Sunday Morning Podcast October 23, 2016. Bro. Dave Goble.
TEXT: 1 KINGS 17:9-16
9 Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.
10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.
11 And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand.
12 And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.
13 And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.
14 For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth.
15 And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.
16 And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah.
The widow woman’s vessel of oil, was nearly empty. She was understandably discouraged, for the hope of her and her son’s life. Elijah had asked her to take the last of her oil and meal, to make him a cake first, then make one for her and her son. God’s promise for her obedience in this, was that her supply would not run out, until the famine ended. God would sustain her and her son.
Spiritually your vessel of oil, also may have almost run dry. This likely will bring a hopeless feeling of discouragement. Many things may have brought you to this place in life. Obstacles, calamity, etc., whether avoidable or not, can oppress you. God doesn’t want you to cast away your confidence because you think there is no other option. “Cast not away therefore your confidence, which has great recompence of reward.” Hebrews 10:35 The woman’s great reward, was to have an endless supply of sustenance. The reward of knowing God cared, and would supply all of her needs.
Sometimes it seems as if all our oil, in our vessel of grace, is completely leaked out. As if we have no more ability to continue in God’s grace. As if we are completely empty. Maybe it happened after many devastating circumstances in our life. The enemy of our soul, wants us to then throw away our vessel of Salvation, feeling as if we cannot spiritually survive. This can be a time of great testimony of God’s miracles of help, if we let it be. But you have to ask for the oil of more grace. If you hold on to your confidence in God through obedience and keep Him first, He will comfort and sustain you! It is at a time like this, in our sufferings, that we can be that testimony of victory to sinners and other’s that don’t fully know the grace of God for their selves.
Don’t throw away your vessel. A leaking vessel can become one filled with God’s grace!