When it comes to using all of our gifts and talents to know Christ and make Christ known, many people hold back because they do not believe they have much to offer. We tend to look at the big things God has called us to do and think we are unqualified and unequipped. This line of thinking, however, asks the wrong question. Instead of asking, “How have I been equipped?” and “How am I qualified?” a better question to ask ourselves is, “Who called me to do this?” After all, if someone calls us to do something, they probably know some things that we don’t. Even more, if God has called us, He knows He has given us everything we need and that He can do big things with the little we have. We will learn about a woman who learned this truth first-hand and be challenged to trust God the same way she did.
BREAK THE ICE
What car have you owned or driven that you got a lot of use out of?
SMALL GROUP QUESTIONS
Bible Study Questions
1. What things sometimes prevent people from trusting God to use them?
WATCH SERMON RECAP
2. Read 2 Kings 4:1-3. Describe this woman’s situation and what she had (and didn’t have).
2 Kings 4:1-3
"One day the widow of a member of the group of prophets came to Elisha and cried out, “My husband who served you is dead, and you know how he feared the Lord. But now a creditor has come, threatening to take my two sons as slaves.” 2 “What can I do to help you?” Elisha asked. “Tell me, what do you have in the house?” “Nothing at all, except a flask of olive oil,” she replied. 3 And Elisha said, “Borrow as many empty jars as you can from your friends and neighbors."
"One day the widow of a member of the group of prophets came to Elisha and cried out, “My husband who served you is dead, and you know how he feared the Lord. But now a creditor has come, threatening to take my two sons as slaves.”
2 “What can I do to help you?” Elisha asked. “Tell me, what do you have in the house?”
“Nothing at all, except a flask of olive oil,” she replied.
3 And Elisha said, “Borrow as many empty jars as you can from your friends and neighbors."
3. Read 2 Kings 4:4-7. What stands out about this woman’s response to Elisha’s instructions?
2 Kings 4:4-7
"Then go into your house with your sons and shut the door behind you. Pour olive oil from your flask into the jars, setting each one aside when it is filled.” 5 So she did as she was told. Her sons kept bringing jars to her, and she filled one after another. 6 Soon every container was full to the brim! “Bring me another jar,” she said to one of her sons. “There aren’t any more!” he told her. And then the olive oil stopped flowing. 7 When she told the man of God what had happened, he said to her, “Now sell the olive oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on what is left over.”
"Then go into your house with your sons and shut the door behind you. Pour olive oil from your flask into the jars, setting each one aside when it is filled.”
5 So she did as she was told. Her sons kept bringing jars to her, and she filled one after another. 6 Soon every container was full to the brim!
“Bring me another jar,” she said to one of her sons.
“There aren’t any more!” he told her. And then the olive oil stopped flowing.
7 When she told the man of God what had happened, he said to her, “Now sell the olive oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on what is left over.”
4. Compare this woman’s financial situation at the beginning of the chapter versus the end of this chapter.
Application
1. How did the woman in this story exercise great faith in God?
2. Have you ever seen God do a lot with a little bit in your life or someone else’s life? What happened?
3. What gifts and talents has God given you to make a difference for Him?
MOVING FORWARD
What is one way this week you can use your gifts and talents to have an impact? It may seem small and insignificant, but as we have seen, God takes the little bit we have and does more than we could ask or imagine. Share with your groups the gifts God has gifted you with and how you might be able to use the gifts and talents He’s given you this week to make a difference.
GOING DEEPER
When God calls us to do impossible things, we often respond with excuses. We come up with all kinds of reasons for doing that seemingly impossible assignment. Let’s take a few minutes to look at three common excuses and how Scripture responds to these excuses that we give. As we study, we will see that our God can do the impossible, and sometimes He will do the impossible through us if we are willing.
Excuse 1: I am not equipped.
When God gives us an assignment, we often believe we do not have enough resources, knowledge, or strength to carry out His instruction to us. When this excuse comes to our mind, we need to remember the words of Jesus to His disciples when He gave them an assignment that they could not do on their own.
Excuse 2: The sacrifice is too great.
When God calls us to do impossible or difficult things, we may feel that the sacrifice God calls us to is too great. We fear that it will cost us financially, relationally, etc. Scripture teaches that this line of thinking has the wrong focus. Today we are going to look at what Scripture teaches us about sacrifice and where to focus when the sacrifice He calls us to make seems too great.
Excuse 3: I’m worried I will fail.
Many worry about failing when God gives us impossible or difficult assignments. We begin worrying about what will happen if we fail God’s assignment. In these moments, we need to remember that God never fails and always equips us to do what He has called us to do.
Reflect:
After looking at a few common excuses we make when God calls us to do something that seems impossible, let’s reflect. As we reflect, we will better understand our own responses when God calls us to do impossible things and learn how to combat lies with truth.
Which of these three excuses we give when God instructs us to do something that seems impossible or difficult do you relate with the most? (If none of these excuses resonate with you, share your most common excuse.)
How does Scripture speak to your excuse and expose any lies you may be giving in to?
What is one way you can respond when God calls when you feel unequipped, you believe the sacrifice is too great, or you worry about failing?
Pick a verse from one of the passages of Scripture you read today that stands out to you. Share it with your group. Then, as a group, commit to memorizing these verses and let them be a reminder that while things may be impossible for us, nothing is impossible for our God!
MONTHLY MEMORY VERSE (Available for download on Sagebrush App)
Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. 1 Peter 5:7
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