Mark Logue - No More Empty Vessels. No More Oil.

[00:00:00] Almighty God, you welcome you. Hey there. If you're new to Restored Church, we want to welcome you and thank you for tuning in. You're listening to a portion of our Sunday worship gathering. We believe the church is not an event but a family you belong to, so we would love the opportunity to connect with you. If you want to learn more about our church or if we can help you in any way, please Visit our website, www.restoredtemecula.church and click on contact. With all that said, we, we hope you enjoy the message. [00:00:35] Really excited to be with you guys this morning. [00:00:38] Excited to share. I feel like God has a word for us this morning and so I'm going to share. In light of that, if I haven't had a chance to meet you yet, it looks like most people in this room I've been able to meet, but I'm going to introduce myself anyway. My name is Mark Logue. I'm married to my beautiful wife Cassie, and I have the privilege of serving as the worship pastor here with Restored Church. [00:01:02] My wife Cassie and I have been a part of the Restored Family of churches story since 2014. [00:01:10] We started out in the uptown community for about a year, moved to South Bay to be a part of that plant team, and then moved here to Temecula in 2017 to help plant what is now this beautiful church in this room. And so it's been one of the greatest joys in my life to watch what God has done over those years. [00:01:30] And it's truly a privilege to open God's word with you guys this morning. [00:01:36] If you've spent any amount of time with me, you might have figured out that I love camping. [00:01:44] I like getting out into the wilderness and just being in it. And it's funny that we say in it in the wilderness because it's about as outside as you can get, right? But I just love to be in the wilderness. We actually just got back this week on Friday, late Friday from our second camping trip of this summer. Cassie and I and our boys spent a few days up in Big Sur, which is glorious if you've ever been. [00:02:08] It's glorious now. [00:02:10] It was unique because the Highway 1, which is the Pacific coast highway that goes up along the coast there, which is arguably the greatest part of that whole trip is just driving up this glorious feet of mankind, looking at the beauty that is where the, you know, the plains and the hills meet and then the forest and the beach meet. It's incredible. [00:02:34] It was actually my first time up there, but it's insane anyways. A few weeks before that, our first camping trip, I was out camping with a handful of guys from the church here and I tow a little off road adventure camper behind my Jeep Gladiator. [00:02:49] And it's small, it's compact, it's about 15ft long from tongue to tail. So very small, very compact. And it's amazing what you can fit into something that's that small. It's got a ton of storage. It's got like a queen bed in a cabin. In the cabin. So think of like if you remember teardrop trailers. Does anybody know what I'm saying when I say teardrop? It's like that, but instead of round and looks like a teardrop, it's square and boxy and very kind of utilitarian looking. So it's got a queen size bed inside. It's got a queen size bed and a rooftop tent that's on the rack on top. [00:03:22] It's got like a, it's got a cool awning that's like 270 degrees. So it like covers most of one side of the, of the camper. It's got a shower, a little flushing toilet even. It's got a lot of cool creature comforts. But it's still outdoors. You can't like go inside and cook or hang out inside. [00:03:39] So as much as there are creature comforts, it's still kind of roughing it a little bit. And there's on the, on the passenger side, there's a little cabinet that opens and there's a double drawer set up. So it's like one drawer comes out and then another. And in the first drawer there's a fridge and a freezer on that side. I'm selling you my trailer right now. I realize that it's wonderful, I love it. But then on the second one, on the second slide out, there's a stove and a sink in there. [00:04:05] And I'm convinced that that sink was designed specifically for someone and really to be only used by someone under five foot five. [00:04:15] Yeah. With the modularity of the trailer, I understand there's not a lot that can be done with ergonomics. But the first slide, the fridge is like up here, which is perfect for me. It's like right at eye level. I can get a lot of food and snacks. The sink and the stove are right here, which for middle aged men, I'm convinced they were not considered when they thought about the height of this because it just so happens to create a pinion on your back at the exact right point to age you about 20 years when you do the dishes or when you're washing your hands. And Mike and I were actually, I was watching Mike do the dishes in my trailer when we were on that camping trip. [00:04:51] And there were several times where I could see him. He's washing the dishes at this pinion angle and just oh, and then widening out his base a little bit so he could, you know, try to, try to take the strain off the back. [00:05:04] I don't think they thought of middle aged men when they designed the height of that. [00:05:08] At any rate, I mention that because I watched Mike do the dishes. And when you turn the faucet on on my sink, the water has somewhere to go kind of, but not really. It doesn't like disappear into pipe in plumbing like it does in your house. Underneath my trailer sits a three gallon collapsible bucket. [00:05:29] And more than once during that trip, that bucket, washing hands, doing dishes, whatever it was, would get filled to the brim, like real, real full, you know what I'm talking about? Like you poke it a little bit and it just like drops of water start flowing out. [00:05:46] And as I stood there watching that, I found myself thinking through like that whole plumbing system. And I know that may sound weird, but I like to tinker and think about how things