Amen. Appreciate the prayer. We're thinking on the subject, the wit is part of all. The wit is part of all. Elisha is God's man. God's prophet and God's voice to the nation. I think it's interesting to note that he is God's prophet to Israel and not to Judah. Judah's in the south. That's where the temple is and where the priests are. This is the north. This is Israel after the division of the tribes and there's no temple there and no priest there. There's a great lack of spiritual leadership and therefore God has his man and his voice and his prophet in Elisha, the man of God. He's a man always on call and a man equal to any need and equal to any emergency. Now, I want to just say a quick word about the Sons of the Prophets and the Schools of the Prophets mentioned here and mentioned previously. Also, you'll find the first record of these schools back in the days of Samuel. They were the Bible seminaries of their day. There were at least three of these in Israel, and they were places for religious instruction. And the students were called the Sons of the Prophets. And of course, Head, the leader, was Elisha himself. And several of the miracles recorded in the Bible have to do with Elisha as he travels from one school to the other, these seminaries, if you will. Well, if you noticed in these verses I just read, the main character is a widow lady. She's not named. It appears that she's Quite young. She's certainly not old. And she's a preacher's wife. Her husband is dead. I want you to notice a few things about this widow lady. How she went from poverty to plenty. First of all, we notice her plea. She comes to Elisha, the man of God, and she is in great distress. She says to him and cries to him, the Bible says, my husband is dead. And the creditors come to take away my two sons to be bondmen. It was legal, if somebody couldn't pay their debt, then you could take their children to be your bond slaves for seven years. And she makes mention of her husband, that he was a good man, he feared the Lord, and it appears that Elisha knew her deceased husband. So this is her plea. Though she does not recommend to Elisha what should be done, she does explain the extremity of her need. And in fact, she says, my poverty is so great that when he asked her in the next verse, what do you have in your house? She says, I have nothing except a pot of oil. It appears that everything she'd had in the house, she'd sold to help pay on this great debt. that her husband had incurred. So this is her plea and her poverty and her distress. It really looks hopeless. She's loaded down with debts which she cannot pay. And I'm sure everybody thought that the creditor is coming soon and take her sons away and she's going to die, surely, of a broken, sorrowful heart. I'm sure that she has spent many nights in prayer, nights weeping in great anguish of soul. Her husband is dead. Apparently, had died young. And now her children are going to be gone. And it's a desperate situation, humanly speaking. But though, thank God, though she's lost her husband, and she's lost her money, and it looks like she's going to lose her sons, yet she has not lost the most important thing of all. She has not lost her faith in God. And that's what prompts her to go to the man of God and to see if God can help her. No matter what you may lose, you may lose your health, you may lose your family, you may lose everything you own, but you never have to lose your faith in God. And she has not lost her faith in God and that's why she goes to God's man and confesses her need, her extremity, helplessness and distress. So that was her plea. My husband is dead and the creditor is coming to take away my sons. And I have nothing in the house but a pot of oil. If you study about oil in those times, you'll find it was very valuable. In fact, it would be one of the last things you'd want to have taken away because oil served many uses, not just anointing, but also for cooking, for healing, for lighting. It's very useful and very necessary. And so that's why she's done away with everything except her pot of oil. Secondly, consider with me, please, the plan. What does Elisha say to her? He says to her in verse number three, Go borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbors, even empty vessels, borrow not a few. And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons. and shall pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full." That was the plan. Now, we all agree immediately that this was a test of her faith. Who ever heard of doing such a thing as this? Going out to all your neighbors and borrowing empty vessels and expecting to fill all those empty vessels from your one pot of oil. that would demand a miracle. So she could have said, now, I'm not going to do that. That's embarrassing. What if they asked me? No, it required implicit faith on her part. that God was going to supply her need and that God was going to fill all those empty vessels just like the man of God promises her in these verses. It was a test of her faith. And that's not a bad thing. We're prone to think of test as a bad thing. It doesn't have to be a bad thing. If you're ready for the test, it's a good thing. I never minded making a hundred on the test. Did you? No. But when I didn't prepare, then I didn't want to test. But this lady's been praying, and she knows God, and there's no hesitancy on her part, no reluctance. She tells her boys, go to all the neighbors. The man of God says, all the neighbors. And borrow all the empty pots and pans and vessels that you can, and let's fill up this living room, and we're going to shut the doors behind us, and we're going to see what God will do for a widow lady that trusts in Him. Well, that was the plan. You think, where in the world did she get such faith as this? I mean, God had never done anything like this before ever in the history of the world. And this is Israel, and they don't have the temple and the priest and may not even have the Bible. I think I have one clue. I think what must have inspired this widow lady is what had happened to another widow lady under the ministry of Elijah, and that's when he had gone up to Zarephath, and there was a widow lady there, and God had performed a miracle, and instead of a pot of oil, it was her meal that never ended, never went empty. And