NO VESSEL, NO OIL

MEMORY VERSE: and it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, there is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed, 2 Kings 4:6

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Sam 18, 2 Cor 11, Ezek 25, Ps 9

BIBLE STUDY: 2 Kings 4:1-7

The oil in our bible study represents God’s blessing and anointing. The borrowing of vessels represents tasks or divine assignments. As long as the widow kept on borrowing vessels, the oil kept flowing. The moment the empty vessels ceased, the oil stayed. 

The task of borrowing empty vessels was not an easy one for the sons of the widow. The task involved taking actions and obeying divine instructions from the prophet. They had to leave their comfort zone (home) to go and knock at the door of their neighbors and strangers. At first they started with nearby neighbors (those on the same streets) and later moved on to the next street. The farther they traveled to borrow empty vessels, the more effort was required to bring these empty vessels back home. In the process of going from house to house to borrow empty vessels, the boys experienced abuse, rejection , some even harassed them but these boys ignored all these and kept on making efforts to borrow empty vessels. At a point, these boys became satisfied with the number of empty vessels they had borrowed and went back home. Sadly their oil stayed when their vessels ceased.

Friend, I want you to know that life is a continuous motion. You are either moving forward or going backward, there is nothing like been stagnant. The moment these boys stopped borrowing vessels, they began to go backwards. They frustrated the agenda of God for their family and threw away the opportunity to become a blessing to their nation. This is the exact thing that happens in the life of many believers today. They get satisfied with the little things the Lord has done for them and stop pushing themselves. The reason why many are not experiencing God the way they should experience Him is because they have either stopped pushing themselves or they don’t want to be pushed anymore. Many only want to fast once or twice in a week; nobody wants to wait before God in fasting and praying for seven days. Many of us do not want to memories bible verses anymore, we want to depend on Google. Many of us are satisfied with functioning in one department of the church, we do not want to join any other departments. The moment we stop pushing ourselves to be better in the Lord, the oil dries. Many are satisfied with the one or two gifts of the Holy Spirit they have. As far as they can speak in tongues or dream once in a while they are satisfied. We no longer covet other gifts like interpretation of tongues or word of wisdom.

REMEMBER: The moment we stop pushing ourselves to be better in the Lord, the oil dries.

AND THE OIL STAYED

MEMORY VERSE: and it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, there is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed. 2 Kings 4:6

 BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Sam 17, 2 Cor 10, Ezek 24, Ps 7-8

 BIBLE STUDIES: 2 Kings 4:1-7

 A particular widow in the bible owed some money. As she was unable to pay, the creditors decided to take her two sons as slaves. She ran to the prophet of God who then gave her three instructions. He told her to go and borrow as many empty vessels as possible, shut the door and pour the little oil she had at home into the empty vessels. She and her son got some vessels, shut the door and poured the oil in the vessels. After they had filled all the available vessels and there was none left, the oil stopped following. 

 The oil in the passage represents the anointing of the Holy Spirit and the borrowing of vessels represents God given task. As long as they kept borrowing empty vessels, the oil kept on flowing. The moment the empty vessels ceased, the oil stayed. As long as you keep making yourself available for God to use, He will continue to release His anointing on upon you. The moment one stops, the pouring of anointing too stops.

 The anointing of the Holy Spirit can turn a debt-ridden man to a debt free man (2 Kings 4:1-7). The anointing of the Holy Spirit on a fellow can turn him into an agent of joy. Jesus was able to impact many lives because of the anointing on Him (Acts 10:38). That widow could not take advantage of the flowing oil because of lack of vessels. She had the opportunity to borrow all the vessels in the neighborhood, but she brought only a few. The task of borrowing vessels was not an easy one as it involves a lot. For example it involves leaving one’s comfort zone (home). It involves carrying of heavy empty vessels around. If care is not taken it  may lead to embarrassment from rude and unwelcoming neighbors. These boys didn't want to go through all that so they brought the few they could lay their hands on thereby missing the opportunity to keep the oil flowing. Working for God or serving in the vineyard of God may be boring and tedious but guess what,  the reward is trans- generational.  As the Lord begins to pour His oil on you, you will begin to experience turn around in all spheres of your life. There is enough anointing of the Holy Spirit to make you outstanding in that endeavor, are you ready to undertake God’s tasks?

 PRAYER POINT: Father, as I begin to make myself available for your use, pour your anointing upon me.

Bro Samuel - Reaching the world for Jesus