The Ministry of Enough

Summary

Summary prepared by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon's captions — published in summary form; watch the full sermon at the source.

First time here — and the title before the sermon

The host hands him the desk on a kids-revival Sunday morning, and he steps into the atmosphere the children have made: "There's something so special about this atmosphere that we have fostered this morning. Anybody feel what I feel in this house? If you think that the unorthodox approach of skits and singing is about the children and the children only, then you've got another thing coming. Because, ladies and gentlemen, though this Sunday is a shifting from the regular scheduled programs, what is always on the program is entertainment. Not the entertainment of humanity. The colors, the lights, the games — that's not about games. This is more about God than you think it is. Because what God wants more than anything — anybody feel the presence of the Lord in the house? — what God wants more than anything is for us to entertain Him. And the best way to do that is to not let what's happening in the room distract us, detract us, reflect us. But I promise you, in the next minute and 30 seconds, if we would be obedient and sensitive to what God's wanting to do in the house, the Lord's about to speak to us. Anybody came for a word from the Lord today? The Lord's about to speak to you. If you can feel God in this — if you can recognize that the Spirit of the invisible God of heaven is real — anybody feel the real presence of the Lord in the house? If you can feel the Spirit of the Lord that's real and reigning in this room, the only thing that is left to do, that will change and shift the atmosphere, is that we ought to be sensitive enough — as these children were sensitive enough — to respond to the presence of the Lord that we feel, and be vulnerable with our spirits. I wonder if we can lift our hands all over the house. Come on, all across the sanctuary. I wonder if you can close your eyes for a moment. And with your eyes closed and your hands lifted, I wonder if you can lift your voice and begin to pray that the Lord will saturate this sanctuary. Come on, go ahead and lift up your voice and pray out loud. Out loud. Let the Lord know: 'God, I feel You in this room. God, everything I've been warring with has dragged me into Your presence, and I need You desperately.' Come on, that's it. Somebody lift up your voice. 'God, I need Your hand to help my heart. God, I need Your Spirit to minister to my mind. God, I don't know how I can make it one more week without You. Oh God, I pray Your glory would descend upon this room.' Come on, somebody pray until the Spirit begins to flow. Come on, somebody pray until you feel the Lord more than you felt Him all week long. 'God, I've walked in this house—' In the name of Jesus. In the name of Jesus. Come on, we're going to pray until something— God, oh God, oh God, oh God. Come on, you feel it. Come on, let it— Come on, let it rest on you. 'Lord, I need You to find the caverns of my emptiness.' In the name of Jesus. Amen. One more time, clap your hands and give God praise in the house. Amen. Amen. I've prayed about this weekend. And I know you're standing, and you won't be standing long. We don't need sermons. We need divine, eternal words from heaven to get a hold of us. A sermon might make you feel good for a moment. But ladies and gentlemen, we're not in this for a moment. We're in this for eternity. Come on, anybody still want to see the face of Jesus? Come on. It's — I had them stay up here. I know this is my first time being here. I honor your pastor, his precious family, for being so kind to my family. God has been faithful to us traveling the last 10 years. And I thank God that there's a church in— Anybody give God praise for your church? Anybody thank God for First Church? Come on, anybody thank God for First Church? If you're visiting, we're so glad that you are here. Parents that have come to see their children, and grandparents bringing their grandbabies to this kids revival. We honor the Bourlieux's for all their effort this morning. Anybody enjoyed that this morning? But last night, before I went to sleep, after talking with pastor and Sister Green and spending time fellowshipping with them, the Lord dropped this on my spirit. I'll give you my title before I tell you what God began to deal with me about. Somebody shout: the ministry of enough. The ministry — the ministry of enough. When that came to my mind last night, all I could think about was: God, I don't want to preach to Your people, if ministering to them is what You need. There comes a point, ladies and gentlemen — is this all right for anybody in the room? — there comes a point that you realize you are not self-sufficient. You're not as strong as you think you are. God's about to move on somebody right about now. You don't have it together as much as you think you do. And sometimes what you think is the nemesis for you moving forward, getting better, finding salvation truth, feeling empty and lost and confused — what you think is the nemesis for God loving you — I'm telling you right now, there are more tears that are welling up in people's eyes right now than you can imagine. What you think is stopping God from loving you is actually what God is using to bring you closer to Him than you've ever thought in your life. Come on, anybody feel God saying, 'I just want you closer to Me?' And before I laid down last night, the thought came to me — I was praying. And God wanted me to tell somebody that what you think — you've gotten to the point that you've had enough. Somebody shout: enough. I wish I had one person in the house that was honest. Enough. You've had enough. The country folks would say, 'I've had it up to here.' I got a few more amens right there. When you've had enough. Somebody said: fed up. You've had enough of skimping by and only having enough. Come on. It's when God takes what you feel is not enough, and He makes it more than enough. He said — 'Preacher, what are you saying? You think that brokenness scares God.' But the Bible tells us that God is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart and a contrite spirit. Ladies and gentlemen, what that means is that if you are broken, you are closer to God than you've ever been. Come on, somebody ought to process what I'm telling you. I said, when you feel broken and shambled and fractured, and you feel empty, you are closer to God than you've ever been. Come on, somebody ought to thank God that He loves lonely people. And you ought to give God glory that He gets a hold of— Oh, somebody ought to clap your hands like you thank God. May be seated for a moment. I want to talk to you for a minute. I'm looking at that time. But I want to tell you about two women. Two women that were very similar in their situation."