work. [00:05:59] That little bucket was full. But back up inside the plumbing of my trailer was a 20 gallon fresh water tank with clean, fresh water ready to be used. And then I started to kind of imagine something as I was sitting there camping. [00:06:13] Like, what if I pulled into the campground that we were at and I hooked up my potable water hose, which means potable is just drinking water to the spigot there, which the water in the Eastern Sierras is gorgeous. It's right out of the spring. Wonderful. [00:06:27] Hook up my hose, go to plug it into my camper and realize that the tank's full, but not with fresh water, but with sand. [00:06:39] I think we could all agree that would be a bit of a problem for me out there camping in the wilderness, right? Is that fair? Yes. [00:06:46] A 20 gallon water tank full of sand that's meant to have fresh water and see, what I wouldn't say in that moment is that the campground had run out of water. [00:06:55] The hose still works. I had plugged it into the spigot. The source hadn't run dry. It was abundant. There was still plenty of water to give. The problem was that the tank no longer had the capacity to receive what it had been designed to hold. [00:07:10] It was full. [00:07:12] It had reached its capacity, but it was full of the wrong thing. [00:07:18] And because there was no remaining capacity, that tank would no longer be able to fulfill the purpose for which it existed. Right? It's a fresh water tank. It's full of sand. [00:07:29] And not only that, every other part of my trailer that depended on that fresh water tank, even that little collapsible gray water bucket sitting underneath the sink, would be affected as well. [00:07:41] When the vessel, that 20 gallon water tank, can no longer fulfill the purpose it was designed for, everything connected to it is affected too. [00:07:51] And I've been thinking about that image ever since because I wonder if that's what can happen to us too. [00:07:59] But spiritually again, not because God has less to give, not because his spirit has become less powerful, not because his word has become less sufficient, but because we've become so occupied, so crowded, so convinced that we've grown beyond our need for daily dependence on God, that we've lost our capacity to receive what God delights to give. [00:08:31] And there's a story in Second Kings, chapter four that's captivated me over the last several months. [00:08:39] It's a story of a desperate widow, a miraculous supply of oil, and one word that keeps appearing over and over and over again. [00:08:49] Vessels. [00:08:55] And so I'm going to ask you. It's funny. Mike was in Second Kings a couple weeks ago and I was like, oh, crap, is he about to preach the same text that I'm about to preach? He didn't, but I think there's something in here for us. So let's go ahead, if you have your Bibles. I'm going to actually be in the ESV today and I'll explain why in a bit. But we're going to be in the ESV translation, so feel free to grab your Bibles. We're gonna be in Second Kings, chapter four. We'll dive into the scripture. But before we do, I just wanna pray. [00:09:21] I wanna pray for you all and ask you to pray for me and for us and this church as we sit under God's word today. [00:09:31] And my hope and my prayer is that we would see the man behind this beautiful word, beauty of Jesus. [00:09:39] So let's pray. Join me as we pray. [00:09:45] Father, in heaven, there is no one like you. [00:09:52] You are holy and you stand alone and you are set apart. [00:09:58] Your ways are higher than our ways. Your thoughts are higher than our thoughts. [00:10:05] You are worthy of honor. [00:10:08] You are worthy of all of our attention right now. You are worthy of all affection. [00:10:13] And so we ask right now, Holy Spirit, we know that you're in this room. We know that you're in this space. You couldn't be any closer to us right now in this moment than you already are. [00:10:23] We simply ask that you would illuminate your presence to us, that you would help us to focus on you, to see the beauty and the glory of Jesus. [00:10:37] We want you to be honored Father, in this place. And so we ask, Holy Spirit, would you come and help? Would you use me as your mouthpiece? Would you find a useful vessel in me this morning? [00:10:49] And I pray that anything that would get in the way of what you want to accomplish, Lord, I just pray that it would kind of fall to the wayside now, myself included. Would only what you want to resonate, resonate in this space and in the hearts and the minds of your. Your church, that you have established Jesus, that you are building into her fullness this morning come to pass. So we, we honor you, we thank you, we praise you. [00:11:14] Come and have your way. We pray in Jesus name. Amen. [00:11:20] All right, so as you're turning to Second Kings, maybe you're already there. I just want to give us a little context before we jump into the narrative that we're going to read today. [00:11:29] The books of first and Second Kings, they tell a story, the story of Israel during one of the darkest periods in her history. Israel is God's people. [00:11:42] It takes place after the reigns of King Saul, King David, who we've probably heard of, and even David's son, King Solomon. And after Solomon's death, David's son who became king. [00:11:54] The kingdom has been divided into two nations, Israel in the north and Judah in the south. And many of Israel's kings at this point have abandoned the Lord and led the nation into idolatry. Spiritually speaking, for Israel, these are difficult days in the midst of first and Second Kings here. And we're in Second Kings today. And in the midst of all that darkness, though God has not abandoned his people, He. He raises up prophets not only to confront kings, but to remind his people that he's still present, that he's still speaking and he's still faithful. And one of those prophets is Elisha. Not Elijah with a J, but Elisha with an sh sound. [00:12:36] And throughout Second Kings, God repeatedly