoaski
nghow
muchoil
is,comehomeandpr i
ceherown.Awomanofnot hi
ng
becameasuppli
erofoil
.
2.Payyourdebt(Freedom, li
berat
ion),whentheoil
inthevessel
speaks,t
hereisl
iber
ationfreedom.Shehadt of
reehersel
ffr
om the
tag,t
hestigma,t
heposi t
ionofabor rower,andi
nallobtai
nher
digni
tyback.
3.LiveontheRest
, t
hewasenoughprov i
sionf orali
fet
ime.I
twas
al
soapr opheti
cdeclar
ati
on,asl
ongasshel ivestherestoft
he
proceedsshoul
dreceivepowert
oli
ve.Justlikewhenwehad
nothi
ng,Jesussavedusandgaveusev erl
astingli
fe.

Prai
seGod,i
ndeedOurGodi
sal
i
ve.Don’
tloosehope,
Godi
supt
o
somethi
ngbi
g.
Smalloi
linyoucandoal
lthemi
ghtyt
hingsGodwant
syout
odo.
St
artbel
ievi
ngandseeGodwork.