Something that really stood out
to me in that song was the question, is it right? Did he die for me? That's not a question many people
ask. Everybody thinks that's theirs by entitlement. What a
question. I wish we would all ask questions
like that. Turn back to Second Kings, chapter
four. I've entitled this message, Bringing
an Empty Vessel. Bringing an Empty Vessel. Now, this woman that we just
read about was in a desperate condition. She had debt with
no way of paying that debt, and the creditor was going to take
her two sons and sell them as slaves in order to make up for
some of the debt she owed. And when she lost her sons as
slaves, then she would have no means of support at all. She was in a desperate condition. Now, her dead husband had been
a prophet that Elisha knew. And she comes to tell Elisha
about her predicament. Verse 1, Now there cried a certain
widow of the wives of the sons of prophet unto Elisha, saying,
Thy servant, my husband, is dead. And thou knowest that thy servant
did fear the Lord, and the creditors come to take unto him my two
sons to be bondmen. She didn't tell Elisha what to
do. She simply presented to him her
case. Verse 2, And Elisha said unto
her, he, remember, knew her husband. And he said, What shall I do
for thee? Tell me, what hast thou in thine house? And she
said, Thine handmaid hath not anything in the house. Save a
pot of oil, literally a flask of oil or an oil flask. It couldn't hold very much oil. That's all she had, one thing,
a flask of oil. So Elisha tells her what to do.
Verse three. Then he said, go borrow thee. She didn't have the money to
pay for them. Go borrow the vessels abroad of all thy neighbors,
even empty vessels. And don't borrow just a few.
It didn't matter whether they were gold vessels, brass vessels,
or clay pots. What was the one necessity for
these vessels? that they be empty. That's the
one requirement, that they be empty. Big, small, beautiful
or ugly, it didn't really matter. It only mattered that they were
empty. Now, when you get these empty
vessels, and you can bet they barred as many as they could.
He said in verse 4, And when thou art come in, Thou shalt
shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out
into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is
full." Now, when you have all of your empty vessels, bring
them into the house. Shut the door. Nobody's going
to see this. This is not for a show. And you
take that flask of oil, it wasn't very big, and you start pouring. Every empty vessel, pour it until
it's full. Now here we have a divine miracle
taking place. This is a creative miracle. This
is where matter is brought into existence. Matter is brought
into the universe that was not there before. Just take this
little bit of oil in a flask and you were pouring it. I don't
know how big the vessels were. Some were probably quite large,
some small. It didn't make any difference.
All they were looking for was empty vessels. They brought all
these empty vessels in the house. It was very much like the Lord
feeding 5,000 with two small fishes and five loaves of bread.
Matter was brought into existence. That was not there before, so
verse five. So she went out for me. Now. What had taken place, her sons
had gone out to all the neighbors to get these vessels, and you
can bet there was some anticipation. They knew something was going
to take place. And I guarantee you, they didn't just go out
for two or three vessels. I mean, they got every empty vessel they could
find because the promise was that every empty vessel would
be filled. So they bring in all these empty
vessels, verse four, and when thou shalt come in, thou shalt
shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out
into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is
full. So she went from him, And during the meantime, they went
out and got the vessels and shut the door upon her and upon her
sons who brought the vessels to her and she poured out. They gathered. I love to think
about this in going out and gathering all these empty vessels. What
do you want an empty vessel for? I'm not telling. I just want
an empty vessel. And they start bringing them
all in. They shut the door. This is stuff to show people.
And they start pouring. And perhaps they get over a vessel
and nothing comes out. And they look down. Well, something's
in there. So they pull it out and they
empty it out and put it back and they put the flask over.