The widow of Zarephath: all I have is enough

"I just want to show of hands: anybody know what it feels like to go through some really rough stuff? Don't let this suit fool you. I wish I could raise both of my hands. These women — coincidentally, God gave them a minister, a preacher, a prophet. There's a woman, a widow in Zarephath. First Kings 17, to be exact. For this famine that has been over the land — there's a great drought, three and a half years. Verse 9 begins to tell us that the prophet Elijah — anybody remember that story in the Bible? The prophet Elijah. God sent him to this woman. She's picking up sticks in the yard. She's grabbing sticks, collecting sticks, and the prophet calls out to her. I'm just preaching right now, plainly, for all the visitors in the house. The prophet said, 'Hey, what are you doing?' Verse 9 tells us that in the exchange of their conversation — she, if you don't mind letting them see that verse, I want to walk through it as quickly as I can, cognizant of the time. First Kings 17:9. And she says, 'I'm gathering sticks for me and my son, that I can make a cake.' She said, 'We're going to make a fire. I want to bake a cake for me and my boy. This famine has been brutal. Life's been tough lately. We're on the brinks and borders of giving up.' God, I wish somebody was transparent in the house. 'I'm on the edge of giving up.' The prophet looked at her. In the 10th verse, he rose, and he said, 'Woman, can you give me a little water to drink? And can you make me a cake?' I know I look like a crazy preacher in tennis shoes up here. And Pastor said it looks good, so I'm going to take his word for it. And she looks at him and says, 'I don't even have enough cake for me and my son, let alone you.' Talking about having your cake and eating it, too. She said, 'All I have—' Somebody turn to your neighbor and say: 'All I have. All I have is a handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse. I just got a little meal left. I just have a little oil. All I have is enough.' Somebody say: enough. I'm going somewhere. I promise you, the Lord is about to help somebody. 'All I have is enough for me and my son.' She said, 'In fact, it's only enough for us to eat our last meal. And we're going to eat it, and we plan to just starve the rest of the way.' But Elijah said, 'Fear not. Go and make a cake for me first.' I just want to tell somebody that God can't give you more if you won't give Him what you have. I wish somebody — I said, God can't change your life if you're not willing to give it to Him. Come on, God's not going to force salvation on you. He's not going to force your life into a vice grip of redemption. Oh, but if you would lift your hands and say, 'God, if You can mend broken people, I'll be a candidate that You're looking for. If You can change empty people, I'll be the empty vessel You're looking for.' The Bible says that she reluctantly went and made a cake for the prophet. I'll fast forward to tell you that when she gave what she thought was not enough — God, I feel Your Spirit right now — when she gave what she thought was not enough, the Bible says that she went to that barrel of meal, day after day, probably closing her eyes and saying, 'Lord, I don't know if there's anything left in here.' And she thought she was scraping the bottom of the barrel. Anybody ever been there before? But when she reached her hand in there, she didn't hit the bottom. God won't let you hit rock bottom, if you've already made up in your mind you're going to trust Him. I'm preaching to a single mama right now. What you think is the day of your life that's worse than it's ever been is the moment that God does His best work. He said, 'I'm not leaving you lonely. And I'm not leaving you without a Savior. And I'm not leaving you alone. And I'm not leaving you empty. And I'm not leaving—' The Bible says that, as she went to that meal day after day, that she had meal left over. God took what was only enough for her, and He made it more than enough. I'm just talking to you, but the Lord is really the one talking to you."

