Buckets of Blessing [Part 2]

Pastor, author, and Bible teacher, Alan Wright. This past weekend, I told you I had opportunity for three or four days just to be immersed in the gospel, to be immersed in the Word, just be immersed in worship, no other distractions in my life. And you know what? You know what? I came away from that, just all that Word, all that feeding, all that presence of the Spirit. You know what happened to me? I came home more hungry for God.

Isn't that a mystery? Isn't that wonderful? That's Pastor Alan Wright. Welcome to another message of good news that will help you see your life in a whole new light. I'm Daniel Britt, excited for you to hear the teaching today in the series Miracle Man, as presented at Rinaldo Church in North Carolina. If you're not able to stay with us throughout the entire program, I'd like to make sure you know how to get our special resource right now. It can be yours for your donation this month to Alan Wright Ministries. So as you listen to today's message, go deeper as we send you today's special offer.

Contact us at PastorAlan.org, that's PastorAlan.org, or call 877-544-4860, that's 877-544-4860. More on this later in the program. But now, let's get started with today's teaching.

Here's Alan Wright. I don't want to take the vessel that God has designed to announce good news and speak anything less. I was broken. I was not full of shame and condemnation. I was remorseful over a moment of sin and flesh, but I was not repelled from God.

I came towards Him. That's how you know the conviction of the Holy Spirit, by the way. If you start feeling remorse for your sin that makes you just feel ashamed, and you just want to get away from God, that's not God. What God does is He loves you, and there is discipline that comes, but it is a loving discipline. It is a discipline that makes you want more of God. God is just so hungry for God.

You know, sometimes you just have to recognize the poverty of your own situation, or else you're not hungry for Him. And I got to go and lead our national conference this past week out in Texas. I was preaching. I preached three times. We led a marriage track in, and I did.

So I was giving a lot, but I also got to just sit and bask under the preaching of others, announcing the Gospel, just announcing the Gospel, just telling the Scriptures, and proclaiming its goodness and worship, and I, who am always leading something, got to just sit there and for a couple days afterwards, just ministry time. So I had about four or five days where I didn't even hardly know what was going on in the world. I didn't hardly know. I wasn't worrying about politics. I wasn't worrying about what was being said or not said by the people in charge of the country.

I wasn't even hardly, believe it or not, paying attention to March Madness. I did pay attention this weekend, but that was last weekend, and immersed in the Gospel. I'm just saying, when there is emptiness in the soul, it yearns for God that is joined together with the flow of the Holy Spirit and the power of the Gospel, and you bring those two things together, something miraculous happens, and so I was able to come back physically tired and spiritually renewed, energized. I'm just saying there is a benefit to our emptiness in the way that in this beautiful story, there was a benefit to having empty vessels. As long as there was a bucket that was empty, the oil kept flowing.

Once there was no more empty vessel to be filled, the oil stopped. God is drawn to emptiness in this sense. When you come to the place that you know you don't have any good thing in yourself to offer in the equation of your salvation, and you don't have anything to bring to God to make Him love you any more than He does, what happens is that you become like a vessel that is just ready to be filled. Charles Spurgeon preached it well. My Lord Jesus does not want your help.

I love it. Abstain, resolve, repent, advance, do what you will, but do not join these poor things to His great salvation. Give up once and for all depending upon what you have done, even when you've done all as an unprofitable servant, quit all claims of wage and appeal to mercy only. Dismiss the proud notion of containing anything in yourself which comes from your fallen nature and yet can be acceptable with God. Empty buckets are most fit for the well of grace. These shall be filled while the full ones stand idle at the well's mouth. So it's a story about a woman's desperate need and that God is not repelled by that need or that emptiness, but He is drawn into it.

And that's the way God is. And so Elisha says to her, what do you have in the house? And this is where the story turns to this interesting twist where she says, well, I just have one jar of oil. She just has this one little jar of oil. And I'm sure her temptation would be to either just use that one jar of oil, make a little bread and be done with it or try to sell the little bit that she had and maybe she could do something with it. But instead, what Elisha's miracle is going to show her is that she had something that was of more value than she knew.

She didn't know that the little bit that she had was just a deposit guaranteeing more. This is the way it is with the Holy Spirit. You know, the Scripture calls him a deposit.