It starts filling up again. Wherever there was an empty vessel,
it would be filled up. And they would set them aside. Verse 6, 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 was staved. When did the oil stop pouring? When there were no more empty
vessels. So in verse 7, she comes and
tells Elijah or Elisha what took place. Then she came and told
the man of God, and he said, Go sell the oil and pay thy debt. She became debt free. And not
only did she become debt free, she became independently wealthy. You live, you and your sons,
for the rest of your life on the rest. Now, both Elijah and Elisha were
special prophets, enabled by God to perform miracles. You remember when Elisha asked
for a double portion of Elijah's spirit? And he was given that
double portion. And in the following chapter,
the next chapter, he heals a leper. And he raises somebody from the
dead. Here he was used to actually bring matter into existence that
was not there before. Now, no doubt, some would doubt
or deny the reality of what took place. Someone would doubt whether
these miracles ever happened. And if there is no God, I would
doubt it too. I would be Very incredulous concerning
something like this take place. I tell you, I don't believe it,
but if God is, and I know He is, yes, these miracles take
place. I believe every miracle that
the Lord Jesus did, don't you? He walked on the water. He controlled
the weather. He gave sight to the blind. He
raised the dead. We could go on and on about his
miracles, but you know what his greatest miracle was? I know what I think. When he
saved me. That's the greatest miracle.
When he made me as sinful and weak and undeserving as I am,
he made me his son. And that's a greater miracle
than these physical miracles. You know, all he had to do is
will these miracles to take place. But for this sinner to be saved,
his son had to die. That's a greater miracle, isn't
it? However. If all we see in this
miracle. Is a mighty miracle. Or if all we see in this narrative
is how God takes care of his own. Although he does, he took
care of this woman, didn't he? If that's all we see, we've missed
the point. Like the widow, you and I are
in debt. The creditor is the law of God,
which we have broken. God's law has every right to
expect and demand payment. God is God, and we owe Him. Now, this woman had no way of
paying this debt. Neither do you or I. Now, does
this describe you? You acknowledge God's justice
and God's holiness in requiring obedience from you. You really
believe that? He's got the right to do that.
He's God. And he would be right if you don't render to him what
he demands. He would be right in sending
you to hell. Do you believe that? Would it
be right? Is God just? Do you believe that? And you acknowledge that you
have nothing to pay. You don't have a penny's worth
of merit in order to make payment for what you owe God. Now somebody
in this predicament, like this She comes to the man of God,
doesn't she? She knew the only one who could do anything for
her is the Lord himself. And we know in this state that
we are in, a state of debt before God because of our sin and our
own complete inability to pay. We know that we're totally dependent
upon him. Only God himself can help somebody
in a condition like this. So look. What Elisha says to
her after she comes to him, verse two, and Elisha said unto her,
What shall I do for thee? Isn't salvation what he does
for us? That's what salvation is, it's
what God does for me. He says, What shall I do for
thee? And then tell me, what hast thou in thy house? And she said, Thine handmaid
hath not anything save a pot. of oil. Now, what does oil in
the scripture represent? You remember the parable of the
ten virgins in Matthew chapter 25? Five were foolish and five
were wise. Turn with me there, Matthew chapter
25. I want you to see this. Oil represents grace. Oil represents
the gift of the Holy Spirit. Oil represents what God does
for you. Matthew 25, verse 1, Then shall the kingdom of heaven
be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went
forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and
five were foolish. They that were foolish took their
lamps, and took no oil with them. But the wise took oil in their
vessels and their lamps. Notice, the difference was not
something you could see, was it? It was not something you
could see. All ten of them looked alike,
didn't they? They were virgins. They had their
lamps. Verse 5, While the bridegroom
tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there
was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh. Go ye out to meet him.
Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And
the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil, for our
lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying,
Not so, lest there be not enough for us and you. But go ye rather
to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went
to buy, the bridegroom came, and they that were ready. What
was their readiness? The oil. The oil of His grace. That was the difference. What a difference that is, though. And while they went to buy, the
bridegroom came, and they that were ready went in with him to
the marriage, and the door was shut. Afterward came also the
other virgin, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and
said, Verily, I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for you know
neither the day nor the hour when the Son of Man cometh." This woman had one pot of oil. There's one source of grace on
the way. the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. But here's the kicker, if I can
use that word, that one source is the only source that's needed. Now, what do I mean by that? In Ephesians chapter 4, verse
32, we read, Be ye kind, tenderhearted, forgiving one another Even as
God for Christ's sake forgave you. Now, did he have to have
any other reason? It doesn't say he forgave you
because you were sorry. He doesn't say he forgave you
because you promised to never do it again. He didn't say he
doesn't say he forgave you because of all the things you will do
in the future to make up and how you're going to change and
you're going to do better. No, nothing like that. The only reason
given and the only reason needed is for Christ's sake. I said
good things to you for Christ's sake. One source of oil. Verse 3, then he said, 2 Kings
4, verse 3, then he said, Go borrow thee vessels abroad of
all thy neighbors even empty vessels. Borrow not a few. What was the only requirement? Emptiness. Emptiness was eligibility. Let's say this glass has been
sitting here for nine or ten days and something is in the
bottom of it, perhaps milk that has been sitting there, spoiled. Am I going to take that glass
with that spoiled vial, whatever it is, in the bottom of it and
pour water into it, clear, pure water, and drink it? No. No. That'd contaminate it. It
must be emptied. And anything of mere you that's
in that glass would contaminate it. You come to Christ empty. Now you listen real carefully.
You come with absolutely no good thing to recommend you. Empty. Empty of any goodness. Empty
of any righteousness. You don't have the power of free
will. You can't say, well, I'll do
good and I'll turn things around. You can make no promises for
the future. Nothing in you or about you can
recommend you to God. You have nothing to pay. And
you cannot make a promise that you'll be able to pay anything
in the future. You say with the songwriter, nothing in my hands
I bring, nothing. Simply to thy cross I cling,
foul I to the fountain fly, wash me, Savior, or I die. What was the one requirement?
Emptiness. Now, the gospel is a message
of free, I'm going to use two words you hear a lot, It's a
message of free and sovereign grace. And that's the message
of the gospel. It's a message of free. Free. You know what that means? That
means there's nothing you do to pay for it. Free. You know what's interesting?
If I said salvation can be had for five dollars, everybody in
this room would be saved. You'd come up with a way to come
up with five dollars. But if I say it's free, There will be people who leave
here with no interest. But salvation is free. Nothing you need to contribute.
And it's sovereign. It's in God's hands. You have
no entitlement to it. It's free. He gives it freely.
But there's nothing you can do to get him to save you. He is
under obligation to none. Now, you know, when I say salvation
is free, you're the only people who are interested in that. People
who don't have anything. People who are empty. People
who have nothing. That's the only people who are
interested. As long as you have something, you're not going to
be interested in free grace. As far as that goes, people who
think they have something, they have objections to sovereign
grace. Well, how can it be fair for God to save some and pass
by others? How can it be fair for Christ to die for some and
not die? You know, they've got something that they think renders
God obligated to save them. Now, if you're empty, you don't talk like that. You
don't think like that when you're empty. And he says, don't borrow
just a few. Bring all the empty vessels you
can find. Empty. Here's a vessel empty
of feeling. No, no good feeling. Here's a vessel empty of righteousness. Here's a vessel empty of willpower. Here's a vessel empty of faith.
Here's a vessel empty of repentance. Here's a vessel empty of life.
Here's a vessel empty of good works. Here's a vessel empty
of any kind of spiritual ability. I mean, empty. Empty. Whatever
that empty vessel is, bring it. The only requirement is emptiness. Let not conscience make you linger,
nor a fitness fondly dream. The only fitness he requireth
is to have a need of him. Can you bring an empty vessel?
I mean an empty vessel. If it has anything in it, You
won't get any grace. But if you bring an empty vessel,
look what happens. Verse 4, And when thou art come
in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons,
and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside
that which is full. Every empty vessel brought is
filled. In Christ, the empty center is filled. Colossians chapter 2, verses
9 and 10. In him, in the Lord Jesus Christ,
dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and you are
full. That's the word. Complete. Full. In Him. Of His fullness, John
1 16. Of His fullness have we all received. Now, you know what those empty
vessels did? They received the oil. They just
received it. It was poured in. They received
it and they were filled up in Christ. There's such fullness. There's fullness of grace to
save. There's fullness of justifying
righteousness. There's fullness of sanctification.
