GOD Multiplied the Oil... But Why Didn't He Multiply the Jars? 2 Kings 4 Sermon | John Giftah

0:01 Speaker 1: Do you ever look around and think, wow, the world is a crazy place, and it just seems to get crazier and crazier? Ease your mind and take a break. This is Fuel for the Soul with John Gifta. We're a hub for inspirational Christian sermons, practical keys for Christian living and Christian discussions and interviews. You'll be inspired to live the life that you were created for. Your host is a top ranking podcaster, bestselling author, world record holder, aerospace engineer, life coach, evangelist and founder of John Gifta International.

0:41 Speaker 1: Welcome to Fuel for the Soul with John Gifta.

0:46 Speaker 2: Hello everyone, welcome to this edition of the John Gifta podcast. All through this week, we're looking at various lessons we can take away from the life of Elisha, predominantly around his interaction with the poor widow in 2 Kings chapter 4. See, I want you to understand there are different things we've been talking about and I was intentional that God, I want revelations that boggle my mind. And I was looking at this aspect where Elisha is asking her, what do you have? Because she's in a very desperate state.

1:14 Speaker 2: And today you may be in a place where where you are desperate for a miracle because there is a season of lack. Maybe there is a moment where you do not know what to do and you're stuck in life. And that is exactly what is happening because she feels like all hell has broken loose. She lost her husband and now she has a lot of debt to pay and the creditors want to take her sons away as slaves and she doesn't know what to do. And when she's in a moment like that, you see that She's telling Prophet Elisha, all I have with me is a flask of olive oil.

1:45 Speaker 2: See, yesterday I was telling you, don't despise the only that I have in my life because she says, all I have or the only thing I have is this flask of olive oil because I want to tell you something very important here. The only thing that you have may be more than enough for God to do a miracle. So you may be looking at it as just a seed that is not bearing much fruit without realizing that it's going to bear a harvest. That's going to exceed your expectation. But I want to talk about something very important here.

2:15 Speaker 2: Yes, she had the flask with olive oil, right? But what I want you to understand, there is a moment in verse 3 where the prophet Elisha gives her an instruction saying, borrow as many empty jars as you can from your friends and your neighbors. Then go into your home, shut the door and start pouring the... all the way into the jars and so on and so forth so but i want to just pause here because i i want to just look at this he's telling her go and borrow as many empty jars as possible from your friends and neighbors.

2:53 Speaker 2: Now, there are a lot of sermons that we talk about in terms of building your capacity to receive the miracle and all of that. Yes, that's there. There's a place for it. But as I said earlier in one of the episodes, I said, see, I want to look at every passage and look at something new. I want you to speak to me. I want you to show me something I've not seen before. And this is what caught my attention and I wanted to share. It says that God to ask for empty jars from her friends and neighbors right and that caught my attention that yes God did the miracle of multiplying the oil but God did not multiply the jars God could have done that if he did that miracle he could have done this miracle Right.

3:39 Speaker 2: God could have multiplied the jars as well. God need not have to ask her through the counsel of Prophet Elisha. God need not have to ask her to go and borrow these jars. You know what I'm saying?

3:53 Speaker 1: Right.

3:53 Speaker 2: It really caught my attention that, yes, there are certain things that only God would do. But there are certain things he expects us to do. And for us to do it, we need something very important. Which a lot of Christians are missing out on. A lot of Christians are lacking in this area. You know what that is? Friends and family. Friends and neighbors. Friends and community. This lady, when the prophet said, I want you to go and get the jars from your friends and your neighbors. She didn't hesitate.

4:31 Speaker 2: She didn't say, oh, but I don't have any friends. I don't. I have good terms with my neighbors. How can I go and ask? No, she was in a good relationship that helped her to go and borrow as many jars as possible from her friends and from neighbors. Because it was not like getting five jars, right? It was she had got so much that she was able to pay back. The death and to continue to live till she got over this difficult season. Think about this, right? Because that's what their prophet says later.

5:12 Speaker 2: You know, you can pay your debts and you and your sons can live with what's left over. So there's so much that came in. That means she was able to accumulate so many jars. For her to accumulate so much, she had to have so many people in her contacts as well. And this is where a lot of people miss. They think, oh, I don't need people. All I need is God. Yes, our ultimatum is all you need is God. But that does not mean you don't need people. Because God still uses people. God still uses community.

5:48 Speaker 2: And this is a powerful thing that you need to understand. That a lot of people, they go to church. The minute the benediction is over, they leave the church. They don't stop to talk to anyone. They don't spend time trying to get to know people. or they attend any area fellowship, or any kind of life group, they attend for the service or the program, the prayer, and then they probably have a meal quickly, and then say, hey, hi, oh, nice to meet you, and then they leave. If you are doing like that, when you need people for your miracle, now, listen, listen, this is very important, because I need you to have the right intention here.

6:30 Speaker 2: I'm not saying develop relationships spiritually, because you want to use them i'm not saying with that intention okay don't develop or try to connect with people because you may want them later don't do that but what i'm saying is you need to have that intention of taking time to build relationships build good rapport have fellowship with one another because if you see even in the model of the new new testament church They fellowshiped with each other. They didn't just attend the prayer service and leave.

