(Written by Rudi Swanepoel)

2 Kings 4:1-8

“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 two sons to be his slaves. So 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. Then he said, "Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors--empty vessels; do not gather just a few. 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. 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. 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. 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."

God spoke to me as I read this very familiar peace of scripture and I want to share with you a few things that really touched my life: 

      We owe the Gospel to the world

The Gospel is the “power of God unto salvation.” As recipients of the glorious gospel of Christ all Believers owe a debt to society. We have found the Answer to all humanity’s calamities: Jesus Christ. He is the Light of the world and the Savior humans so desperately need. Our ultimate enemy is sin because “the wages of sin is death”. The ultimate miracle is salvation and it only comes by way of the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ. Come on, pay your spiritual debt. That is a sure way to keep the creditor, who is coming after your sons and daughters big time, out of your home.

 

Our sons and daughters are targeted to pay for our debts

If we neglect our responsibility to share the gospel of Christ with the world, the next generation will find it hard to live in freedom because the creditor will target the next generation. Think about this: “each generation lauds the power of God to the next.” We will do good to include and not exclude the next generation in our gospel efforts. We simply must expose our sons and daughters to the glory and power of God. Do not let them skip church because of the demands at school. Do not place schedules above worship. Ensure that they know how to pay their own spiritual debt to society.

 

      Identify your oil

Elisha knew what it was going to take to keep the creditor from enslaving this woman’s sons. He knew it would take an act of God. Nothing short of a miracle! He also knew that although miracles are birthed in heaven and are almost exclusively acts of God that the Lord often times would use a human element to complete the work. Think about it: Jesus started with 2 fishes and 5 loaves of bread and fed over 5,000 people. Elisha asked: “What do you have in the house?” When the unthinkable happens and financial calamity strikes a home often times that family will sell of their stuff to provide necessities like food on the table. First the luxuries would go (cable tv, cell phones, golf clubs, etc.). This woman said to Elisha, “I have nothing but a little oil.” She did not get rid of the oil. This was not cheap cooking oil. It was precious anointing oil. She pawned off all her possessions, but somehow held on to the oil. Spiritually the oil speaks of the anointing that the Spirit of God brings. What a tremendous lesson to us! Do not get rid of the oil! Do not let g of the anointing on your life. Allow the Holy Spirit to continue to pour it and stir it in your heart. You can pawn off many things to this world, or let go of some blessings if you must, but hold on to the oil. You’ll need it. It will be the starting place of your miracle!

     

      God’s strategy to pay off your spiritual debt

Gather empty pots. These pots could be any shape or size, any color or made of any material. There was only one qualification. They had to be empty. A full pot cannot be filled any more than it already is. Our spiritual duty is to identify empty pots and bring them to the oil to be filled! There are so many people who are spiritually empty; people of all shapes and sizes, creeds and colors. They all need to be filled.

Look at verse 4 and 6 again, “pour the oil into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones.” And “There is not another vessel. So the oil ceased.” As long as there were empty vessels to be filled, the oil kept flowing, but the moment all the vessels were filled, the oil ceased. May we never run out of empty vessels! May we never be so full that the oil of God will cease to flow into our lives! Let’s keep an attitude of emptiness when it comes to the anointing, power and blessings of God. We read in Rev. 3:17, “Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. . .” God was addressing a lukewarm church that is nether hot nor cold but lukewarm, a church that had an attitude of fullness and fulfillment when they were in fact running on empty. When you come to the Lord with an attitude of fullness He will “set aside the full ones” and focus on the empty ones.

Find the empty areas of your life and present them to the Lord. Let him pour oil into you to overflowing, but do not let the flow of anointing stop. Never say, “Lord, thank you for blessing me. I have enough now. I am filled to the brim.” David said, “You anoint my head with oil, my cup runs over.” Rather come to Him with an attitude of emptiness. Say, “Lord, You have been so good to me, but I want more. I cannot get enough of You! Give me more oil, more blessing, more power, more effectiveness, more of You, more impact and influence. I’ll never have enough of You! I am an empty pot, please pour oil into me.”