GOD OF BREAKTHROUGHSPart1

We will see that they were normal people that called out on our supernatural God in dire circumstances and experienced the intervention of the God of the Breakthrough.

DEFINE: A Bible breakthrough is when God moves on your behalf when, in the natural, there is no way out.

Your back is against the wall, you are hemmed in on all sides, you’ve done all you know to do and nothing has worked.

God must move. Something must be broken in the spirit dimension. The sea must part, the lion’s mouth must be shut, the spiritual chains of bondage must be snapped, the devil must be routed.

You have reached the point where you say to yourself and your situation "Enough is enough!"

A Bible kind of breakthrough can be experienced in finances, or with a stubborn habit, or in a relationship, or in a desperate need for direction, or in the presence of a vicious spiritual attack or some kind of barrier that hinders you.

Today, I want to look at one of my favorite Bible characters—the Prophet Elijah—and his Breakthrough of Provision in tough times.

Elijah’s story begins in 1Kings 17:1. Out of nowhere, this mysterious prophet walks onto the stage of history and says to the King of Israel:

17:2 “As the Lord the God of Israel lives, before Whom I stand, for sure there will be no rain or dew on the grass except by my word.”

Why did this happen?

It was a time of great national backsliding for God’s people.

And the resulting judgment of God was to send this mighty Elijah the Prophet to pray in a drought:

James 5:17 “Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.”

The Bible says that for three and a half years the land suffered; the ground cracked with dryness, the cattle died, all green vegetation withered, and Israel was brought to her knees.

In the meantime, the Word of the Lord came to Elijah, saying:

17: 2-4 “Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 3 ‘Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith (Ker’ith), which flows into the Jordan. 4 And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.’”

What an amazing promise!! I have commanded the ravens to feed you!!

When God wants to get it to you, He will use whatever means He likes, but He WILL get it to you!

Bible scholars say that Elijah enjoyed food and water at the brook Cherith for a year before it dried up.

During this time, he enjoyed twice daily room service from God.

“And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook” (1 Kings 17:6).

As long as Elijah was at the Brook Cherith, life was good. He became very acclimated to that familiar place.

Twice a day he was fed.

The comforting gurgling of the brook lullabied him to sleep at night.

He was completely insulated from the judgment of God that was falling on the land.

Elijah didn’t have a care in this world as long as he was by the brook.

No thieves to worry aboutNo checks to bounceNo one to bug himNo alarm clock

But good times don’t always last.

One morning Elijah awakened to find the brook had dried up as a result of the drought.

Gone was the comforting sound.

Soon he was thirsty.

The Scripture doesn’t tell us, but surely the ravens also disappeared. You can’t eat when there is no water.

Now what? Where to go? What to do?

The whole land was under judgment. There was nothing in the city.

The King surely would not help him. It was Elijah, after all, who had prayed in this terrible judgment.

In a single day, Elijah’s source of provision was gone.

But he knew something we all must know: his source of provision had NOT been the brook. His source had been “the word of the Lord.”

And now once again, Elijah needed guidance. He needed a word. He needed a Provision Breakthrough.

All options in the natural were gone. He sat there completely alone staring at a dry creek bed.

And some of you today need a Provision Breakthrough. You’ve done all you know to do, but still your brook has dried up.

That JOB that served as your “brook” of provision for years is gone. What now?

Or, some SPIRITUAL BROOK you once drank from has dried up.

A church, or a ministry, or a mentoring relationship that spiritually watered you has suddenly dried up.

FACT: When your brook dries up you can respond in several ways:

You can FIGHT it because you don’t like your comfort zone shaken up.You can FEAR it because you don’t trust God to provide in the future.You can FAINT and refuse to move forward.You can FLOUNDER by refusing to listen to the direction of the Word of the Lord.

Or, you can FOLLOW the Word of the Lord because you know God will provide where God guides.

Elijah believed that change in provision was the signal to seek God for fresh direction.

He believed God was in charge of his circumstances, and that this was not panic time; it was transition time.

He practiced the 11th commandment: “Thou shalt not sweat it.”

LISTEN: Unless unconfessed sin is the cause of your brook drying up, God has a BREAKTHROUGH WORD for you!

Ps. 37:23 “The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.”

The Psalmist talked himself out of despair, saying: “Why are you sad, O my soul? Why have you become troubled within me? Hope in God, for I will praise Him again, my help and my God.”

Suddenly, the Breakthrough Word of Guidance came to Elijah.

1 Kings 17:8 “Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.” 10 So he arose and went to Zarephath.

When the brook dries up, there is a Zarephath.

Zarephath means “crucible, place of testing.”

Elijah was led from the frying pan into the fire.

Zarephath was outside the Promise Land in the area we call Lebanon.

But God said, “Go, I’m going to feed you there.”

But lo and behold, when he arrived at Zarephath, the widow that God had said would provide for him was preparing to die!

When he asked her for some food, she replied:

17:12 “As the Lord your God lives, I have no bread. I only have enough flour in the jar to fill a hand, and a little oil in the jar. See, I am gathering a few sticks so I may go in and make it ready for me and my son. Then we will eat it and die.’”

Elijah had been driven out of his cushy little lifestyle straight into the arms of a tragedy—a widow woman and her little boy facing their last meal.

Clearly the message from God was this:

As you depended on me daily at the brook, you will do the same here. Only it’s not just for you, it will save the life of the widow and her son.”

Three powerful lessons from Elijah’s experience:

Sometimes God upsets our comfort zone, even removes our comfort zone, so that we will get our eyes off of ourselves and onto the plight of a lost and dying world.

God dried Elijah’s brook up just in the nick of time for this poor widow!

One more week and this desperate woman and her little boy would have died a tragic and horrible death.

17: 13-16 “Elijah said to her, “Have no fear. But make me a little loaf of bread from it first, and bring it out to me. Then you may make one for yourself and for your son.”

Notice the Breakthrough Principle: Put God first in tough times and He will take care of you.

Jesus said, “Seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness, and your basic provisions of life will be added to you.”

Elijah gave the widow a similar promise:

14 For the Lord God of Israel says, ‘The jar of flour will not be used up. And the jar of oil will not be empty, until the day the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’” 15 So she went and did what Elijah said. And she and he and those of her house ate for many days. 16 The jar of flour was not used up, and the jar of oil did not become empty. It happened as was spoken by the word of the Lord through Elijah.”

God blesses us so we can bless others.

2 Cor. 1: 4-5 “God gives us comfort in all our troubles. Then we can comfort other people who have the same troubles. We give the same kind of comfort God gives us. 5 As we have suffered much for Christ and have shared in His pain, we also share His great comfort.”

When your brook dries up, don’t fight, fear, faint, or flounder. But trust God and seek Him for fresh direction.

Is. 43:18 “Do not remember the things that have happened before. Do not think about the things of the past. 19 See, I will do a new thing. It will begin happening now.”

LET’S PRAY

NEXT TIME: Hannah’s Breakthrough From Heartbreak to Hallelujah

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