He is earnest money. He is God in the fullness. But what happens as a Christian is you experience God, you experience the oil of the Holy Spirit, but you don't know all that you have. And so how do you find out all that you have? You start walking with God. You start stepping out with God.

You start letting the oil be released. See, she was restricted by the principle of scarcity, but God is not. We operate according to the principle of scarcity. We operate as if there are limited resources and so we have to constantly, wisely choose what to do with our limited resources. And in this world and in the natural, we have to operate that way. You've got a limited amount of time, a limited amount of money, limited amount of energy.

You have to allocate it like that. But you must understand, God is not operating by a principle of scarcity. He is operating by a principle of infinite abundance. What this story tells me about the oil is that that oil, the picture of the Holy Spirit, was his source.

Oh, that we could get this revelation. God is your source. He's the creator of everything and he's the giver of every good gift. He really is. He is our provision.

That's Alan Wright, and we'll have more teaching in a moment from today's important series. It's a great idea to start each day with a dose of good news, and we'd like to help. God's Word is clear. If the Lord could use Elijah miraculously, he could also do wonders in and through you. If you yearn to see more of God's power in your life, you'll love Pastor Alan's devotional journal, Everyday Miracles. It's a one-month journey through the stories of Elijah and his successor, Elisha, that include daily devotionals from Pastor Alan, questions for reflection, space for journaling, and a daily prayer of faith. This beautiful spiral-bound book is the perfect tool to get you into the Word and to build your faith day by day. When you make a gift this month, we'll send you Alan Wright's new devotional journal, Everyday Miracles, as our way of saying thanks for your partnership. Also, free digital access to all the Elijah messages currently airing. So please make your gift today and start looking for miracles all around you. The gospel is shared when you give to Alan Wright Ministries. This broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support.

When you give today, we will send you today's special offer. We are happy to send this to you as our thanks from Alan Wright Ministries. Call us at 877-544-4860.

That's 877-544-4860. Or come to our website, PastorAlan.org. Today's teaching now continues. Here once again is Alan Wright. I love stories of miraculous provision. Our church is just full of these stories.

I was reminded of two of them this week. Wonderful story. Jeff Deaton, who is an elder in the church and our ministry coach and executive director of Sharing the Light. He has a wonderful story that he was beginning to grow in the Lord, been a Christian for some time. He and his wife, Mary, and they'd just come to an altar. This is, oh, probably 22 years ago, and they were just starting to grow in believing in the work of the Spirit and the miracles of God still for today. Well, at that time, they were living outside of town, and they wanted to move closer into Winston-Salem. In fact, they looked at a house that was very nearby, on a cul-de-sac nearby. And even that was part of the story, was in separate occasions, his wife Mary and Jeff had gone to this cul-de-sac, and they had seen that there was a house that was for sale, had a sign in the yard. And they saw it, but they saw a house, several houses down from it that wasn't for sale, but they both just fell in love with that house.

But it wasn't for sale. Anyway, they said nonetheless, they told their realtor, why don't you send us the specs on the house that is for sale? Well, what they didn't know is the house that had no sign in the yard, it was actually for sale.

There just hadn't been a sign in the yard. And so accidentally, she sent them the specs on the house that they loved, and they didn't even know it was for sale. So now they're in love with this house. Well, they came that week, and they hadn't told anybody.

They hadn't told anybody they were thinking about moving this house that they'd been living outside of town. And they came to their class, they went to Bill Rice's Sunday School class, and they told the class to have a prayer request, said, well, we think we might like to move, but we really would need the Lord to give us a real clear indication of this, and to really provide for this, because we actually just found a house that we love, but we really want you all to pray about this. And so people came around and laid hands on them. I think it's the first time they've experienced that class came around, everybody laid hands on them and prayed for them. And that afternoon, they went home, they had lunch, and they were sitting around that afternoon, and the doorbell rang. And it's a true story. People just walked up to their house and said, you know, we love your house.

We've just noticed it and just wondered if you might ever want to sell it. They sold it with a contract within three days on their house. I was talking this week, supernatural provision, I was talking to a reminder this week, because one of the fellows I was with this past weekend, his name's Kenny, and he had been working at a church some years ago, and then he had started an itinerary ministry in which he needed to raise his own support. And it was slow going, and he really felt called by God to what he was doing in this ministry that he was traveling, but he really needed to raise about $40,000 more in order to cover his annual income needs.