works through Elisha in remarkable ways. Not because Elisha himself is powerful, but because God is showing his people that he alone is their provider, their rescuer, and their hope. [00:12:51] And so our events or our narrative or our story this morning actually is one of the first of several miracles recorded here in Second Kings, chapter four. So let's dive in two Kings, chapter four. We're going to be in verses one through seven this morning. [00:13:09] It says this in the esv. It says, now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried to Elisha, your servant, my husband is dead. [00:13:23] And you know that your servant feared the Lord, but the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves. [00:13:32] And Elisha said to her, what shall I do for you? Tell me, what have you in the house? [00:13:39] And she said, you, servant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil. [00:13:46] Then he said, go outside. Then Elisha said, go outside, borrow vessels from all your neighbors, empty vessels, and not too few. [00:13:57] Then go in and shut the door behind yourself and your sons, and pour into all these vessels, and when one is full, set it aside. [00:14:09] So she went from him and shut the door behind herself and her sons. [00:14:15] And as she poured, they brought the vessels to her. [00:14:20] When the vessels were full, she said to her son, bring me another vessel. And he said to her, there is not another. [00:14:27] Then the oil stopped flowing. [00:14:31] She came and told the man of God, and he said, go sell the oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on the rest. [00:14:42] So if you were following along in the csb, you probably notice it repeatedly uses the word containers. [00:14:48] The ESV translation uses vessels or jars. [00:14:52] And so I'm going to kind of use those words interchangeably this morning. I think the ESV imagery actually matters this morning. And so you can see this word vessels in the esv. And a vessel is simply something that is designed to receive something, contain something, and be used for a purpose beyond itself, right? Like a vessel has no value apart from what it is designed to receive, what it is meant to contain, and the purpose for which it's used. Think about my camper's water tank as an example. By itself, it's just a hollow plastic bag box. [00:15:29] Its value isn't in the tank itself. Its value is that it was designed to receive fresh water, contain it, keep it, and then become a means of life and refreshment for everyone around it. And when I first began studying this passage, one thing kept grabbing my attention. [00:15:47] It's amazing how much this story gives attention to vessels. [00:15:54] The word vessels, right? It says, borrow vessels, empty vessels, not too few. [00:16:01] Bring me another vessel. She says, there isn't another vessel. The son says, then the oil stopped. Did you notice that? [00:16:09] The emphasis on vessels. So let's kind of dive into the story a little bit, what's actually happening. It's pretty clear, but I think it's helpful for us to jump into this. What's actually happening in this narrative, in the passage, we find a widow. She's completely desperate, she's in debt, and she's about to lose her sons, into slavery, no less. [00:16:30] Think about this. We think about widow, right? In the modern terms, we just mostly think, oh, husbands passed, husbands died. In ancient Israel, I think we've covered this before, but just to refresh us, in ancient Israel, that would have been in way heavier than just. [00:16:46] Than just that, which in and of itself is already radically difficult, as we all, I'm sure, can imagine. [00:16:53] It's not just that she has no husband. She now has no primary income. [00:16:58] She has very little, if any, legal protection or representation. She's vulnerable to exploitation. [00:17:06] And in those times, children were often the only future that a widow would have, either by their work and their provision of income or otherwise. If her sons are taken as debt slaves, she's essentially left destitute. [00:17:23] And in this context, in this moment, she comes to the prophet with almost nothing, just a small jar of oil. [00:17:33] And instead of giving her something outright, he tells her, go and borrow vessels, empty vessels, and not too few. So she goes out door to door, gathering as many empty jars as she can find. And then she comes back, shuts the door, and she starts to pour. [00:17:48] And as she pours, something incredible happens. [00:17:52] The oil in her small jar doesn't run out. [00:17:59] And it's fascinating here, notice where this miracle happens too, right? It's not the temple, it's not Mount Carmel in that time. It's not in front of massive crowds or in a palace with kings present. It's in a house behind closed doors. [00:18:17] The oil, it just keeps flowing. Filling one vessel, she sets it aside, then the next, until finally she says, bring me another one, quick, right? And then her son says, there isn't another. And then scripture says the oil stopped. [00:18:37] This widow about to lose her sons into slavery. She has no resources. [00:18:41] And God graciously provides through this prophet, Elisha, and displays his covenant faithfulness to his people. God did something miraculous. [00:18:50] He multiplied that oil supernaturally. The oil was a means for rescuing, for provision for this woman and her family, for both their immediate needs and for their life going forward. Did you catch that? In verse seven, it says, use the. Sell the oil, use the proceeds to pay your debt, and you guys can live on the rest. [00:19:13] So it met their immediate needs and their needs going forward. God provided in a miraculous way. And that kind of leads us to my first point. For me, for us this morning, if you're Taking notes. My first point is simply this. God's provision begins where honest dependence begins. [00:19:38] At the very start of this story, verse one, it says, one of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha. [00:19:48] She