Empower Sunday 2026: Fresh Oil • Ps Luke de Jong • Church Online: 15 February 2026

Life Church centers 2026 around the biblical miracle in 2 Kings 4, where a widow with virtually nothing receives enough oil to pay debts and provide for her sons. The narrative highlights three linked realities: fear of the Lord as moral alignment, faith expressed through obedience, and favor that results in supernatural provision. The widow’s obedience—to borrow empty jars and pour out her last oil—becomes the hinge for the miracle, illustrating that God often multiplies what is willingly surrendered rather than what is tightly held. The declaration of a “year of fresh oil” reframes oil as more than a commodity: it symbolizes presence, power, provision, protection, healing, and renewal.

Practical application appears through a set of daily disciplines: identifying real needs, taking honest inventory of present resources, and committing to bring those resources to the Lord in active obedience. The discourse connects kingdom economy to the idea that giving and yielding invite return; spiritual investment produces generational benefit, not merely immediate relief. Illustrations—such as the tainted frying oil—underscore the necessity of empty vessels: old residue corrupts future outcomes, while a deliberately emptied receptacle enables fresh flow. Scriptural anchors include Acts 10:38, which links anointing to healing and deliverance, and Psalm 23, which portrays the anointing as honor, restoration, and overflowing blessing.

The anointing practice receives theological framing: anointing carries the presence of the Holy Spirit into everyday contexts—workplaces, schools, families—so that oil leaves discernible impact and invites others to ask what has changed. Shepherd imagery clarifies functional benefits: oil heals wounds, eases friction among flock members, and protects from irritating attacks that lead to self-destructive behavior. The call to consecration culminates in corporate prayer and the physical anointing, with an expectation that fresh oil will produce unprecedented power, provision, protection, and presence throughout the year.

---

Key Takeaways

• 1. Empty vessels invite fresh oil Surrender functions as spiritual invitation; when people present themselves without clinging to their own reserves, God often responds with multiplication that surpasses human calculation. Obedience to the marginal act—pouring out the last measure—creates space for supernatural increase and shifts dependence from competence to covenant. This emptiness becomes a posture that demands faith and results in divine favor. [10:39]
• 2. Kingdom economy overturns scarcity The widow’s supply multiplied because her small, faithful giving activated kingdom principles: relinquishment precedes reception and generosity creates channels for ongoing provision. This economy rewards risk of obedience rather than protectionism, producing residual blessing for subsequent generations. Expect returns that honor sacrificial trust, not merely transactional exchange. [12:53]
• 3. Anointing marks presence and power Anointing functions as tangible accompaniment of the Holy Spirit—bringing healing to wounds, easing friction in relationships, and defending minds from corrosive attacks. Its testimony appears in transformed behavior and noticeable fruit wherever the anointed person goes, signaling presence before words do. The oil’s purpose includes ministry effectiveness and personal restoration. [22:43]
• 4. Daily questions cultivate faith Regularly asking “What do I need? What do I have? What will I bring?” disciplines honest dependence and shapes obedient action. These questions convert abstract desire into concrete steps that align need with available resources and obedience, forming the daily rhythms that invite God’s intervention. Consistent answers produce spiritual momentum and sustain long-term fruit. [16:18]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:52] - Empower Weekend introduction
• [01:35] - Reading: 2 Kings 4 (widow’s plea)
• [03:15] - Instruction: borrow empty jars
• [05:24] - Declaration: Year of Fresh Oil
• [07:11] - Illustration: old oil and aroma
• [10:39] - Empty vessels & miraculous pouring
• [12:53] - Kingdom economy: faith and favor
• [16:18] - Three daily questions to answer
• [20:00] - Anointing’s power (Acts 10:38)
• [22:43] - Psalm 23: anointing explained
• [28:59] - Anointing practice and instructions
• [30:11] - Closing prayer and blessing

Bible reading
2 Kings 4:1–7 (ESV)
*Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord, but the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.” And Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me; what have you in the house?” And she said, “Your servant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil.” Then he said, “Go outside, borrow vessels from all your neighbors, empty vessels and not too few. Then go in and shut the door behind yourself and your sons and pour into all these vessels. And when one is full, set it aside.” So she went from him and shut the door behind herself and her sons. And as she poured they brought the vessels to her. When the vessels were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not another.” Then the oil stopped flowing. She came and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on the rest.”*

---

Observation questions

1. What specific instruction did Elisha give the widow after she told him all she had was a jar of oil?
2. What happened when the widow and her sons began pouring the oil into the borrowed jars?
3. According to the sermon, what three realities are linked in this story: fear, faith, and what else? [14:00]
4. What practical daily questions were suggested to help cultivate faith and obedience? [16:18]

---

Interpretation questions

1. Why do you think Elisha instructed the widow to borrow *empty* jars specifically, rather than jars that might have contained something else?
2. The oil stopped flowing only when there were no more jars left. What might this imply about God’s willingness to provide when we make room for Him?
3. How does the concept of “kingdom economy” challenge typical human approaches to scarcity and security? [12:53]
4. In what ways does the anointing with oil symbolize more than just a ritual—what does it practically represent for a believer’s daily life? [24:34]

---

Application questions

1. What is one area in your life where you’ve been holding on tightly instead of surrendering to God? What would it look like to bring that to Him as an “empty vessel” this week?
2. The widow had to actively participate in the miracle by gathering jars and pouring out her last oil. What is one step of obedience you feel God is asking you to take, even if it doesn’t make full sense right now?
3. How can you implement the three daily questions—“What do I need? What do I have? What will I bring?”—into your routine to cultivate greater dependence on God? [16:18]
4. Where have you experienced “old oil” in your life—old habits, mindsets, or unresolved hurt—that might be affecting what God wants to do anew? What would it look like to invite God’s fresh oil into that area? [10:16]
5. The anointing is meant to leave a mark wherever you go—in your family, workplace, or community. How would those closest to you know you’ve been touched by God’s presence and power? [20:36]
6. In what practical way can you rely on God’s protection (like oil guarding against irritants) when you feel spiritually attacked or distracted by lies? [27:32]
7. Who is one person you can encourage this week by sharing how God has provided for you in a time of need or emptiness?