I'm sure the news spread far and wide of the miracle of this widow lady in Zarephath. And I'm not going to repeat that miracle, but I know one thing, hearing what God has done for others inspires faith in us. Faith comes by hearing. Faith comes by hearing. Romans 10, 17. And so doubtless that had some impact upon her faith. She certainly does not waste any time. Well, I can see this in my mind's eye, can't you? This mother and her two sons, They've borrowed vessels from all the neighbors. They've set them down in the living room. And now, in faith and in obedience, she shuts the door. She picks up her own pot of oil, and her son holds another vessel, a borrowed vessel, maybe twice the size of her own. And she begins to pour of her oil into that borrowed vessel, and she keeps on pouring. And when she finishes pouring into that vessel and fills it up, sets them both down, they're both full. And she says, woo, hallelujah. Boys, you look at that. Did you see that, son? Didn't I tell you God was going to take care of us? Bring the next vessel. And they cry and they shout all over the place. And when they get done, every vessel's full. And she says, ain't you gotten more vessels? No, that's all we could borrow, mama. And the Bible says every one of them was full up to the brim. You say, I don't believe that. I don't have a bit of trouble believing that. If God can make everything out of nothing, then He can certainly set aside the laws of science at any time. Especially this is the law of mass conservation. God can set that aside and use His creative power. And just like He can feed 5,000 men besides women and children with one little boy's lunch, God can take one pot of oil and fill a hundred empty vessels. Sure he can. And they saw it with their very own eyes. And I'm sure they had a jumping up and down happy time. Yes, it was a miracle. We don't hesitate at the miracles of the Bible. We're living in a day when the liberals and skeptics and modernists want to try to explain away in some natural sense all the miracles of the Bible. I saw a documentary one time where they tried to explain in a natural way the ten flags down in Egypt. I have no trouble believing that they were supernatural. I mean, God can control the frogs and the flies and the lice and the darkness. If you can accept the first verse of the Bible, that in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth, then you won't have any trouble accepting any other miracle of the Bible. And so, yes, it was a miracle. And out of that one part of all, all the other borrowed vessels were filled. Well, what happens next is that she runs back to the man of God and her heart is filled with amazement and gratitude and wonder. It must have seemed like a dream. It must have seemed like a dream. Last of all, I want you to see the payment. That's not only the plea and the plan, but the payment is verse number seven. What does Elisha tell her to do? He says to her, go sell that oil and pay the debt and live thou and thy children of the rest. And that's exactly what she does. Can you imagine this lady going to the creditor a few days later and saying, sir, here's the check. Here's everything I owe you. And you're not getting my boys." And he says, did your rich uncle die or something? Where'd you get all this money? Well, I'll be glad to tell you. You see, what happened is I went to the man of God and he told me to borrow vessels. And God, the true God, performed a miracle and out of my one pot of oil filled all those barred vessels, and I went and sold that extra oil, and that's where I got this money to pay you off, and would you please write me a paid-in full?" You see, the reason God might have let her get to that great extremity is so that she could have a powerful testimony to the creditor. It'll be a great day in your life as a Christian when you realize this simple principle. Today's need can be tomorrow's testimony. And she took great delight, I'm sure, in telling the creditor what God had done. And then when her boys took all the borrowed vessels back to the neighbors, then they got to tell all the neighbors what God had done. Thank you for letting me borrow your vessel. It was full of oil and we sold it. Where'd you get that all? Well, you see, God did a miracle and Mama poured oil out of her pot and it filled your pot and a hundred other pots. And what? Oh, yes, that's right. Wish we took a picture of it. You know, we can't brag much on us, but we can brag on what the Lord's done and He'll do great things for you when you'll give Him the credit. And God's still in the business of making His name known. And God can still do miracles. I'm not going to limit God. The greatest miracle is salvation, far greater than any physical miracle. And of course, the reason the Lord did this miracle, several reasons. It was more than an exhibition of His power. It was an exhibition of His love. There are some people who, for example, read the miracles of our Lord in the Gospels and think, well, Jesus just did all those miracles to show He was God, to prove His deity. That's part of it, but there's more to it than that. He didn't just raise the widow's son of Nain just to show His power. He did that because He had compassion. Every miracle of our Lord is not just showing how strong He is, it shows how compassionate He is. And I'm telling you, if there's anybody in the whole Bible that God has compassion on, it's widows. He said He would be the husband to the widow and the father to the fatherless. And this is not just any widow. This is a preacher's wife that's a widow. And a young preacher's wife that's a widow. And I'm not surprised that God did this great miracle. So she had a testimony to tell. Well, here's the wonderful truth. Why is that in the Bible? Why would something that happened 3,000 years ago be in our Bible for 21st century Christians? So that you and I can read that and know there's still a God who cares for His people. There's still a God who loves His people. and provides and protects and blesses and cherishes His own dear people. You know, you can go to heaven with worry on your heart and fear and dread and fret. You can still go to heaven like that. But you would enjoy the trip a whole lot more if you didn't have any worry, fear, dread or fret. Amen. And so if God can do this for her, then