cried out she needed. [00:19:53] And she doesn't just go to a wise man. She doesn't simply go to a miracle worker. [00:19:59] She goes to the prophet of Yahweh, the God of the universe, the God of Israel. [00:20:05] And in Kings, Elisha, he functions as God's like, covenant representative. He isn't God himself, but he is God's, like, appointed spokesperson for his people. And throughout these books, Kings, when people come to Elisha, they're ultimately coming to seek the Lord's intervention through his prophet. [00:20:24] See, her first movement is towards God's representative because she knows only God can serve, solve what she cannot. [00:20:33] This widow went to God's appointed representative because she knew that's where God's help would be found. [00:20:40] And notice her posture. [00:20:43] She doesn't come with a solution, right? She didn't say, hey, I've got this. I've got this problem, and if you guys could just rally the troops and we could raise some funds, I think I could pay this debt off. [00:20:54] Right? She doesn't think, like, we could have my son work out and maybe he could take the cost for both of them. No, she doesn't come with a solution. She comes with honesty and with humility. [00:21:07] She says honestly, your servant, my husband, is dead. [00:21:11] The creditor has come, they're taking my sons. And Elisha asks, what shall I do for you? And before even giving her a chance to respond, he immediately says, tell me what you have in the house. [00:21:23] That's fascinating. [00:21:25] Like, why ask that? [00:21:29] Why ask what she has in the house if she's coming in desperate need when the creditors are coming? God obviously knows, and Elisha probably knows she has very little. Yet. He asks still why? [00:21:48] I read this, and I began to wonder, like, maybe God often begins by helping us honestly assess where we really are too. [00:22:00] And then she says, you, servant has nothing in the house except. [00:22:05] Except the oil. Small jar. [00:22:08] See, she starts with nothing. Not. I've got this thing that God, if he could bless it, it could be awesome. Not. I've almost figured it out. Not. I need just a little bit, Booth. She simply tells the truth. [00:22:21] And what's so beautiful about God? He's so kind and he's equally brilliant. God doesn't ignore what she has, the little that she has. [00:22:29] Look carefully at Elisha's question. What do you have in the house. God doesn't ignore what she has, nor does he ask her to produce what she doesn't have. [00:22:37] He starts with the little that she has. One jar of oil. [00:22:43] And this got me thinking, like this is truly kind of a pattern. All throughout Scripture there are many examples of this. In Exodus 4, God does a miracle through Moses. If you're familiar with the story of like the 10 plagues, right prior to carrying out this miracle, God asks him, what's in your hand? And Moses is like a staff. [00:23:02] And then God says, throw it on the ground. And God turns it into a snake. [00:23:07] A staff. [00:23:09] David and his sling. Not exactly the most state of the art weapon, I would assume in battle during that time. [00:23:18] Fast forward to Jesus and his disciples. Jesus is preaching all day. This boy comes forward to feed these 5,000 people who have gathered with five loaves and two fish. This widow, one jar. And God repeatedly asks his people. [00:23:35] All throughout Scripture, God's asking his people to bring what little they have while he supplies what they lack. [00:23:41] God begins with what she has, not with what she lacks. One jar, that's enough. [00:23:45] Not because the jar, but because God. [00:23:50] And so let me ask you this morning, what are you lacking spiritually this morning? [00:23:56] And have you brought it honestly before God? [00:24:03] Maybe faith. There's a desire for faith, patience, more zeal, passion, confidence, a desire for God. [00:24:11] God's provision begins where honest dependence begins. [00:24:17] Right? Matthew 5, the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus says, Blessed are the poor in spirit, those who hunger and thirst for. For righteousness. This widow was already living out these Beatitudes well before Jesus ever preaches them. [00:24:32] Those who need God, he meets with them. [00:24:37] So here's the question. [00:24:39] If God delights to meet people like this, poor in spirit, hungry, honest about their need, why then does Elisha tell her to go gather empty vessels? [00:24:53] Right? Elisha here says something that at first glance, it seems like completely unrelated to the problem. [00:25:00] Again, we got to dive into this story a bit. [00:25:03] She says she has need, there's debt. And he says, go borrow vessels. Why? [00:25:10] Why all the emphasis on vessels? Go outside. Borrow vessels from all your neighbors. Empty vessels. Don't just borrow a few. That's empty. Oddly specific, right? Like imagine being this widow, I need money. My sons, I need them. They're about to be sent into slavery. I need a miracle. Help. [00:25:32] And the response is, go collect empty jars. [00:25:38] That would seem almost absurd if we enter into this ourselves, right? But notice she doesn't argue, she obeys. She goes, she gathers, she trusts. [00:25:49] Borrow vessels, empty vessels. Bring another. There isn't another. Then the oil stopped. Church. Do you think the author wants us to notice the vessels? [00:26:01] Like, why spend so much time talking about these vessels? [00:26:06] If I were writing this story, it would be very different. It would be like, she comes with need. God miraculously supplies the oil, she sells it, everything's good. Why spend so much time talking about these vessels and the specifics of the way God provided? Here's the second thing I want you to notice with me, if you're taking notes. My second point is this. [00:26:25] Point two is that God works through available vessels. [00:26:31] See, this is where the story kind of slows down a little bit. [00:26:35] We get a lot