* What you have is multiplied in the giving of it away.
* Multiplication is “addition that is done repeatedly.”
* God wants us to add to our numbers and repeat it a lot!
* One of the first commands in the Garden was to “be fruitful & multiply!”
* To be fruitful is to be “productive.”
* Fruitful activity adds to what’s already there, producing more of something.
* A fruitful couple = kids. A fruitful business = money. A fruitful God follower = disciples.
* The secret to fruitful is faithful.
* When you’re faithful with what God has give you it will multiply.
* Start with your raw material. How do you know what your raw material is?
* Talents (you’re born with it), Skills (you’ve learned how to do it), and Experience (you've been through it).
* To find your talent, finish these statements:
* “I’ve always been good at …”
* “I’ve always wanted to …”
* “I’ve always felt like I would …”
* “It’s always been natural for me to …”
* Take your raw material, turn it into something that can be given away (invested).
* Vs 42a - it was a time of famine, and a faithful farmer brought his first-fruits.
* He brought bread (not seed) - he turned his raw material into something that would bless the priests.
* What if he kept them back for himself? No miracle.
* Vs 42b - Elisha saw himself as a conduit for blessing.
* Vs 43a - You can’t have faith apart from a problem (impossibility).
* Vs 43b-44 - Faithfulness multiplies what we have.
* They ate and “had some left over” - with God there’s always MORE than enough!
* This was the backdrop for Jesus feeding the 5,000.
* Matthew 25:14-15 - God has given all of us gifts (raw material).
* Vs 16-18 - Two guys multiplied, one guy didn’t. They were willing to RISK.
* To give is often “to invest.”
* Vs 19-23 - faithful = multiplied.
* Vs 24-25 - fear causes you to bury the gift God has given you.
* Treasure buried can't be spent.
* You’re not supposed to give back to God what He gives you - You’re supposed “be fruitful and multiply!”
* Vs 26a - you can be a servant but wicked and lazy if you’re not multiplying!!
* Vs 26b-30 - punishment awaits those who do not multiply!
* How do you multiply?
* Five Steps to Multiplication:
* 1) Recognize what you have as a gift from God (talent & skill).
* 2) Work the gift! (Hone it to make it presentable).
* 3) Put the gift to work! (Use the gift to bless others).
* 4) Expect a reward for using your gift. (What you have will be multiplied and who you’ve helped will be multiplied).
* 5) Go back to step one.
2 Kings 4:44 (6/24/21)
Five Steps to Multiplication
June 24, 2021 • Benham Brothers
2 Kings 2:10 (8/30/23)
August 30, 2023 • Benham Brothers • 2 Kings 2:10–15
Our one job as a believer is the stay close to God. The closer we are to Him the more He provides for us and protects us. EX: Me w/my younger kids at the airport. The Bible says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” (James 4:8) God wants to be close to us - just like a good father wants to be close to his kids. Jesus echoes this - “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit.” (John 15:5) A branch on a vine stays really close - it wraps around it. Jesus didn’t say, “I am a tree trunk, and you are the branches.” We see a picture of this in the Old Testament. Elijah had been the prophet and it was time for him to depart. But he never died - a chariot of fire took him to heaven. His predecessor, Elisha, desperately wanted his blessing before he left. He specifically wanted a double portion of his spirit. Elijah essentially said, “if you stay close to me you can get it!” Vs 9-14 - Elisha got what he asked for! Staying close to Elijah gave Elisha three things: 1) Provision - God provided for both prophets. 2) Protection - they were under God’s divine protection. 3) Power - Elisha received the mantle! How do we stay close to God? The same way we stay close to our spouse - communication! You can be physically apart but talk all the time and you’ll be close. You can live with each other but never talk and you won’t be close. Talk to God and then listen to Him. How? Bible People Creation Circumstance Inner Voice
2 Kings 2:19-21 (6/2/16)
June 2, 2016 • Benham Brothers
• If the land would be healed then the spring that fed the land had to be purified - it needed salt. • We are to be salt in our culture if we want to see our land healed. • The aspects of SALT: • 1) Sustains - put it on a steak and it preserves the steak. • 2) Seasons - it brings out the natural flavors of what it’s applied to. • 3) Startles - smelling salts wakes up the unconscious person. • 4) Sanitizes - gargle with lukewarm salt water when you have a sore throat. • 5) Stings - when it’s cleaning it burns. • 6) Sacrifices - it gives its life for what it’s applied to. • 7) Scatters - salt isn’t meant to be put into a pile. • 8) Small - you never just use one crystal of salt - you need a lot of them. • 9) Strengthens - hikers bring salt tablets to give them strength for a long journey. • 10) Melts Slugs - put salt on a slug and watch what happens.
2 Kings 2 & 4 (7/4/14)
July 4, 2014 • Benham Brothers
* On two ocassions we see the prophet Elisha being called on to fix something that was broken. * 2:19-21 - The land in his city would not yield any produce because the spring that watered the land was bad. * So what did Elisha do? Notice four things: * 1) He didn't focus on the land - he went directly to the spring. This was the source of the problem. * Clean hands come from a pure heart. * 2) He added salt to the water - Christians are called to be the salt of the world. * Salt enhances and preserves the substance of what it's applied to. * 3) He "threw" the salt in the water - he was aggressive with the evil in the water. * We have to get aggressive with the way we deal with any sin in our hearts. * 4) The salt lost its life! Once you put salt onto or into something you never see it again! * 4:41 - There was famine in the land and one of the prophets added an unknown plant to the stew. * The stew became poisonous - there was now death in the pot. * Notice three things: * 1) The very thing that was supposed to nourish now brought death. * The stew itself wasn't bad - it was the one wild root. We can't let this into our hearts either. * 2) There was already flour in the stew, but it wasn't put there by Elisha. * This is just like christians - we need to "mix" in with the world and bring life to it. * 3) Elisha didn't pour the stew out and start over - he used what was already there but just added life to it. * We must bring life to every situation and person we come in contact with - to breathe life! * Salt influences - if we're not influencing the environment around us we're not being salty.