3-IN-ONE OIL

Have you ever wondered what would happen if just once you committed your entire and immediate situation with all of its concerns to the Living God?

What happened in David's life that caused Him to say ...

LET ALL THAT I AM PRAISE THE LORD; WITH MY WHOLE HEART I WILL PRAISE HIS HOLY NAME. Psalm 103:1

I believe the answer to total victorious living -- what separates those who believe from those who do not -- is found in the following scriptures:

You shall seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your mind. Luke 10:27

Another translation sums it up like this ... 

Love the Lord your God with your whole mind, your whole being, and all your strength. Deuteronomy 6:5 (NET Bible)

When we make up our minds to trust the Lord with every ounce of love, strength, and thought, abandoning every plan or work of self, we shall find God leading the way to all His promises. His very name is Faithful and True.  

By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. Hebrews 11:3

ALLOW ME TO INTRODUCE YOU TO 3 IN-ONE-OIL

3-IN-ONE was developed in 1894 by George Cole who was hoping to create a product that would lubricate, clean and prevent rust. Those three functions in one product led to the name 3-IN-ONE. 

So we see that 3-IN-ONE oil is a clear, invisible lubricating, penetrating, and cleaning oil.

As far back as I can remember my father, a tailor, had a can of this product close by. It was a first aid kit for his sewing machine. Whenever the motor started to drag, became sluggish or slow, he'd apply a few drops into the mechanism where the needle went up and down and his sewing machine would run like new again. Auto manufacturers advise changing the oil in our cars every three to five thousand miles to prevent the engine from blowing up.    

Have you ever thought or heard people say, "Life is a drag"? God has His own version of 3-IN-ONE oil available to us and here it is: Love the Lord your God with ALL your heart, ALL your mind, and ALL your strength. When you approach God with the squeaky wheel, God's 3-IN-ONE will come through with the grease. God promises to lubricate, penetrate and cleanse you so that you can perform at full optimum speed. 

I believe this is what Paul was talking about when he declared, 

"I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with plenty or in want." Philippians 4:12    

I used to believe that Paul rose to victory whether his needs were met or not but I don't believe that's what he was talking about at all. Paul shares that he had learned the secret of living in every situation. Paul realized that God was in the center of his life providing his every need even during times of want. The peace of God took the place of the worry, fear, depression, anxiety and stress that once accompanied waiting on the Lord. No longer was he ruled by the enemy of doubt or unbelief but his 3-IN-ONE faith in the Son of God moved him into a place of peace and rest.

I'm not talking about a name-it-and-claim-it philosophy. God's peace was the result of committing all his fears into the hands of the living God and keeping them there while believing he already had what he needed.    

In Romans 4:19-22 we see that Abraham also got a hold of  this secret:

And Abraham's faith did not weaken, even though at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead, and so was Sarah's womb. Yet he did not waver through unbelief. In fact, his faith grew stronger and in this he brought glory to God. And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able to perform. That is why his faith was counted to him as righteousness." 

This faith is full-time trust, which is counted unto us as righteousness. By it we gain access to confidently enter the Kingdom of God -- the Kingdom of God that is at hand and in your heart. By believing with 3-IN-ONE OIL we become lubricated, penetrated and cleansed for a righteous standing before God.   

God's promise of entering his rest still stands, so we ought to tremble with fear that some of you might fail to experience it. Hebrews 4:1 

Recently, I encountered a situation similar to Peter when his boat nearly sunk during a horrible storm at sea. His fear was magnified when he realized he would not be able to meet up with the Lord as promised. How could he have known that an uncontrollable situation would prevent Peter from keeping his appointment on the other side of the lake? However, Jesus didn't force Peter to figure out how to reach the other side on his own. Walking on the water, Jesus saved Peter from this desperate situation before he ever made it across. Peter realized that the only way to reach Jesus now was to meet up with the Lord right there in the midst of the sea. After asking the Lord, Jesus said, "Come on! Peter actually walked on water until his eyes went from fixed-on-Jesus to fixed-on-the-wind and waves. Peter began to sink just like his boat. And I was sinking just like Peter.

I believe Peter was determined to keep his promise to reach the Lord in his own strength. In my situation, my unbelief grieved the Lord so much that the full weight of my doubt came crashing down on me. For three days and nights I felt estranged from the Lord; and I don't think I've ever repented before the Lord so deeply. For a brief moment, I forgot that it was God who led me to step out in faith and it was God who was going to provide whatever was needed even when it didn't look or feel like He would. I didn't realize that if it took walking on water to reach the Lord, than walking on water was what we could do.

But when I remembered the 3-IN-ONE oil peace once again ruled in my heart even though my storm was not over. I turned my whole mind, my whole being and all of my strength over to the Lord anyway and no longer felt threatened.

Dealing with life's challenges without God's recipe for 3-IN-ONE is like trying to run a machine without oil. We begin to drag -- or sink -- becoming sluggish and slow. Sometimes we even blow up.

Let's take a look at a woman named Hannah who had not been able to bear children because "The Lord had shut up her womb." (1 Samuel 1:5). Her husband had another wife who had no problem conceiving. In fact, the Bible eludes that she may have had ten children. Now this other wife, Peninnah, provoked Hannah by reminding her of her barrenness, causing her to cry. The Bible says whenever Hannah went up to the house of the Lord, her rival provoked her until she wept. (1 Samuel 1:7). This went on year after year but one year Hannah was so depressed she couldn't eat. Her husband, Elkanah, loved Hannah and tried to console her. "Why are you weeping? Why don't you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don't I mean more to you than ten sons?"

Because they lead my people astray, saying, "Peace," when there is no peace, and because, when a flimsy wall is built, they cover it with whitewash! Ezekiel 13:10

See, his brand of oil seemed like whitewash on a flimsy wall. In bitterness of soul Hannah left the supper table where her family was enjoying a meal and went by herself to the temple.

Now Eli, the High Priest, saw her praying but thought she was drunk. He could see her lips moving but didn't hear her saying anything. The two go-to people in her life, her own husband and her pastor, weren't able to lubricate, penetrate or cleanse the mechanism of Hannah's condition. All they could do was build a flimsy wall and cover it with whitewash but she was still running on empty.   

As a final resort, Hannah reached for the 3-IN-ONE oil. She was no longer falling for the flimsy wall or a whitewashed substitute. When she turned her mind, heart and strength in God's direction she was restored to hope even before she saw or experienced the answer to her prayer. Hannah's life was transformed. She was no longer barren.

 "All the days of his life he shall be lent to the Lord".

I don't believe Hannah bargained with the Lord nor was she making any deals.  Hannah realized as did Abraham, Peter and Paul, that without God she could do nothing. She could not relieve her own soul of its bitterness or pour into its emptiness. But what she could do was give it all to the Lord.  

In 2 Timothy 3:16 we read: "All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." 

Jesus said, "Without my Father I can do nothing." Even the son of God kept a can of 3-IN-ONE nearby.

There is far more to gain in loving, trusting and  relying on the Lord with all of your heart, and all your mind, and all your strength than meets the eye. I'm talking about forsaking all other plans, trusting only in and leaning fully upon Him. It may be a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God, but when you land, all your needs -- within and without -- are met according to His promises, which are according to His riches in glory, which belong to us and to our children forever.   
Paul said he learned the secret of living in every situation ... 

The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all of these teachings. Deuteronomy 29:29