Miracles on Miracles: Part 1
“Miracles on Miracles: Part 1”
By Pastor Kent Munsey
September 12, 2021
The Widow’s Olive Oil
The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the Lord. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.”
Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?”
“Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a small jar of olive oil.”
Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.”
She left him and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another one.”
But he replied, “There is not a jar left.” Then the oil stopped flowing.
She went and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.
2 Kings 4:1-7 (NIV)
If we are breathing air today, we are a miracle. The fact that we are alive, walking, and talking is a miracle. By God’s word, all of creation came to life, and we are a part of that creation. We are miracles.
Miracles should be a part of every believer's life. Some may like to call it karma, good luck, or coincidence when good things happen in people's lives, but could it be that we limit what God can do in our lives because we don’t see him clearly?
If we don’t believe that we are miracles, we should consider the fact that City Church itself is a miracle. God supernaturally provided for City Church to own its current space. City Church is built on the miracle-working power of God. When we sit in City Church, we are sitting in a miracle. Our God is a God who performs physical miracles. Our ministry team has seen several people healed from tumors and other ailments. Whether or not we need a miracle, maybe God wants to use us to participate in a miracle. As believers, it’s important that we understand how God works and how God performs miracles in scripture. There are four thoughts to remember when it comes to miracles:
1. Know where to go. When we find ourselves in need and facing a challenge greater than ourselves, we need to know where to go. God is a speaking God. We must be sensitive to God’s voice. One word from God can change our lives. We have access to the Word of God, the Bible, and we must activate his word in our lives. More than knowing what to do, we need to know where to go when our world caves in. We can go to the man or woman of God, we can go to our community of faith, and we can find instruction in God’s word.
2. Understand what God has already given you. We tend to minimize what we have and overvalue what we don’t. The miracle is already in the house. God has given us everything that we need for life and godliness. He has given us gifts, talents, and abilities. Often God has given us what we need but we don’t understand that we have everything that we need.
In 2 Kings 4, the prophet asks the widow what she has in her house. She replied that she had nothing except a little jar of oil. God’s miracle power is at work within us. We have the mind of Christ, and often God will give us an idea or a thought that’s in line with his word. God has given us everything that we need to do all that he has called us to do. What the widow had in her house was enough.
3. Learn how to shut the door. Sometimes we keep the door open when God wants to shut it. We keep relational doors open that God wants to shut. Often, before God does a miracle he will shut the door so that fear, doubt and anxiety can’t come in. Sometimes we need to shut the door on others’ opinions so that God can work in us. There are times and seasons when we need to get alone with God and silence the noise.
4. Pour until there is no more. The Bible says that faith without works is dead. The widow provided the pour, which represents the effort, and God made the miracle. When we give God our best, we may feel like it is not enough, but when we give God our best, he will take our it, bless it, and multiply it. He will make it more than enough. Our job is to be faithful with what God has asked us to do. The Word of God works when we work it. We have to work what God has put in our hands.
Unbelief is not expressed so much by what people do as by what they don’t do. When we don’t see the results we’re looking for, we stop pouring. Often we don’t pour at all. We don’t do what God has asked us to do, we don’t forgive, we don’t read his word, or we don’t go to church. When we need a miracle, we have got to trust that God has given us everything we need. We have got to keep pouring and doing what God has told us to do.
The oil for the widow represented the testimony of her husband, the priest. It represented the glory of God, the responsibility, and the authority on a priest’s life. When we have a testimony, it is the most powerful thing in our life. The Bible says that we overcome by the Word of God and the blood of the lamb. When the widow poured out the oil, she was pouring out the testimony and legacy of her family. As she poured out her testimony, God’s power met her, and jar after jar were filled. It would have taken a few days up to a week for her to fill up all of the jars.
God honors the testimony of faithful people. When we are down to nothing, God is up to something. Don’t dismiss the power of your story.
Reflection/Discussion Questions:
1. What miracles are you believing for in this season?
2. What has God already given you to help perform the miracle?
3. What do you have to shut the door on (i.e., doubt, fear, anxiety, toxic relationships)?
4. Have you been pouring out your oil? What has God instructed you to do that you need to continue in order to keep pouring in this season?
