08/10/2026
Bring “the Empty Vessels” In!
Scripture: 2nd Kings 4:1-7 (New King James Version)
Today, we are being encouraged to “Bring the Empty Vessels In!” God wants us to know that as believer, we have been given the commission of bringing in empty vessels.
In our text there was a certain woman that had problem because she could not paid her debt and creditor was coming to take her sons. This certain woman’s husband had died and left her with no means of paying her bills.
Let me ask, “What would you do if you found yourself in this type of troubling situation? “Who would you cry out to?” Would cry would to creditor with hopes that he would forgive your debt? Or would you cry out to a man or woman of God who knows how to hear from Heaven?
The Bible let us know that this certain woman cries out to Elisha, the man of God about her situation. And due to her husband’s faithfulness in the kingdom of God, she feels that she was within her right to cry out to the man of God for help.
The Bible says when she cried out to Elisha, he asked her two questions. And the questions wasn’t,
1. I am sorry to hear that, or
2 I’ll be praying for you. Instead the two questions was,
1. How can I help you?”
2. Tell me, “What do you have in the house?”
The 1st question, “How can I help you?” positioned the woman to ask God for what she wanted.
The 2nd question, “Tell me what do you have in the house?” implies that she must tell God what she has for Him to work with.
In response to Elisha’s question, “Tell me, what you have in Your House?” This certain woman unknowingly gives Elisha the correct response to his question. She said, “your maidservant has nothing in the house accept a jar of oil.”
The King James Version says, “Thine handmaid hath not anything in the house save a pot of oil.”
We need to get this, there is nothing in her house save a pot of oil. The word save means to preserve or guard from loss or destruction. God wants you to know that there is oil save inside you for such a time as this. The very thing that she saved in her house was what God needed to work with to deliver her from her situation.
The woman already had the main solution to her problem. In the house she had a pot of “Saved Oil”. But she lack vessels for the “Oil” to be poured in.
Therefore, in 2 Kings 4:3 Elisha (the man of God) tells the woman to go borrow vessels from everywhere and from all your neighbors, empty vessels; and do not gather a few.
Note that Elisha told woman to go borrow vessels from everywhere and from all your neighbors, empty vessels; and do not gather a few. But, he never told her that all the vessels had to be exact same.
God wants us to understand that there is a spiritual significance to the empty vessels being brought in. Empty vessels are symbolic to empty people that need to be filled with the Holy Sprit.
Elisha says to the woman, “when you come in (with the empty vessels) shut the door behind you and your sons.” We need to shut the door because what God is getting ready to do is between Him, you, your family, and the vessels you brought in.
The miraculous process starts when you and your family began to pour oil into empty vessels. But, did you notice that man of God didn’t go in the house with them? This is important because if the man of God had went in with them they would expected him to pour the oil into the vessels. But God wants us to exercise our faith and not depend on the faith of man/woman of God.
The word goes on to say, when all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another one.” But he replied, “There is not a jar left.” Then the oil stopped flowing.
Note: The only reason the oil stopped flowing because there were no more empty vessels to be filled. She did not run out of oil. She ran out vessels to put the oil in. This let us know that God have a never-ending supply of oil, we just need to keep bringing the empty vessels in.
The Word said, she went and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left. Even though the oil stopped, the filled vessels were more than enough to bring this certain woman and her sons out of their situation. This also let us know that when we pour oil into others,God will bless you and your family to live on the overflow of His Oil.
So, what do you need to do for God to deliver you from your impossible situations? “You need “Bring the empty vessels In!” It through bringing in empty vessels that God can meet your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. It’s all apart of our Evangelism in reaching out to a lost and dying world.
So, “Bring the empty vessels In!