And it just wasn't there, it wasn't happening. And so anyway, his wife, she's famous for making these some kind of cinnamon rolls or something, they're just so tasty. And they had a neighbor that I can't remember why they even decided to bless them with these cinnamon rolls, but there was maybe something going on, but they just, she baked some of these cinnamon rolls, and they took it to the neighbor, and they took the pan over. And Kenny said to her, just jokingly said to the neighbor, said, you know, where I come from in Kentucky, you know, when you bring that pan back, you put something in it, you know, like, you know, we brought you some cinnamon rolls, you know, maybe you put a little cake back in there when it comes back, you know, and just kind of choked with them like that.

And anyway, a few days later, the pan came back, and it didn't have any food in it. It had an envelope sitting there, and his wife didn't even open up the envelope till Kenny got home that night. And he said, oh, he said, what is this, a thank you note from them? And he opened it up, and it was a check for $40,000 to his ministry.

I just got stories, did you like supernatural provision stories? I'm just talking about, we have a God who is our source. And as I look back over ministry here, I've been here 21 years, and I just think back about everything that God's called us to do, He's provided. I mean, there's just not been a time. I mean, there have been times where I thought, I didn't know where the provision's going to come from.

There have been times I've just like, I just feel like just getting into a fit of worry about this, and I have been in a fit of worry before. But I look back, and God's always been there. So this is a story about a woman who had a little bit of oil, and a whole lot of emptiness. And the prophet had the word of the Lord for her, and that was just get as much emptiness as you can get, and start pouring the oil. And watch the oil flow. Watch the provision of God. Watch the miracle of God.

Watch God provide where you don't have any idea how He's going to provide. Some things in life just don't run out. You ever think about that? We act like everything runs out.

No, it doesn't. You know what doesn't run out? Joy. There's no such thing as using up your joy. You know, I had some joy, and then I started laughing, and I just used it all up.

It doesn't work like that, does it? You know, you're with people, and somebody's got some joy, and then, I mean, sometimes you start laughing just because somebody else is laughing. I mean, just somebody else's joy. And they're like, what's so funny? I don't even know what's funny.

You know, it doesn't seem funny to you. You seem happy, and you start getting happy just because you're around them. It doesn't work like, oh, the more joy you have, the less you're going to have of it, because, you know, it's going to run out. That's not the way it works, is it? Some things don't run out. Love doesn't run out, does it? I mean, we had a child, and it was four years before we had the next child, and I remember thinking, how will I be able to have the same love for this second child like I've had for this little boy? And then, as a parent, every parent knows this. You can't explain it. You just realize that you've got so much love that just having another one didn't make there be less love for the first one, or you have to divide up. Now you've got 50 percent, and you've got 50 percent. That's not what happens.

Why? Because love is from God, and love is a God thing. It doesn't run out. God's stuff doesn't run out. And the Holy Spirit within you is God.

And so there's more to Him than you know. And spiritual growth and spiritual maturity is discovering the flow of the Holy Spirit. The more that you are aware of His presence, and the more you're aware of your need for Him, the more you hunger, the more you are delighted, the more you taste and see that the Lord is good, and the hungrier you get. Let me tell you a mystery that is unveiled in this beautiful story that the oil that doesn't run out is a picture of spiritual passion and growth because what happens, beloved, and many of you know exactly what I'm talking about, is that the more that you fall in love with God, the more you hunger for God. And the more that you are immersed in the Word of God, the more you hunger for God. So a great example, this past weekend I told you I had an opportunity for three or four days just to be immersed in the Gospel, be immersed in the Word, just be immersed in worship.

No other distractions in my life. And you know what? You know what? I came away from that. Just all that Word, all that feeding, all that presence of the Spirit. You know what happened to me? I came home more hungry for God. Isn't that a mystery?

Isn't that wonderful? You know, there's just some things in life, it's like, okay, you get full, and now you're just full so you're satisfied so you just move on to something else. That's not the way it is with God.

In fact, so many things in life are like this. Let us heed this well. Paul said in Ephesians, he said do not, in Galatians, sorry, in Galatians chapter 6, he said do not be mocked, do not be deceived.

