Time: 08:00AM – 10:00PM

Date: June 28, 2014

Scriptures: 1 Kings 17: 7 – 24

Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. Then the word of the Lord came to him: “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.”  So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.”  “As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’”  She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family.  For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.  Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing. She said to Elijah, “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?”  “Give me your son,” Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. Then he cried out to theLord, “Lord my God, have you brought tragedy even on this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?” Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, let this boy’s life return to him!”  The Lord heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived.  Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, “Look, your son is alive!” Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth.”

Background:

Ø  The more we do evil in our lives the more it increases

Ø  Ahab & Jezebel

Ø  Elijah

Ø  When Evil increases, Elijah appears

Message:

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11) God is a God of His words (vs 7 – 16)

Possible Worries/hindrances:

Ø  Safety - When God said to Elijah to go to Zarephath in the region of Sidon, he didn’t question God’s command.  He went directly.  Jezebel is the daughter of the king of Sidonians.  So in reality, God told Elijah to go to the enemy’s territory for He has instructed a widow to feed him.

Ø  Human logic/reasoning – Elijah knew that there was drought so he knew that people have no water and there was famine; yet this did not stop him from obeying the Lord’s instructions or from asking the woman food to eat.  He knew God will provide

Elijah has so many excuses to not obey God but He knew that God is a God of His words.  Elijah did not bother to think ahead of what God instructed Him to do.  He did not allow himself to worry of things that are not yet there.  Elijah knew God and has experienced God.  He is assured of His love, protection, provision, etc.  and so everything happened as God said it so (the jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain; also the widow supplied Elijah food as He said she would).

e.g.

Command: witnessing to people

Hesitations: fear of losing them and end up alone

Verse: Matthew 28:19 - 20 say, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

Command: Give to the poor

 Hesitations: fear that they might abuse you and you won’t have anything left

Verse: Luke 12:22 says, "Sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor. Make yourselves wallets that don't wear out—a dependable treasure in heaven, where no thief can get close and no moth can destroy anything.”

Question:  Do you know God enough to trust Him and obey what He said without worrying of anything else?  Are you assured enough that He will provide and protect you even when everything in you says otherwise?

22) God is a God of mercy and not condemnation (1 Kings 17:17 – 21)

After some time, when things are going so well, the widow’s boy fell ill and died.  Then the widow accused Elijah of coming to her life to remind her of her sins and kill her son.  But the story shows that God is not a God who condemns, He forgives and when we obey, even if problem or trials comes our way, His love, provision, grace and favor is greater than any of it.  I believe the son had to die so the widow would see this truth.  The moment her son died, the first thing she said is an accusation that it was God who did it.  This shows us that the widow has a wrong perception of the Lord.  He sees God as a judge more than a Father who loves her.  And the Lord had to change that thought by bringing her son’s life back to show that He does not condemn but forgives even if we do not deserve it but as an answer to the request of His chosen prophet, Elijah. 

Question: do we accuse God incorrectly when things don’t go the way we planned it?  When we are not given what we desire or needed because of our own doing, do we think that God has not provided for us?  Do we think that He has abandoned us or maybe we think that we have done something wrong that stopped the flow of God’s provision?

Our sins open our lives to troubles and the enemies’ attack but it does not hinder the power of God.  God can continue to bless and provide and heal and give and pour out blessings to us even in the presence of sin in our lives.  Sin has no authority over God’s power and blessings.

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33)  God wants to be known! (1 Kings 17:24

After everything God did, the end result is confirmation of His existence and glory.  Everything God does in our lives is to reiterate His existence and to increase our faith in Him.  When we get victory or when God provided for us or when were safe from danger, the first thing that comes to mind is to thank the Lord because now we know that He exists and we managed to escape, to be free, to receive blessings because of Him. 

Question:  do we acknowledge God’s works in our lives as we should? 

It is critical that we know God so we can see His hands working in our lives daily.  Seek God at all times by reading His word and praying.  Spend time getting to know Him so you will see His marvelous works in your life.

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