There's fullness of redemption. There's fullness of salvation.
It's Him filling you. And the one requirement is emptiness. When an empty vessel was brought
His way, It was filled up out of that inexhaustible oil flask. Now, the door will be shut when
there are no more empty vessels. If you come in here tonight as
an empty vessel, you'll be filled. You come with something with
you, you won't be. You come with anything of your
own, and you'll be sent away empty. I love what Mary said. She said, He hath filled the hungry with good things, but the rich hath he sent away
empty. You come empty and shut the door
behind you, burn your bridges. sink or swim, I'll go to him."
Verse 6, 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 when the last empty
vessel was filled, the oil quit flowing. 1959, September 9, I
was born. There was a doctor by the name
of Dr. Wynn. My sister is here. Did he bring you into existence,
Jim? I don't know. That's not the word. He was the
doctor that assisted my mom in having the baby. He was Dr. Philip J. Winn. He was kind of
a hateful guy, from what I understand. Kind of grouchy. My dad always
thought he was. He was always nice to the people he brought
into the world. He was always sweet to me. My
dad never liked him. But anyway, this is a true story.
He was a crotchety old fellow. He always seemed like he was
in a bad mood. And in the doctor's office, He was proud. And you know the way, the way
I remember when I was sitting in the doctor's office when I
was a kid, one of those nurses would come out with a white hat
and a white uniform. It was really neat when they
were like that. They'd come out and call somebody, but the place
was just filled with sick people. And all of a sudden he comes
out. And he says, I want to know if there's anybody in here that's
sick. And one old man said, I am. He said, come on back then. Everybody
else has left. Wherever there's an empty center,
that center will be filled. When there's no more empty centers,
the door will be shut. Verse 7. Then she came and told
the man of God, and he said, Now here is what this oil does,
the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. Your debt is paid. Paid in full. Justification. You have no sin
before God. and live on the rest. She became independently wealthy,
and every believer is independently wealthy through the grace of
God. You've got grace to carry you all the way into glory. Every debt is paid. Live on the
rest. Now, the only way that I'll stay
filled is by staying empty. Paradoxical, perhaps, but true
nonetheless. The only way I'll stay filled
is by staying empty. I want to read a very sad passage
of Scripture. Turn to Revelation chapter 3. Verse 14, And unto the angel of the church
of the Laodiceans write, These things saith the Amen, the faithful
and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God. I know thy works. You may have said this to all
seven of the churches. I know thy works. Thou art neither cold nor hot. I would that thou wert cold nor
hot. So then now, because thou art
Lukewarm. What do you do with lukewarm
things? When's the last time you had a lukewarm cup of coffee?
Doesn't get it, does it? Spit it out. Not worth drinking. Lukewarm milk? Oh. Because thou art lukewarm, and
neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth, because
thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of
nothing. I am in good shape. And knowest
not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind
and naked. I'll tell you what, if you come wretched and miserable and poor
and blind and naked, He'll receive you. You come rich and increased in
goods, with a high opinion of yourself, and you'll be spit
out of his mouth. Because it's all such a lie.
It's all such a lie. He says in verse 18, I counsel
thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest
be rich. And white raiment that thou mayest
be clothed, that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear,
and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Be zealous, therefore, and repent.
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice, and
I know who hears his voice, an empty vessel. If any man hear my voice and
open the door, I will come in to him and will sup with him
and he with me. To him that overcometh will I
grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame and sat
down with my Father in his throne. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit
saith unto the churches. Rock of ages, cleft for me, let
me hide myself in thee. Let the water and the blood from
thy riven side which flowed Be of sin the double cure. Save
from wrath and make me pure. 126. Let's stand and sing that.