I chose this sermon this week because it spoke to me and has been speaking to me for the last month, which is exactly how long I have been listening to this sermon. I've honestly been in a self-inflicted funk where my faith has been lacking because I've been doubting that God will fulfill the promises he has for me. I've been feeling extremely hypocritical because "how could I be doubting God's ability to fulfill my needs and my purpose while still claiming to have faith?" and because this is an issue that I thought I'd already worked through. I've heard time and time again that all we need is faith the size of a mustard and I'd be lying if I told you I've had any more than that lately.

After listening and meditating on the sermon my faith honestly feels revived and now I want to share what I've learned with you.

God wants to revive his children's faith in him.

Revive: To bring life back to.

Peoples faith is not dead, it's just discouraged.

Faith is the ingredient that is going to provide what we don't even feel is possible right now.

When our faith gets weak we stop looking to God for things.

Hebrews 11: 6; It's impossible to please God without faith.

Romans 10:17; Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.

Faith and Facts go together. Facts are "what is", Faith is "what can happen".
Some of us are faithful to things that don't feed our future.
You can talk about "living your best life" and be living your worst life because what's being fed to you is not something that can hold you through the storm.
You should be taking in more Bible than anything else
If the enemy can mess with your thinking he can mess with your declaration.

2 Kings 6; Now it came to pass that when the vessels were full she looked to her sons and said "Bring me another vessel", and he said "there is not another vessel", and the oil stopped.

Translation: In the story, the woman is us and Elijah is Jesus

Our faith stops because we get stuck in what happened
We have to let what happened, go if our faith is going to be revived.
Elijah comes to the woman with two questions.

What can I do for you? or What do you want? Which is a question of vision.

-What has God placed in you?

Habakkuk 2:2; Write the vision and make it plain

God never gives provision where there is no vision.

-The woman had no answer for Elijah so he asked the second question.

2. What do you have?

-He never asks what do you have first because it's not a matter of resource to get God to do anything. And most of us are getting vision after we look at our resource.

Stop putting a limitation on your vision because of what resources you have right now.

What gifts do you have?
What resources do you have?
The woman tells Elijah she has nothing but a small jar of oil.
What we count out, God counts on.
All God needs is all we have.
God uses the foolish things to confound the wise.
Your "nothing but" is going to create a miracle
Pull your gift back up because you will live for a paycheck instead of living for a purpose.
The woman takes her little bit of oil and then she waits for what the man of God has to say. He says "Go".

Faith is an action word

Borrow vessels from everywhere and do not gather just a few.
You can replicate what someone does but if you do not have the faith that they have the miracle won't happen.

Whatever we have the faith to prepare for is what God will fill up.

God says if you would believe in me and set it out in faith I'm the only one who can take your "nothing but"/your little bit of oil and when you start pouring it, turn it into a miracle.
God blesses what you prepare for.
When you have expectation without preparation you get frustration.
God's not trying to make sense he's trying to make a miracle

It looks stupid until it works

Verse 4: And when you have some in you shall shut the door behind you and your sons and pour. So she went from and shut the door and she poured it out.

Shut the door and pour

God is trying to do something that is going to be a miracle and every time you look at what you have and what God is asking you to do it's not going to make sense.
Everybody is not going to have faith for the miracle God is going to do in your life.
Your plan with God backing it is better than your plan with any man backing it
The woman shuts the door with her sons behind it and they went and borrowed vessels and they borrowed as many vessels as they had faith for. If they had faith for 3 that's what he filled, if they had faith for 300 then that is what he filled.
Verse 6: She tells her son to bring me another vessel, and her son said there is not another vessel.
They did not have the faith to prepare for more vessels to be filled.
When she found out there were no more vessels the oil ceased.