Psalms 78:41 Yes, again and again they tempted God, And limited the Holy One of Israel.
The focus of this series is the fact that a woman in dire need received a miracle from God. A miracle is anything that cannot be explained or obtained by natural means. The Bible talks about signs and wonders. A sign is something we see that points to God and a wonder is anything that makes you wonder how it happened.
The
woman we are reading about in 2 Kings 4 received a miracle which ended up being
much more than she asked for and even more than she needed.
·
Miracles begin with a need.
·
Men
cannot perform miracles, only God can do miracles.
·
God
often meets a need or gives a blessing beyond human comprehension.
·
These
divine interventions are called signs, wonders, and miracles.
·
Unbelievers
try to explain miracles away with foolish nonsense, but Believers know the
signs that point directly to God.
· Every good gift and every perfect gift comes down from the Father above. (James 1:17)
The woman in 2 Kings 4 received a miracle because she took her need to God and did what He said through the prophet Elisha. If she had not been willing to trust the Word of the Lord and do what He said, she would not have received her miracle. People aren’t often aware just how much they limit God working in and through their lives.
God wants to be involved in your life. He is a loving Father who wants to hear your need. Jesus said, “ask and receive that your joy might be full.” (John 16:24) James encourages us to ask in faith, knowing God wants to be included in our daily lives.
There are a few things which limit God.
Of
course the big one is sin. Jeremiah 5:25 Your iniquities have turned these things
away, And your sins have withheld good from you.
·
Sin limits God.
· All that God could do and would do can be limited by sin.
Matthew 13:58 Now He did not do many
mighty works there because of their unbelief. (Mark 6:5)
· Unbelief limits God.
2 Kings 13
18 Then he said, “Take the arrows”; so he took them.
And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground”; so he struck three
times, and stopped.
19 And the man of God was angry with him, and
said, “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck
Syria till you had destroyed it! But now you will strike Syria only
three times.”
· Vision limits God.
Luke 18
22 Now when Jesus heard these things, he said
unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute
unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.
23 And when he heard this, he was very
sorrowful: for he was very rich.
· Refusing to follow directions limits God.
Matthew 22:14 “For many are called,
but few are chosen.”
· Being unprepared limits God.
The woman in 2 Kings 4 was not in sin; she believed the word of God spoken to her by the prophet; she followed the directions she was given, step by step; she also worked hard and was prepared.
The one thing she could have done better was to have a bigger vision. To see God able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all she could think or ask. (Ephesians 3:20) Not only able, but willing! “According to the power that is at work in us.”
2 Kings 4 NKJV
1 ¶ 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.”
2 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.”
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.
So, the oil ceased.
Why did the oil stop? Because all the vessels were full. Full vessels limit God.
I heard a story once about a preacher who read the account of the Good Samaritan each Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night for 6 weeks in a row. The passage is about being a good neighbor. He didn’t preach but only read Luke 10:30-37 and then dismissed the congregation. Verse 37 concludes with Jesus saying, “Go thou and do likewise.”
After 6 weeks the deacons got together and called the pastor aside for a meeting. They told him that the congregation was wanting to hear more of the Bible than just one passage. The preacher assured the deacons that just as soon as they and the congregation learned this lesson, he would move on to the next one.
The secret to continuing your miracle is to keep pouring out and to never sit down full and in need of nothing.
Jesus dictated the Book of Revelation to John. In the opening chapters John records Jesus speaking to the Churches. The last Church to be addressed was the Church of Laodicea. Many scholars believe this is a specific message to the last days Church … the Church in our day. Listen to what the Church says and how Jesus replies.
Revelation 3 NKJV
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 —
19 “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.
Let’s not get so full or feel so full that we imagine we have need of nothing. Apathy is an attitude the Believer cannot afford. If you are blessed, you are blessed because of the Lord. Be thankful and remain zealous for the things of God
When we lose our hunger for the work to which God called us, we have become too comfortable. Like the young rich ruler who went away sorrowful because he was doing ok. He failed to recognize why he had been so blessed. He was blessed to be a blessing, not to be a ruler, but to be a servant.
If you have lost your zeal for the lost or for the work of the Lord, consider yourself rebuked and repent. Pour yourself out and you won’t feel so full.
How can you pour yourself out?
Work, service, giving, loving, helping, feeding, visiting, praying, being a good neighbor, witnessing, bringing others to Church. When you stop lifting an empty vessel to God, the miracle you have had will stop.
Don’t
limit the Holy One of Israel … Don’t stop!