of context really fast about this widow. This is where it slows down. [00:26:40] Like I said, if I was writing this story, this widow comes. She's got to need Elisha on her behalf. [00:26:47] God, through Elisha on her behalf, provides and they're taken care of. The end, right? But instead, the author spends incredible attention on these vessels. [00:26:57] Go borrow vessels. Empty vessels. Not a few. Bring me another. There isn't another. Then the oil stopped. Why? [00:27:07] As I was reading this, there were kind of three things. Three observations, I guess I'll say, that kind of stood out to me that I think are worth sharing. [00:27:15] The first one is this. That God could have performed these miracles without these vessels, right? Could we agree on that? [00:27:22] God didn't need the vessels. He could have filled her pantry. He could have created coins. He could have simply cancelled the debt. But he chose this method. [00:27:32] I think that means the method itself deserves our attention. [00:27:37] The second observation is that every additional vessel was an act of faith. Again, enter into this widow's story with me for a moment. Imagine this. She has one little jar and Elisha says, go borrow containers. [00:27:51] How many should I grab, Elisha? Not a few. [00:27:56] Can you imagine going door to door, knocking on your neighbor's door, hey, can I borrow your empty jars? [00:28:03] Why? Honestly, I don't know. The prophet told me to. [00:28:08] Every vessel she gathered represented another step of trust. [00:28:13] She had no evidence yet, only God's word through his prophet. [00:28:19] And in the third observation, I think this one's really important. [00:28:22] God's provision perfectly matched the available capacity. [00:28:28] Right? We see that in verse 6. [00:28:30] Bring me another one. [00:28:33] There isn't another. The Son says, then the oil stopped. [00:28:41] It says there wasn't another vessel. [00:28:47] This is in Old English, but Charles Spurgeon quotes on this passage here. [00:28:53] He's an old theologian and I'll help walk us through this because it's Old English, but it's really helpful. It says, so long as there were vessels to be filled, the miraculous flow of oil continued and it only ceased when there were no more jars to contain it. The prophet spoke no word to stay. That means stop the multiplying process. [00:29:13] And the Lord did not set any bound again cap to the bountiful marvel. [00:29:19] The poor widow was not straitened. This would be like limited or restricted or constrained in God. [00:29:26] But in her supply of empty vessels. [00:29:29] Nothing else in the universe restrained the flow of oil but the want of vessels to receive. It stated at once, the vessels failed before the oil. Our powers of receiving will be give out long before God's power of bestowing. [00:29:49] So as I read this, I kept asking myself, like, why does Scripture keep drawing our attention to vessels? [00:29:55] Because this isn't the only time that it's referenced here in 2 Kings. [00:30:00] This isn't the last time in the Bible that it uses that the Bible uses this imagery of vessels. 2 Timothy, chapter 2, verses 20 and 21. Again, this is in the ESV should be on the screen. It says now, in a great house. This is Paul writing to Timothy. In a great house, there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. [00:30:24] Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. [00:30:38] Notice Paul's emphasis not impressive vessels, useful. [00:30:46] It's not about being impressive, it's about being useful. In that passage prepared available. Second Corinthians, chapter 4 says, For God who said. Again, this is Paul's writing for God who said, let the light shine out of darkness has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. [00:31:08] But we have this treasure, this treasure, this glory of God, this knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus, this treasure in jars of clay to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. Not golden goblets, clay jars, weak, fragile, ordinary, dependent. Why it says right there in the text, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. [00:31:39] God's glory isn't seen because the vessel is extraordinary. It's seen because the vessel depends on an extraordinary God. [00:31:47] See, God has never been looking for impressive vessels. He's looking for available ones. [00:31:53] But here's the question. If God delights to work through available vessels, what makes a vessel unavailable? [00:32:05] Because let's be honest, for those of us who are followers of Jesus. It's not like we wake up one morning and decide, you know what? I don't want God to work in my life anymore. [00:32:14] Right? Like, none of us, I don't think, would audibly say that. [00:32:18] I think the question is much more subtle than that. [00:32:22] How does a heart lose its capacity? [00:32:26] How do we go from being desperately dependent, like the widow, to becoming spiritually full? [00:32:37] I think Jesus answers that question for us. In Luke 8, Jesus is telling a parable. It's called the Parable of the Sower. And so the seed. [00:32:47] And he talks about, as he's sharing this parable, right? You may be familiar with it. Some seed falls along the path, the rocky path, and it's trampled and birds devour it. Some fall on rock and they grow and they wither. [00:33:02] And then some fall among thorns and they were choked out. The disciples don't understand this parable. [00:33:08] And so Jesus, in his kindness then explains it to him in Luke 8. And he said, the sea seed is the word of God. Then in verse 14, he says this. He says, jesus says, and as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear. [00:33:23] But as they go on their way, they are choked out by the cares and riches and pleasures of life. [00:33:33] And their fruit does not mature. [00:33:39] Jesus words. [00:33:41] And interestingly, do you notice what Jesus didn't say here? He didn't say, just like he didn't just say sin, he