What do you have?
“God can use what we have”
Luke 16:10
“If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities.
How many want to be faithful with what God has entrusted us with?
Even though, when what we have may not seem like much, the challenge for you and I is to be faithful in the little.
God can take the little that we have a make it much.
Over and over in the Bible we see God using what people had even though in their eyes it didn’t seem like much.
He would ask them – “What do you have?” or “What is in your hands?”
Then He would take what they had, even though it wasn’t much, and use it to impact lives.
Let me give you a few examples:
Moses
In Exodus 3 – God spoke to Moses from a burning bush. He told Moses that He had seen the oppression of the Israelites in Egypt and that God wanted to use Moses to deliver his people, but Moses didn’t think he could do it.
Then in the book of Exodus chapter 4:2 – God asked Moses “What is that in your hands?”
It reads like this – Then the LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied.
When Moses felt inadequate to fulfil God’s call, God asked him “what is in your hands?”
This is the staff that Moses stretched out to part the Red Sea –
Exodus 14:16 Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.
The feeding of the 4,000
We see this with the feeding of the 4,000 in Matthew 15:32-34
[Mat 15:32-34 NIV] 32 Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.” 33 His disciples answered, “Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?” 34 “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked. “Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.”
The feeding of the 5,000
Mark 6:35
We see this in the feeding of the 5,000
By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. “This is a remote place,” they said, “and it’s already very late.
36 Send the people away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”
37 But he answered, “You give them something to eat.”
They said to him, “That would take more than half a year’s wages[a]! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”
38 “How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Go and see.”
When they found out, they said, “Five—and two fish.”
The Widows Olive Oil
II Kings 4:2
We see this with the widow woman who only had a little olive oil in II Kings 4:2
2 Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?”
“Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a small jar of olive oil.”
3 Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few.
4 Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.”
5 She left him and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. 6 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.
7 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.”
The heavy part about this passage of scripture is that God used what she had in her house to bring the increase.
Notice Elijah told her to go and ask for jars, not for oil, the overflow was going to come from the oil she already had.
The oil that was in her house is where the overflow came from.
Let me say it again, the oil that was in her house is where the overflow came from, but she had to be willing to pour from the little oil that she already had.
Sometimes the challenge for you and I is to work what we have. Even though in our eyes it may not be much, but little becomes much in the Masters Hands.
It is easy to pour oil from our abundance, Come on Somebody, but the challenge is to pour the oil when it doesn’t seem like much.
Example:
Talents and Gifts:
Some may say I would use my talents and gifts if I was better at this or if I was better at that or if my skills were better.
I don’t have talents that are as good as my brother or my sister, so I would rather not use them.
Once again, the challenge is not looking at what our neighbor has, but to pour from the oil that we do have.
The widow woman could have said, I would use my oil if I had as much as my neighbor, but since I am limited I am going to just hold on to what I have. Not knowing that her overflow was going to come from pouring and using what she had.
Tell your neighbor “It’s in the House.”
Everything that you and I need in order to accomplish what God has called us to do is in the House.
Tithes and Offerings
Some may say I would give if I had more oil ( money ), but since I am limited in my oil or my money, then I am going to keep the little that I have.
The challenge is to step out with the amount of oil or finances that we have, even though it may not seem like much, because as we are faithful in what we have that is where the overflow comes from.
God can take the little that we have and make it much, but we need to be willing to pour from what we have.
Illustration:
1. David Green – Hobby Lobby
David Green, the founder of Hobby Lobby, started by making tiny picture frames in his garage with just a $600 loan. He honored God by committing to give and to run his business on biblical principles. Today, Hobby Lobby is a multi-billion-dollar company, but he often says it was God’s blessing on the little that made it much.
2. Truett Cathy – Chick-fil-A
Truett Cathy, founder of Chick-fil-A, grew up in poverty and started with just a small diner called The Dwarf Grill. He put God first, closed on Sundays, and built his company on biblical values. From that one little diner, God multiplied it into one of the most recognized fast-food chains in the U.S.
Tell your neighbor “Use what you got.”
We can apply this Kingdom principle in everyday life:
Now this doesn’t only apply to using our talents and gifts, this doesn’t only apply to our finances, but this can apply to furthering our education, it can apply to building a ministry, it can apply to running a business and it can apply to pretty much anything in life.
If we want to get better at something, the challenge is to be faithful with what we have.
Repeatedly, in the bible we see God asking the people “What do you have?”
So I guess the challenge comes back to us and that is, “are we willing to work what we have to get what we want?”
The good news is when we step out with the oil we have our blessings come from that.
Even though what we have may not seem like much in our own eyes, God is able to take the little that we have and make it much.
You and I just need to take the little that we have and be faithful with that.
Luke 16:10
“If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities.
We have the necessary ingredients:
Let’s be honest – sometimes you and I pray for things, and we want it to appear without working for it.
God, I want a degree, but we don’t want to go to school for it.
God, I need a job, but we don’t want to go looking for one.
God, I need a car, but we don’t want to save up for it.
God, take my ministry skills to another level, but we don’t read books or take classes that will help develop our skills.
How about this one?
God, I need a financial breakthrough, but we don’t want to budget.
Come on Somebody!!!
The Bible says that Faith without works is dead.
Sometimes you and I may have to work for what we pray for.
God doesn’t give us houses, but He gives us wood.
God doesn’t give us cars, but He gives us metal.
God doesn’t give us trees, but He gives us seed.
This widow woman didn’t have any bread, but she had oil and flour the necessary ingredients to make some bread.
I Kings 17:12
“As surely as the LORD your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread–only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it–and die.”
Sometimes what you and I need to make the bread can be right in the house.
You and I may hold back on what we have because we think that it is not enough for God to use, but God can take the little that we have a make it much.
This Widow woman only had a handful of flour and a little olive oil in a jug.
Now in the natural that doesn’t seem like much, but when she placed it in the Hands of God it became much.
The thing I noticed in this passage of scripture is when Elijah asked her for a piece of bread, she said that she didn’t have any bread, but what I noticed is she did have the ingredients that were necessary to make some bread.
See sometimes God will not give us the actual thing we want, but He will give us the necessary ingredients to get what we want.
Sometimes we may pray for more money, but God has given us the skills and talents to acquire the money.
Sometimes the challenge for you and I is to work with what we have to get what we want.
Over and over in the Bible we see God using the little that people had and making it much.
God doesn’t ask what we don’t have, but He asks, “What do you have?”
The five loaves and two fish weren’t adequate in the lad’s hands, it wasn’t adequate in the disciple’s hands, but it became more than enough when it was put in the hands of Jesus.
What is in your hands?