Faith + Obeadance = Provision

Unconventional Provision of God

Someone once said God moves in mysterious ways. In preparing for this message the lord revealed to me that he is still Jehovah Jirah

My provider! But many times he does not move in the way we expect him too! God is very good at moving in unconventional ways!

Our text today reveals this also;

1 Kings 17:1-7

1 And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.

2 And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying,

3 Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before (east) Jordan.

4 And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.

5 So he went and did according unto the word of the LORD: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.

6 And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.

7 And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.

Ravens- are scavengers and like crows they eat anything and everything. Generally 2 ft tall and have a wing span of up to 4 feet wide.

But God gave specific instructions to these raven’s to feed the man of god at the brook Cherith.

Notice the place of provision was not in Samaria where Ahab the king was but was 10 miles east of the Jordan river.

At a tributary of the Jordan called Cherith.

So Gods blessing of provision was in a certain place for a certain time or season. in order to receive the provision of god Elijah would have to be in the right location for the ravins to find him. Which means Elijah could not receive in Samaria. He must go to the brook Cherith. And provision was not there for the whole time he needed it but the bible say the brook dried up because of the drought in the land.

8 And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying,

9 Arise, get thee to ||Zarephath,(zarepta) which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.

Coast of Mediterranean Sea close to Sidon

10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.

11 And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand.

12 And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.

No hope, Facing death and not life,What she had was not enough to sustain her and her son death was eminent

13 And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.

I can hear her saying You want me to do what?

You want me to put your needs above my sons or my need?

But then Elijah say’s this!

14 For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth.

15 And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.

16 And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah.

Wednesday night at prayer meeting I was praying for provision for our church. I had been trusting God to provide because he had alway provided for the church. We have never been late on a bill but alway’s were able to pay things on time when they were due. But because of losing several tithe payers and the many bills along with the rising costs. I could see things were getting pretty thin.

I told the lord I need for you to move in our finances Lord. I told him I’m beginning to see the bottom of the barrel. I felt like what this woman must have felt when her provision was running low. I had even thought about cutting back on our missionary giving.But I just pull the trigger on that! And there were others that felt the need and were praying even though I had not said a word to anyone.

Thursday morning I got a text and the needs were met! I want to thank god for his Faithfulness and provision for our church.

I can truly say god does not change and he is always faithful to his children. Hes a good good father and and excellent provider.

If you have a need this morning He is able!

He is willing and compassionate to all his children.