said, cares, riches and pleasures, those aren't necessarily evil things. I think we could agree many of them are even probably good gifts. [00:34:01] But here's what they can do. Jesus says in verse 14, David can choke. [00:34:07] That's a capacity word. [00:34:10] They crowd, they occupy. They leave less room for the word of God, the seed, the word of God to flourish. [00:34:19] See, again, the problem isn't that God's word lost its power. The problem is that the heart became occupied. [00:34:28] The problem was never the supply. [00:34:32] The question was always the capacity. What's in the tank? [00:34:37] Is there room? [00:34:42] It's exactly what happened to Martha. You know the story. The two sisters, Mary and Martha, they're hosting Jesus. [00:34:49] Martha's busily working and serving. And Mary is just sitting there, enamored with Jesus at his feet and what he's sharing. [00:34:57] And Martha's like, yo, Jesus, tell my sister to come help me. There's a lot to do. [00:35:02] And Jesus responds, saying, mary's chosen the good portion to sit at my feet. [00:35:09] See, Martha, she wasn't wicked. [00:35:12] She wasn't lazy, certainly. She wasn't even indifferent. [00:35:16] She was busy. [00:35:18] She was Distracted. [00:35:20] Jesus says to her, you are anxious and troubled about many things. [00:35:26] He doesn't say, you've chosen sin, though that may be true. He says, you've become occupied. [00:35:33] See, Mary, she had room. [00:35:36] Martha had activity. [00:35:38] Mary had stillness. [00:35:41] Martha had distraction. [00:35:44] Mary received from Jesus. Martha was busy serving Jesus. [00:35:53] And don't misunderstand me, I don't think Jesus is rebuking service here. In fact, he's not. [00:35:59] He exposes something much deeper. [00:36:02] Because here's what I've been wrestling with. [00:36:05] How does a vessel become unavailable? [00:36:10] Right? It doesn't usually happen all at once. [00:36:13] It happens slowly. [00:36:16] One distraction at a time, one worry at a time, one success at a time, one responsibility at a time, one good thing, even at a time. And eventually, if we're not careful, what once was simply a crowded heart becomes something even more dangerous. [00:36:42] It becomes a self sufficient heart. [00:36:46] So if you're taking notes, here's my last point for you today. Point number three. The greatest threat to our capacity is self sufficiency. [00:36:57] And here's what's frightening. [00:36:59] Self sufficiency, it rarely announces itself, right? It doesn't say, I don't need God anymore. I've got this. [00:37:10] It says things like, I'm doing okay. Yeah. [00:37:13] You know, I've been a Christian a long time. [00:37:16] I've heard this before. [00:37:19] This word, this sermon, this analogy, whatever. I've heard this before. I'm serving, I'm reading, I'm giving, I'm busy. [00:37:33] And Jesus speaks to a church, a people, exactly like that. [00:37:40] In Revelation 3, verses 15 to 17, he's talking to a church and he says this. I know your works. [00:37:52] That you are neither hot. Excuse me? That you are neither cold nor hot. [00:37:57] I wish that you were cold or hot. [00:38:00] So because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I'm going to vomit you out of my mouth. [00:38:07] Whoa. [00:38:09] For you say, I'm rich, I've become wealthy and need nothing. [00:38:18] You don't realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, naked. [00:38:29] See, most of us know this passage, I'm assuming because of one word, this is at least historically my experience, that word lukewarm. [00:38:40] I think genuinely I may have even misunderstood this for a long time. I've always thought that like lukewarmness, that was the primary problem. [00:38:51] But I feel like as I was sitting with this word over the last several weeks, I feel like God was highlighting something else. That lukewarmness, it's actually the symptom. [00:39:05] Self sufficiency is the disease. Notice what Jesus spends his time talking about there in verse 17, he says, for you say I'm rich, I've become wealthy and need nothing. [00:39:23] That's the disease. [00:39:26] Lukewarmness is what it looks like on the outside. Self sufficiency is what's happening underneath. [00:39:32] I've got this. [00:39:36] And friends, do you see it? Do you notice? [00:39:42] That's the opposite of our widow. [00:39:46] See, the widow says, your servant has nothing. [00:39:51] The church Jesus is talking to here says, I need nothing. [00:39:58] One knew she was empty, the other didn't know she was. [00:40:05] It says it right there in the verse. You don't want realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. [00:40:14] See, the tragedy in this verse in Revelation isn't that Laodicea was empty. [00:40:18] The tragedy is that they thought they were full. [00:40:25] Now, is it possible? Could this happen to us? [00:40:30] Could we become so familiar with church, so familiar with scripture, so familiar with songs, so familiar with the gospel, so familiar with serving, so familiar with hearing sermons that somewhere along the way we stop approaching God like people who desperately need Him? [00:40:52] Could we become so comfortable, so secure, so insulated, so accustomed to our routine, our careers, our homes, our retirement accounts, our calendars, our suburban lives, that we slowly begin believing, maybe not with our lips, but with our lives. [00:41:13] I need nothing. [00:41:18] Not even necessarily because we've rejected Jesus, but because we've become self sufficient. [00:41:26] We know how to do life. We know how to solve problems, we know how to make money. [00:41:31] We know how to raise our kids. We know how to get through another week. And little by little, our practical dependence on Christ begins to fade. [00:41:44] So what do we do if we recognize ourselves in this church in Laodicea? [00:41:52] Jesus is so kind. [00:41:54] Jesus says in verse 18, I advise you to buy from me gold refined in the fire so that you may be rich. White clothes so that you may be dressed