Scriptures: 1 Kings 17:9-16

The widow's oil: nothing is what God is looking for

"But this woman was not the only woman that dealt with this. You fast forward to another scene — not Elijah, but Elisha, the prophet. In 2 Kings chapter 4, the Bible begins to tell us that Elisha meets — coincidentally, eerily similar — he also meets a widow. This woman's afraid. She's going to lose her sons. The debt collectors have come. They said, 'We're going to make your boys servants, because your husband, who has died — there was some leftover bills.' Anybody been bothered by some bills before? Boy, I feel like I'm going to preach in church now. She said, 'The debt collector's coming to get my boys.' And the prophet asked her — 2 Kings — the prophet said, 'What is it that you have in your house? And what is it that I can do for you?' Watch this. She said, 'Thy handmaid hath not anything in the house, save except a pot of oil.' Can I tell somebody in the house, that when you think you have nothing, that is when God does His best work. Because nothing, to God, is what God is looking for. I'm talking about a God that can speak light into existence from nothing. What do you think He can do with brokenness? Oh, I wish I had somebody helping me right now. I said, a God that needs nothing to create something is a God that can take emptiness and make an overflowing. Oh, somebody ought to clap your hands. Come on, He can take you from the depths of despair and pull you out of a pit. He can take you from the old—. I wish I had somebody testifying. Oh, I was a messed up man, and I was on a drug and alcoholic addiction. Come on, but there was a God. Somebody ought to clap your hands like you got a testimony. Come — 'But I've been divorced, and I've been lost.' But that's not nothing to God. That's something He can work with. 'But I have a messed up past.' It's not nothing to God. 'Said, I have nothing.' I want somebody to lift your hands right now. I feel the Holy Ghost about to help us. 'I have nothing. Surely God doesn't love people like me.' Yes, He does. Come on, I wish somebody would lift your hands and reach for Him. 'Surely God can't do anything with what my past looks like.' You better believe He can. 'But I'm marred, and I'm messed up.' You better believe He can. The Bible says that she said, 'All I have is a pot of oil. I've just got one vessel. And it's just got a little bit of oil in it.' Ladies and gentlemen, the oil is synonymous of the Spirit. Anytime you see anointing oil in the Word of God, it is synonymous of the Spirit of God that is poured out on humanity. 'For we have this treasure in an earthen vessel, that the excellency may be of God and not of us.' I've come to tell you, every soul on these seats — you don't even know who you're sitting next to — but every ex-con, and every ex-drug addict, and every ex-alcoholic — I'm telling somebody, you are not the man that you were, when the oil begins to get in the vessel. You're not the woman that you used to be, when the oil begins to fill. I wish I had about 10 more people helping me right now. You don't know who I was. Because once the oil begins to fill the empty vessel, I'm not an empty man anymore. So the prophet said, 'Listen,' says, 'I want you to do something for me.' Somebody turn to your neighbor and say: 'He's almost done.' 'I want you to do something for me. I want you to shut the door. Just you and your sons.' I'm preaching to some families right now. What God is about to do in your house, your neighbors won't even believe. My God. What God is about to do in your family — there's a reason why Jesus kicked out the doubters, is because doubters will begin to inhibit the oil from flowing. And that's why you got to connect with people that have faith flowing in them, and have the Spirit of God upon them. And oh God, I'm telling somebody, you ought to link up with a prayer warrior, if you want the oil to flow. You may have not felt God in months, and weeks, or even a year. But if you get a hold of somebody else, the oil begins to flow. He said, 'I want you to go and collect vessels from all of your neighbors. Empty vessels. As many as you can. Shut the door.' And the Bible says that it came to pass — it came to pass that they took that vessel, that little vessel of oil that was just enough. The Bible says they begin to pour it out, one by one, into another vessel. I don't know how this happened. I won't even — I can't even paint the image to articulate what this room would have looked like. But the master — new vessel after vessel stacked in the room. She's just grabbing another vessel, and pouring in it. Another vessel, pouring in it. I'm about to preach to somebody, to let you know I'm not talking about vessels. I'm talking about you. And that's why, when you get into the sanctuary of God — I'm going to step down and talk to you — when you get in the sanctuary of God, God grabs vessel after vessel after vessel. And that's why He said, 'Come unto Me, all ye that are heavy laden and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me.' Ladies and gentlemen, the rest that He will give you is synonymous with the Spirit that He wants to fill you. And you say, 'But God, I'm empty.' And He's saying, 'Good.' And you're saying, 'God, but I'm confused.' And He's saying, 'Great.' He said, 'The moment you come unto Me is the moment that I change everything that's on the inside of you.' Oh, I wish somebody would praise God right now. I said, the moment you let God get a hold of you is the moment He can pour into—. She got to the point, she's grabbing and pouring, and grabbing and pouring, and grabbing and pouring. She said, 'Son, bring me another vessel.' He said, 'Mama, we don't have any more.' 'What do you mean?' Every vessel in the house that was empty — I need somebody to hear. There — I'm seeing people shaking your heads, but I can see your spirit agreeing with what the Word of the Lord is telling you. Every vessel that was willing, and had capacity to be filled with the oil — every vessel was filled. 'They that hunger and thirst after righteousness shall be filled.' You feel what I feel in this room right now, don't you? I wonder if we can stand, all over the sanctuary. The Lord is about to fill this house. There are people that walked in this room, that you are so tired of being tired. You're tired of barely making it. I told you I ain't preaching. I'm ministering to somebody right now. You are tired of holding on by your fingertips. And you got to the point that every day feels like your last day. But I've come to tell you, your last day is the first day of God getting a hold of you. Come on, anybody feel the Lord in the house, about to get a hold of somebody? I'm not just talking about your finances, not having enough. I'm talking about people that have been faking joy. You don't have to fake joy, when there's a God that can give you beauty for ashes, and the oil of joy for your mourning. You don't have to fake joy, when there's a God that says, 'The joy of the Lord is your strength.' And oh God, I've come to tell somebody: He will give you joy, if you will let Him give it to you. The joy of the Lord is your strength. There's a joy of salvation. The problem is, God cannot give you access to the oil if you're already full. If you hold back tears, you cannot empty out the pain that has filled your heart. I feel the Holy Ghost ministering to people right now. I said, if you hold on to hurt, God cannot heal what you're holding on to."

