The Need for Empty Vessels

Bishop Riggen preaches from 2 Kings 4:1-7, the account of a widow and a pot of oil. The widow's husband, a son of the prophets, died in debt, and the creditor was coming to take her two sons as bondservants. When Elisha asked what she had, she replied only a pot of oil. The man of God instructed her to borrow empty vessels from all her neighbors, not just a few, then shut the door and pour the oil into them. She obeyed, filling every available vessel until none remained, and the oil stopped flowing. Bishop Riggen explains that oil represents the Holy Ghost's power and anointing. The widow's total obedience contrasts with Joash, who struck the ground only three times and stopped. She sought every empty vessel, demonstrating a hunger to go beyond the bare minimum. The sermon's central point is the church's need for empty vessels—unsaved, unfulfilled souls. God hates emptiness because the devil loves it (Matthew 12:44-45). The flow of the Spirit in the church is tied directly to bringing in empty vessels. As long as there are empty vessels to fill, the oil will keep flowing. Bishop Riggen urges the congregation to actively seek out the lost, the poor, the maimed, the halt, and the blind—like those in the parable of the great supper—and compel them to come in. He illustrates this with the demoniac of Gadara, who, after deliverance, was sent to preach in Decapolis. The spiritual purpose is to inspire urgent, personal outreach so that the Holy Spirit's outpouring will not cease.