in your shameful nakedness, not be exposed. And ointment to spread on your eyes so that you may see. [00:42:09] Notice the beauty. [00:42:11] Jesus doesn't simply diagnose the problem, he prescribes. [00:42:18] Buy from me, not from the world. [00:42:23] Buy what I'm selling, not what the world is selling. Notice Jesus doesn't say, go figure it out. He doesn't say, come back when you fixed yourself. He says, come to me. [00:42:34] And he gives three images. Gold refined by fire. True riches, pure riches, everything. Laodicea. The church there thought they already possessed white garments. True righteousness. Not self made, but Jesus. [00:42:50] And the ointment, the eye salve. This one's especially beautiful. They thought they could see. [00:42:57] And Jesus says, let me help you. See, Church. When was the last time you came before God because you truly believed you couldn't make it without Him? [00:43:19] Verse 19. Jesus says, as many as I love, I rebuke and discipline. [00:43:25] So be zealous and repent. [00:43:29] He says, see? [00:43:31] I stand at the door and knock. [00:43:34] If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him and eat with him and he with me. [00:43:39] Isn't it beautiful? [00:43:44] The widow came to God's representative because she knew she needed help. [00:43:50] Laodicea had God's representative standing outside the door because they didn't think they needed him anymore. [00:44:01] And what a gracious king he is. [00:44:05] He gives us eyes to see, calls us to zealous repentance, even, like fighting for repentance, and exclaims to us now that we have these new Kingdom lenses implanted into our eyes. See? Look. I stand at the door and knock. [00:44:24] So let me ask you again one question. When was the last time you came before God because you truly believe you couldn't make it without Him? [00:44:35] Not because you were supposed to pray, or because you were reading through the Bible in a year, or because you were preparing a lesson, or you had a responsibility to fulfill, but because you knew you needed Him? [00:44:51] The widow said, I have nothing. [00:44:56] And the church in Laodicea said, I need nothing. [00:45:02] The entire Christian life has lived in the space between those two statements. So what do we do with this? [00:45:11] I don't think the answer is to leave here today trying to become a better Christian, or to manufacture more passion, or to try harder to become less lukewarm. Because remember, lukewarmness is the symptom. [00:45:26] Self sufficiency is the disease. [00:45:31] The answer is to come back to Jesus like the widow, honestly, like the poor in spirit, humbly, like those who hunger and thirst desperately, like Mary quietly at his feet, and like Laodicea, repentantly. [00:45:57] Because God's provision begins where honest dependence begins. [00:46:03] Christ is still knocking this morning. Church. [00:46:07] And God works through available vessels. So would you make yourself available to him again? [00:46:16] Maybe that means saying no to something that's been crowding your heart. [00:46:22] Maybe it means laying down a distraction. [00:46:26] Maybe it means turning off the noise. [00:46:29] Maybe there's something to say no to, to get rid of or move on from. Maybe it means finally saying yes to something that God's been calling you toward. [00:46:39] I don't know what that is for you, but I want to ask. [00:46:45] Make room. [00:46:47] Do whatever you have to do. [00:46:51] Make room for His Word. Make room for his spirit. Make room to hear his voice. Because the greatest threat to our capacity is self sufficiency. [00:47:06] So don't leave here the same way you came in. [00:47:12] I'm actually going to go ahead and call the band up now. I think that's okay. [00:47:17] Don't leave here the same way you came in. Don't hear God's word today, friends, and do nothing with it. [00:47:26] We're going to get a chance to respond in a few ways. [00:47:31] Don't hear God's word today and do nothing with it. Come and get prayer. God will meet you if you want to sort some things out with Him. [00:47:38] If this word strikes a chord with you in some way, it certainly did with me. [00:47:44] Don't hear God's word, feel conviction, recognize your need and then quietly drift back into business as usual tomorrow morning or even this afternoon. [00:47:57] Because that's exactly how self sufficiency works. [00:48:02] It doesn't usually happen through outright rebellion. [00:48:06] It happens through neglect. [00:48:11] Do you see that? It doesn't necessarily happen through outright rebellion. It happens through neglect, through comfort, through distraction, through simply carrying on as though we don't really need Jesus today. [00:48:31] The church. Let me remind you that Jesus, he's not standing at the door knocking to shame you. [00:48:39] He's standing at the door because he loves you. [00:48:44] He's inviting us you back into fellowship. He's inviting you to receive from him again today. [00:48:50] He's inviting you to depend on on him again. [00:48:55] The widow, she discovered that God's supply was greater than she imagined. [00:49:00] Laodicea discovered that Christ's invitation was more gracious than they deserve. And today that same Jesus stands before us. [00:49:11] It's not an ethereal out there reality. There's a Jesus in this room right now, present among his people and he's standing before us. [00:49:22] So would we come before him honestly and make room? [00:49:31] Would we leave this place deeply convinced of one thing? Today we still desperately need Jesus and that's the very place where his grace delights to meet us. [00:49:47] The widow said, I have nothing. [00:49:51] I need your provision. Lord, would we not be like the church in Laodicea that says I need nothing? I've got all I need. [00:50:00] I'm entertained. [00:50:03] I've got the house I wanted. I'm comfortable. I've got my job, I've got things to do. [00:50:14] Can you imagine what it would look like and what God could do through a church not of