2025-11-27 Sermon Notes
| Speaker | Archibald Allison |
|---|---|
| Date | 2025-11-27 |
| Location | Emmaus Orthodox Presbyterian Church |
| Passage | 2 Kings 4:1-7 |
| Title | Thanksgiving 2025 |
| Takeaways | [object Object] |
| Subjects | ["thanksgiving","prayer","slavery"] |
💡Big Idea
Takeaways and Next Steps
📖Bible Passage
Now a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, "Your servant my husband is dead. You know that your servant feared Yahweh. Now the creditor has come to take for himself my two children to be slaves." Elisha said to her, "What should I do for you? Tell me: what do you have in the house?" She said, "Your servant has nothing in the house, except a pot of oil." Then he said, "Go, borrow empty containers from all your neighbors. Don't borrow just a few containers. Go in and shut the door on you and on your sons, and pour oil into all those containers; and set aside those which are full." So she went from him, and shut the door on herself and on her sons. They brought the containers to her, and she poured oil. When the containers were full, she said to her son, "Bring me another container." He said to her, "There isn't another container." Then the oil stopped flowing. Then she came and told the man of God. He said, "Go, sell the oil, and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest."
Points
- The widow
- Her husband was studying under the prophet Elijah and then Elisha
- Because she lost her husband she lost all her income.
- She couldn’t pay her debts and the creditor was about to take her sons as slaves.
- ❓Was it right for her children to be taken as slaves to pay?
- If God’s people had been following His Law then the land would be so abundant that this problem wouldn’t have arisen in the first place.
- Leviticus 25.39 "'If your brother has grown poor among you, and sells himself to you, you shall not make him to serve as a slave.
- the creditor was partly right that they could work to pay their debt. But the creditor was wrong to take them as slaves. To force them to work with no pay. This was explicitly against God’s Law.
- How the widow reacted to her plight
- She did not complain or bring her problems to neighbors.
- Rather she went straight to God with her needs.
- Our God is the biggest creditor and we owe Him everything.
- Galatians 3.10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under a curse. For it is written, "Cursed is everyone who doesn't continue in all things that are written in the book of the law, to do them."
- Despite all our effort and cries to God we cannot pay off what we owe to God.
- We must become spiritually bankrupt sinners. We must have our debts forgiven.
- True thanksgiving begins with true prayer
- How Elisha answers her prayer
- First he shows her the true extent of her poverty. He asks her to tell him what she has. She says she only has a single jar of oil.
- He commands her to go to her neighbors and borrow as many empty vessels as possible.
- ⭐️ We must come to God with our empty vessels.
- We do not experience God’s fullness because we are not empty. We ourselves stand in the way of His blessing. We must humble purslane trust in Him completely.
- ⭐️ We must come to God with our empty vessels.
- He then commands her to fill all the empty vessels with her one vessel.
- What a strange command!
- But she does not question or mock these instructions. She obeyed in faith.
- faith never objects. Faith always obeys in trust.
- Then she fills all the empty vessels and it was only when the last vessel was filled that the oil stopped pouring.
- She went straight back to Elisha and thanked God.
- what a wonderful thing it is to thank God when He provides for you.
- Elisha responds saying go sell your oil, pay your debt and live off the rest.
- When the sinner is filled with the Lord Jesus Christ, He not only pays our debts, but our cups overflow with His blessings and we live off His abundance.
Application
- Perhaps you say today I don’t have that. I’m not thankful. What is my problem?
- At least one problem is we don’t come to him with empty vessels. We come to Him prideful and self-reliant and self-righteous.
- We must come to Him with empty vessels.
- also we often think we are empty and yet we are not. Christ humbles us and makes us even more empty. He shows us what it truly means to rely on Him.
- True thanksgiving is limited by how many empty vessels we bring to God.
- If the woman brought even more empty vessels then God would be even more blessed.
- ⭐️: Often our faithlessness is wrapped in the disguise of “a humble fear of presumption“. We say things like “God has already blessed me so much. Who am I to ask for more?”
- We receive little because we trust little and ask little.
- Bring all your empty vessels to God. Your barrenness, your yearnings, you pride, your lack of faith, your cold heart toward God, your insecurities, your unfitness.
- John 16.24 Until now, you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be made full.
- At least one problem is we don’t come to him with empty vessels. We come to Him prideful and self-reliant and self-righteous.
- Thank the Lord that He did not give you everything you asked for. Thank Him that you still rely on Him
- Hosea 6.1 "Come! Let's return to Yahweh; for he has torn us to pieces, and he will heal us; he has injured us, and he will bind up our wounds.
- one day it will be too late for you to ask from your generous Father. One day the oil will run dry forever.
- You need Christ. Come to Him.
Further Study
💬Discussion Questions
2025-11-27 Sermon Notes
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💡Big Idea
Takeaways and Next Steps
📖Bible Passage
Points
Application
Further Study
💬Discussion Questions