7:01 Speaker 2: They didn't just attend the youth program and leave. You need to build rapport with each other. You need to build relationships with each other. This is lacking among a lot of Christians. They attend a program. They attend a function. Yes, there's a place for attending church because you want to spend time in the presence of the Lord. You want to hear his voice. You want to honor God and be in a place where you understand the sanctity of the sanctuary. Yes, there's a place for all of that. But in the midst of that, don't forget that church is also a place for you to have that fellowship with one another.

7:37 Speaker 2: build that fellowship with one another, build that relationship with one another. So you've got to have good friends and not only friends with church people, because this is another side, right? She didn't just get it from friends. She also got it from neighbors. I want to ask you this question today. Do you have good rapport with your neighbors? Or are you saying that, you know what? Nobody in my neighborhood talks to me. If nobody talks to you, maybe there's something wrong with you. What do you think about this?

8:09 Speaker 2: Maybe you need to ask God to help you build good relationships and rapport with your neighbors. And when I mean neighbors, it also goes beyond just the neighborhood. We live in a time and age where we are connected through social media. It can be people on your contact feed. It can be people in your workplace. It can be people in your neighborhood. in a sports club it can be people in in in in any community that you're a part of a group that you're a part of or you've been involved with with regard to some activity i'm challenging you today yes god did the miracle for this lady in multiplying the oil but god did not multiply the jars for the jars she had to learn how to cultivate and nurture good relationships Because if she was someone who wouldn't talk to anybody, because a lot of Christians have this holier-than-thou attitude.

9:06 Speaker 2: Oh, I'm not going to talk to them. I don't want to associate myself with such people. Look at them. They're in sin. Look at them. Their lifestyle is so unholy. I can't associate myself with them. Can I tell you something? I have seen this miracle in my life where many times... Some of the contacts or some of the ideas and creativity that I had from the ministry point of view when I see some of the ideas or some of the best practices, I've not learned from quote unquote Christians. It's from people who are really good at it, but they're not of the Christian faith.

9:45 Speaker 2: They're from a different faith. In fact, for example, my book became a number one bestseller, right? How to market the book to become a number one bestseller, that whole idea, that whole approach I learned from, not from a Christian circle. Because in the Christian circle, the focus is never about marketing. Most of the people don't care about marketing. Many people are not aware of many things. They just focus on, oh, I have a beautiful message and God, you bless it. Yes, God will bless. But learning the tricks of the trade and all of that, I learned from beyond that and for that i couldn't learn by just say being transactional i had to build good relationships i had to be in places that would be counted as oh that's not a good place to be as a christian i i i remember going out with some team outings and team meetings um where most of the time they would arrange it in...

10:41 Speaker 2: because I work as an aerospace engineer, right? Like I work in the corporate and I'm running the ministry. So some of the times we would be in pubs. Of course, I don't drink or smoke, but I have to be with those people. to build those relationships, then there will be a point of time when we could use the opportunity, the platform to either bless them, to talk about God eventually if the opportunity strikes or to use it to build the kingdom through the resources or through the connections or through the partnership that God brings in.

11:18 Speaker 2: So I'm challenging you today that you would be in a place where You're not the kind who's like, you know what, I'm going to just stick to my tiny circle. I'm not going to talk to people. Or you tend to leave church early or the minute the service is over, you just have a cup of coffee and leave. Or you avoid fellowship. Or you are not being intentional about building healthy relationships. And you're intentionally being very isolated. That's not the place for you to be. That's not the lifestyle God wants you to have.

11:55 Speaker 2: And I challenge you to be intentional that you will build genuine relationships. Like I said, your intentions matter. Don't build relationships because you want to get something out of it. Build genuine relationships. Value community. And don't live as though being spiritual means to be isolated with regard to relationships. That's not the way it's supposed to be. Because when you do what you can do in building good relationships, building the good rapport, then God will do what only he can do. Because I want to close with this line because this is so beautiful that when I was preparing, I was like, wow, God, this is so good.

12:37 Speaker 2: Sometimes God gives you the oil, but somebody else has to jar. You don't know who has to jar for the oil that you have. You don't know who... is going to be the one you need to help you unlock the next level of your destiny. You don't know who God is going to use to

13:01 Speaker 2: be involved in that miracle. One point of contact, one destiny move, one person that you might actually write off and say, this person is so annoying, I don't want to have anything to do with that person. But what if that annoying person or what if that you know annoying co-worker or that that the person that you can't tolerate is the one that God is going to use to unlock the miracle he's going to bring into your life I really challenge you to value the relationships in your life and be intentional about building good relationships because your miracle may involve something that God has placed in somebody else's hands.

13:47 Speaker 2: I really challenge you to leave a comment and share this with someone and I will see you back next time. God bless you.

13:54 Speaker 1: You've been listening to Fuel for the Soul with John Gifta. We hope you were blessed and inspired to live the life that God has for you. Make sure to subscribe to the John Gifta YouTube channel for regular uploads of sermons, skits, interviews, and more. Follow John Gifta on Instagram for regular inspirational posts. and don't forget to check out the best-selling books written by John Gifta, Who Am I?, which will help you understand your identity, and the latest number one bestseller, Unveil Your Purpose, helping you discover your purpose and to start walking in it.

14:29 Speaker 1: Make sure to leave a rating and review, and be sure to share it with your friends and loved ones. If you'd like to donate, you can find the PayPal link in the description. And if you'd like to invite John Gifta to speak at your event or to get more details, go to the website at www.johngifta.com. See you on the next episode of The Fuel for the Soul with John Gifta. God bless you.