impressive people, but of dependent people? [00:50:29] A church that wakes up every morning saying apart from Christ, we can do nothing. [00:50:37] Remember my water tank? [00:50:40] The campground never ran out of water. [00:50:44] The problem wasn't the source. The problem was in my image. [00:50:50] The problem was what occupied the tank. [00:50:57] Church. What has occupied your heart this morning, Right now, in this moment, what is your attention on? [00:51:19] I don't want God to look at this beautiful church body ready to bring his kingdom and miraculous ways and have the oil stop. [00:51:31] The supernatural kingdom of heaven, oil, the miraculous stop. [00:51:40] Because there were no more vessels, there was no more capacity. [00:51:48] So let me invite you to ask the spirit of God who speaks to his people, to search your heart right now, in this moment. [00:51:57] Ask him, lord, what in my life is occupying the space that belongs to you and to you alone this morning I simply want to invite anybody who realizes that somewhere along the way I've stopped coming to Christ like someone who needs him to respond in at least one of three ways. [00:52:25] If something comes to your mind or has already come to your mind, you've been made aware of a way in which you've been living. Like you don't need Jesus. [00:52:34] There's a gracious invitation for us this morning, for you this morning, if that's you, to repent, to come to the one who delights, to pour out grace, to come forward and confess your need to one of. [00:52:52] One of the prayer team. I'm actually going to call them forward, if that's okay. Can I do that? If you're on the prayer team and you want to come forward, come forward to one of these trusted people and confess your need. [00:53:07] Let them pray. The grace of Jesus, the blood of Jesus that cleanses over you. [00:53:13] If any of what was shared this morning resonates with you. [00:53:17] But maybe you're unsure of how to move forward. You need to take. You need strength to take your next step. Or you'd like to take off self sufficiency and receive Christ fresh this morning. Come forward for prayer, repentance, prayer. [00:53:36] I also know that there are some in this room who, as we've walked through this passage, have simply become overwhelmed again by the kindness of Jesus. [00:53:48] Right, like the widow that found God's provision was greater than she imagined. Like Laodicea finds that Christ's grace was greater than they deserved. And maybe today your response isn't primarily words, but it's worship. [00:54:02] Not because you've earned anything, not because you've finally become a better vessel, but because you've been reminded that Christ still comes towards needy people and respond to him with your adoration and praise Him. [00:54:15] Lift up your song of praise as an offering to bring him pleasure and delight. Bless the Lord. [00:54:23] One of the greatest evidences that we've rediscovered, our need for Christ is that our hearts begin to delight in him again. [00:54:33] Like singing, not as a performance, but as affection. [00:54:43] Can I pray for us. [00:54:59] Now? Holy Spirit, we know that you're here among us. [00:55:06] I believe there are realities too, what we talked about that are resonating in this room right now. [00:55:19] Cups that may be too full right now. [00:55:29] People like me, who if we soberly look at our lives, we could say, oh man, actually have been living as though I don't really need anything from God today at least, yeah, maybe we need him for eternal life. [00:55:52] But like the God of the universe who holds all things in his hand, commands the wind and the waves, allows for me to take another breath as a gift of his grace. [00:56:09] Life itself is gift of grace. [00:56:14] So, Holy Spirit, would you help us now see our desperate need for you, not just for the future, but for right here in this moment. [00:56:24] And Jesus, as you're scanning the earth looking for. [00:56:28] Looking for a church that will host you, Lord, I pray that you wouldn't look at this church and see that there are no more vessels available, that there's no room for you. I pray that you would see now and that you would begin the work, Holy Spirit, of convicting hearts to make room for you. [00:56:48] Because Jesus, that's what we want. We want your kingdom, your will be done, your kingdom come. [00:56:55] We want to see your rule and your reign in this place. [00:57:06] And so come and do what only you can do. Where my words fall short. Holy Spirit, I pray that you would move like fresh wind through this community. That you would remind us of your gracious invitation to repentance. Now that we can come before you at any moment and you delight to provide for us. [00:57:24] Your provision is for the those who need it. [00:57:30] You desire to fill available vessels. Would we be available to you, Lord? You don't have to use us, but would you find us useful? [00:57:44] And in Jesus name, Lord, I want to rebuke the spirit of self sufficiency. [00:57:53] And instead that we would be a people that come to you like the widow, recognizing that in light of eternity, we have nothing apart from you, Jesus, we have nothing. [00:58:04] Our trajectory is death in the grave. Apart from your intervening hand and the power of your grace, the power of the cross, the power of your resurrection that you and your kindness offer to us and invite us to partake in. [00:58:19] Lord, will we not be too full to receive that even now, in this moment? [00:58:28] Thank you for your goodness and for your kindness. [00:58:31] Have your way, be glorified, move among your people. I pray in Jesus name. [00:58:38] Amen. [00:58:43] All right, now we have time to respond. [00:58:46] You respond by getting prayer, by giving him praise. [00:58:53] This is an invitation for everyone. This is not a spectator moment. This is an opportunity for all of us to respond now. So let me encourage you to do so. Enjoy him. And one of the gods will be back up here shortly. [00:59:05] Love you.