By Mike Smith Lessons from the widow in 2 Kings chapter 4.

1. 2 Kings 4

2. Introduction:
•Have your ever felt like you
were running on empty?
•In our text, 2 Kings 4:
•A man died
•Left his wife penniless
•She had no husband/money/food
•She had two sons, the creditors
were about to take as slaves…
•In her emptiness she learned
something about nothing!

3. Introduction:
• Empty is the key word in this story.
• Elisha sent her to get more emptiness.
She had a lot of emptiness but not
enough!
• He’s saying, I want you to see what
God can do with emptiness.
• Story continues… God fills all the
emptiness! What happens next? v.6 b
• God meets the various needs of His
people. He never fails! Mt. 6:33

4. Spiritual Application:
• Premise: If you are not experiencing
God’s presence in your life, it may be
that you’re not empty enough!
• In John 6 “Empty stomachs”
• Four plans: One chosen
• Take the little boy’s lunch, and
demonstrate that little is much when
God is in it!
• Showing the multitudes that only
God can fill their emptiness.

5. Spiritual Application:
• In John 2 God filled some empty water pots at a
wedding feast.
• The joy the world has to offer is only temporary!
It always runs out, and you’re left feeling empty.
• “The best day you’ll ever spend in sin is the 1st day”.
Heb. 11:25; Prov. 14:13; 20:17
• But Jesus gives a miraculous joy that never ends!
The longer I serve Him the sweeter He grows
• Are you experiencing intimacy with Christ on a daily
basis? If not, it may be you’re not empty enough!

6. Intimacy with Christ is poured into a
vessel that has been:
• Emptied of sin - Is. 59:1-2
• Intimacy is an impossibility if we harbor sin in
our lives.
• Before this intimacy can flow like oil, there
must be recognition of sin, confession of sin,
and forsaking of sin. Ps. 66:18
• Not sinless perfection, but that you don’t have
an ongoing sin in your life that you’ve just
learned to tolerate.

7. Intimacy with Christ is poured into a
vessel that has been:
• Emptied of Self
• Total and complete surrender and intimacy with
Christ go hand in hand.
What happens when a Christian empties self?
• They are filled w/ Spiritual understanding! Jn. 7:17
• Nothing blinds your spiritual vision like self-will.
• Nothing clears spiritual blindness like total surrender!
Galatians 2:20; 6:14

8. What happens when a Christian empties self?
• They are filled with joy!
– Jn. 15:10 -11 Yes, total surrender and joy
go hand in hand!
• There’s no joy in being a half-hearted
Christian.
• Make a total surrender of self to God and you’ll
have joy unspeakable!

9. Intimacy with Christ is poured into a
vessel that has been:
What happens when a Christian is emptied of self?
• They are filled with God’s intimate presence!
John 14:21
The oil of intimacy is only poured into a vessel that has
been emptied of sin, emptied of self and…
• Emptied of Substitutes
– Don’t try to substitute, service for surrender or
work for worship, Martha becomes a Mary when she
drops her “to do list” and falls at the feet of Jesus!
Luke 10:38-42

10. Conclusion:
• Running on empty?
• Empty yourself of sin, self,
and all the substitutes!
• Then ask God to fill you
and use you!