Scriptures: 2 Kings 4:1-7

Run to the One that has more than enough

"'Can I just talk to you? This is my first time here. I'm going to tell you right now: it's okay to be vulnerable. Because God is not okay with you being okay. He's trying to fill you to overflowing. And the ministry of enough is when you said, 'God, I've had enough of pretense. I've had enough of a facade.' But when you have enough, you run to the One that has more than enough. Children ran to Jesus, because they knew that He was not a mere man, but He was God manifested in the flesh, full of grace, full of grace and truth. And when you know that there's a God that's full of grace, you run to the One that can fill you. And when you know there's a God that's full of truth, you run to the One that can give you truth, when you feel like you've been living a lie. I'm going to tell somebody: you might be in a room right now — you standing next to your neighbor in the next three minutes, don't you dare think about your neighbor. God told the widow, 'I want you to close the door. This is about you and your sons. This is about you and your house. This is about you and your heart. This ain't about your neighbors. What I'm about to do in you ain't about your neighbor. It's about Me and you.' Anybody hearing this young preacher talk to you? What God's about to do in this room right now is not about your neighbor. It's about you and Him. The ministry of enough is realizing: I've got to run to the One that has the oil. I have to run to the One that has what I do not. Anybody in this house needs strength? Come on, lift your hands in the house. That oil I've been talking about is what we call the Holy Ghost. The Holy Spirit. The presence of the living God, that is poured out on empty people. I've come to tell you, I'm nobody. But there's a God that can pour His Spirit into nobodies, and make you something that you are not, and make you who you have not been. Oh, but if you would just run to the One that can take what is not enough, and make it more than enough. Ladies and gentlemen, the children have had their chance. But I want to talk to some big children in the house: that you've been holding on to hurt for years. You've been holding on to pain, people that have hurt you. You have not forgiven them, and have not forgiven yourself. But when children ran to Jesus, Jesus said, 'Suffer the little children to come unto Me. Do not stop them from running to Me.' And this is why — here it is. I told you all I had was three minutes left. Here is why. Here is why, when Jesus walks into the tombs of a graveyard, and there's a man that is demon-possessed: Jesus cleaned him out, emptying him out — when an unclean spirit's going out of a man, He emptied him out. And the Bible says that man ran to Jesus. And he ran to His feet. Oh, I'll preach on it, somebody. And he was clothed and in his right mind. The same posture of running to the presence of the Lord that the children had — it's the same posture that this man, that was marred and mangled in chains of affliction, had. I want somebody to close your eyes and lift your hands right now. The Lord is working on your heart. Here it is: if you walked in this service this morning — I just want to take a survey. I want to take a survey, if there's anybody else in the room that feels the presence of the Lord moving right now. Come on, lift your hand if you feel it. You can feel it. Come on, you can feel it. You can feel it. You can feel it. It's not just about feeling it external. It's not about goosebumps, feeling emotion. That's existential. I'm talking about internal — God making what you feel, making it permanent. That you can walk in His presence, and feel His Spirit dwelling on the inside of you. Is anybody in this house that said, 'Preacher, I've had enough'? I've had enough of feeling lonely. I've had enough of walking in darkness. I've had enough of feeling like nobody cares about me, when I know that God has been nothing but good to me. He's never forsaken me. When my friends and family have left me, I always have God in the midnight hour. I can talk to Him, and I know He's listening. I don't know what your 'enough' is. God told me to tell you, that when you feel like you've had enough of only having enough is when He will pour out. He will pour out on you, and give you more than enough. Is there anybody in the house that don't care about your neighbors, but you care about getting a hold of God, will run to this altar right now? Come on. Don't you let that pew make you a prisoner. Come on. Run. Run. Run. Run. Run. Come on. When you get here, I wonder if you will lift up your hands as high as you can get them. Come on. With tears streaming down your face. Come on. You ought to say, 'Lord—' Come on. 'Lord, I need You more.'"