God can take care of you and me. He knows where you live. He knows what your thoughts are. He knows exactly how much food you got in the cupboard. He knows all about us, thank God. You've never had to tell Him anything that He didn't already know. And I'm glad about that. You study every religion of the world, and I've studied most of them, And there's only one religion, only one that has a God who loves his people. And that's Christianity, thank God. In every other religion, the subjects are just poems, tools, with no value, dispensable. But not in Christianity, thank God. I'm glad the Lord will never forget His promises. He'll never forsake His own. And did you notice she not only paid her debts, she had enough to live on. That's right. I don't know how much the worth of all that oil was, but it didn't just pay the debts. They had money in the bank. I want you to notice one thing as I close. I want you to see this Bible principle. When Elisha told her what to do, He said to her very plainly, when your boys borrow them vessels, you be sure and borrow a bunch of them. Borrow not a few. The Bible doesn't say how many vessels that she borrowed. I feel like she borrowed quite a few because there was enough to pay the debt and live on the rest of it. But if she borrowed 50 vessels, then that's exactly how many were filled, 50. But I believe if she had borrowed 51, there would have been 51 filled. I actually believe if she had borrowed 200, there would have been 200 filled. It kind of reminds us of what Jesus said so often. Be it unto you according to your faith. That's right. According to your faith. That's an important principle. You see, God's power is unlimited, and if there's any failure, it's on our part. If there's any lack, that's our fault, our part, our fault. That means the more vessels you bring, the more He'll fill. The more you bring, the more He'll fill. A lot of times we just bring one or two. You can't expect much out of that, can you? Many times you only pray once or twice a week. How can we expect much of a return out of that? Only read a verse or two here and there? Only witness to one or two people here and there? You can't expect to reap bountifully if you don't sow bountifully. God's just going to fill as many empty vessels as you bring to Him, friend. And I think we need to borrow not a few. Aren't you glad God is not stingy? Aren't you glad He's not a miser? If He's already given us His Son, why would He withhold anything else? That's right, He's already proven that His generosity knows no bounds. That'd be like going to somebody's house and they fix you a great big supper. everything you could possibly imagine to eat. And you'd say, do you mind if I have a little bit of salt? Well, of course not. They've already fixed you the meal and the vegetables and the bread and the drink. Sure. Have whatever you want. God's already given us His Son. What more could He do? Why do we ever hesitate to ask Him for anything? He loves us. You're His child. I'm not talking about presumption, I'm talking about boldness. I want my children to be able to come to me with any need, anything, anytime. And I believe it honors God when we trust in Him. And faith honors God and God honors faith. Be it unto you according to your faith. The more vessels you bring, the more He'll fill. And then we too can share our testimony of how God has supplied our need. And people need to hear that. If God's done something for you, you ought to stand up and testify. It'll help young Christians. Amen. And many times, in fact, when we pray, we tell God, if you'll do this, Lord, I'll tell it. If you tell God that, you better do it. If you don't, you're lying. Amen. Don't you make a vow and not keep it. And then we'll have a testimony of God's goodness and God's favor and mercy and faithfulness. That's the weirdest part of all. I can't wait to get to heaven and shake her hand. I don't think she ever knew that that'd be put in the Bible. I say with David, I have been young and I now am old, but I've never seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. If you ever have need of anything, tell your heavenly father. He'll take care of you. His name's at stake. Did you know if you ever mistreated your child, that would reflect on you, Mom and Daddy? Did you know if God ever mistreated one of His young'uns, that would reflect on Him? That will never happen. Thank God that will never happen. I rejoice in that tonight. Before we pray, I had a conversation today with H.A. White. It was an incredible blessing. I want to take the time just to share with you some things he said. It was just like being in church. I wish I had had a recorder with me. As soon as I got home, as quickly as possible, I wrote these things down. Many of you will recognize H.A. saying these things. But today, I guess the Lord did it just for me. Here are some things he said to me today. He said, if we'll settle down and pray, we'll get a blessing from it. He said, I want to do more. I don't want to piddle paddle around. I thank the Lord for every day. I pray with faith. You know now, many of you know, H.A. doesn't know where he is. He doesn't know his wife. He doesn't. He doesn't know what he had for. But he still knows the Lord and he knows some spiritual truths. He said, if we'll trust in the Lord, he'll put us on the right road. The Lord has brought me through some rough places. I love preaching. We need to hear it and do it. And I like this, he said, you don't have to remind God to remember. Is that good? You don't have to remind God to remember. He said, I want my last words to be from the Bible. And then I said to him, H.A., we're going to a big reunion one of these days. And he said, we can't even imagine. Amen. I don't know what shape we're going to get in before we leave this world. You may not even know your name or where you are. You might even forget God, but aren't you glad he won't forget you? Amen. He won't forget you. This world's not our home. But I'm glad we can trust God along the way. Jesus Christ said, have faith in God. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not to thine own understanding, and all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." He's still a God that you can reach in prayer on your knees. Amen. We'll come around and pray tonight as many as we can.