God is not mocked. Whatever you sow, you reap. If you sow to the sinful nature, you sow to the flesh, you'll reap from the flesh. You sow to the sinful nature, you're going to reap stuff from the sinful nature. But if you sow to the Spirit, you'll reap from the Spirit.

Here's part of what he's saying by that. If you go, like I had the privilege to do, and spend three or four days just basking in the good news of the Gospel, you're going to reap from that an appetite for the Gospel. If you went and you just spent time just sowing to the sinful flesh, you're just going to want more of that.

Right? Anybody's ever been addicted to something could tell you that. It's so weird. See, in the same way that sin lies to you and says, if you'll just, you know, go and indulge in this particular thing, then it'll satisfy and then you won't have that feeling anymore.

Ha! It's a lie from the devil. Don't even believe it for a second, because that's not what happens at all.

That's not what happens at all. In fact, just the opposite. So, if there needs to be a change in your life, you start letting the oil flow. You sow into the Spirit. You want to love God? Worship Him and you'll love Him more. You want to be hungry for the Word?

Get in the Word. Anyway, and then it turns to this where Elisha says to her, okay, she's got all this oil now. And he says, go and pay off your debt and then live off the rest of it.

What a picture. Here's another picture of the Gospel for us. Is to say that this oil paid her debt and then had enough for her to live vibrantly on, she and her sons. Because this is the way the Gospel does. This is what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. The grace of God doesn't just save you and pay your debt. The grace of God empowers you to live. The same grace that saved you sanctifies you. The same grace that paid your debt empowers you to overcome that which puts you into debt. What I'm saying is that the grace of God saves you from your sin and the grace of God empowers you to overcome your sin. The grace of God gave you new life and the grace of God gives you abundant life. It's the double blessing of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.

It means that Jesus has paid your debt, but also it means that He's empowered you to live. He is our everything. He is the one who has given us freedom and forgiveness so we know we're with God forever. And He is the one who empowers us and makes us co-heirs with Him so that we reign with Him. Paul said in Romans 5, For if because of one man's trespass death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

He's the double cure. So she had enough oil to pay off all her debts so her children wouldn't be slaves and they would be free. But she had more than that. She had enough to live on. A little bit of oil.

It looked like it was just a little bit of oil. And she found out it was a whole lot more. Well if your car will do more than you realize and your phone will do more than you realize, how much more can you count on this? God, your source, will do more and more and more as you hunger for Him. And that's the gospel. Allen Wright. Today's teaching buckets of blessing. As our series continues, Miracle Man. Allen is back in a moment with additional insight for today. Our final word straight ahead.

It's a great idea to start each day with a dose of good news and we'd like to help. In James 5, we're given these jaw-dropping words. Elijah was as human as we are.

And yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years. Elijah, the man whose prayer called down fire on a water-drenched altar, defeating 450 wicked prophets, and whose intercession revived a widow's deceased son, was just like us, an ordinary man who was used by God for the extraordinary. God's word is clear. If the Lord could use Elijah miraculously, He could also do wonders in and through you. If you yearn to see more of God's power in your life, you'll love Pastor Alan's devotional journal, Everyday Miracles. It's a one-month journey through the stories of Elijah and his successor, Elisha, that include daily devotionals from Pastor Alan, questions for reflection, space for journaling, and a daily prayer of faith. This beautiful spiral-bound book is the perfect tool to get you into the Word and to build your faith day by day. When you make a gift this month, we'll send you Allen Wright's new devotional journal, Everyday Miracles, as our way of saying thanks for your partnership. Also, free digital access to all the Elijah messages currently airing. So please make your gift today and start looking for miracles all around you. Allen, even the most technologically advanced of us, we discover, oh, I didn't know my phone could do that.

I've had this for how many months? Well, most of the saints I know that have been walking with the Lord for a long time, Daniel, say things like, you know, the more I know Him, the more I realize I don't know Him, the more that I discover how good He is, the more I realize that there's more to know. And I think that's the way it is with so many.

It's almost like when you are in elementary school and you know two plus two equals four, maybe memorize a few multiplication tables, you don't even know that calculus exists, much less do you know calculus. This is the beautiful thing about God. He's endless, and a relationship with Him is endlessly deep and rich, and so you get to keep growing and growing and growing. Just keep your heart open like that widow's empty vessels and let the oil of the Holy Spirit be poured in daily. Today's good news message is a listener supported production of Alan Wright Ministries.