********1 Kings 17: 7-16

1 Kings 17:7–16

7 But after a while the wadi dried up, because there was no rain in the land. 8 Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 9 “Go now to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and live there; for I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” 10 So he set out and went to Zarephath. When he came to the gate of the town, a widow was there gathering sticks; he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, so that I may drink.” 11 As she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” 12 But she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jug; I am now gathering a couple of sticks, so that I may go home and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.” 13 Elijah said to her, “Do not be afraid; go and do as you have said; but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterwards make something for yourself and your son. 14 For thus says the Lord the God of Israel: The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the Lord sends rain on the earth.” 15 She went and did as Elijah said, so that she as well as he and her household ate for many days. 16 The jar of meal was not emptied, neither did the jug of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.

The Drought Predicted by Elijah: Judgment Due to Idolatry and False Worship, 17:1–24

(17:1–24) Introduction: false worship and idolatry have swept the earth, capturing the hearts and minds of multiplied millions of people. This is most tragic, for false worship and idolatry expose our ignorance and blindness and doom us to destruction. They declare that we would rather follow something false—something created by man’s imagination—than follow the only living and true God. Rejecting the living and true God has catastrophic results, leaving us to face the severe crises of life all alone, crises such as …

• sickness or life-threatening illnesses

• crippling or disabling diseases

• physical handicaps or disabilities

• severe depression or other mental problems

• separation or divorce

• serious accidents or disasters

• the loss of friends or loved ones

• loneliness or rejection

• a lack of purpose or meaning in life

• bankruptcy or other financial difficulties

• death, hell, and the judgment to come

False worship and idolatry are grossly misleading. They lull a person into a false sense of security, when in reality they doom a person to the judgment of God. Therefore, no greater danger confronts a person than that of false worship and idolatry.

These two terrible threats are the subject of the present passage of Scripture. The Northern Kingdom of Israel had become engrossed in wickedness, idolatry, and false worship. They became so engrossed that the people turned completely away from the LORD to the worship of the false god Baal. This particular false god was thought to be the god of fertility, the god of rain and sunshine and light—all the ingredients that caused the crops to grow and the hands of man to produce and bear fruit upon this earth. In these dark days of the Northern Kingdom, God sent forth a prophet to prove that the LORD—not the false god Baal—was the only living and true God. The LORD alone was the God the people should be worshipping and following. The prophet was Elijah, one of the greatest prophets who ever lived. And this is the first mention of Elijah in Scripture. He is seen here shining forth as a light in the midst of a dark, corrupt society. This is: The Drought Predicted by Elijah: Judgment Due to Idolatry and False Worship, 17:1–24.

1. Elijah predicted the drought and famine: proof that the LORD is the only living and true God—not Baal (falsely thought to be the god of rain) (v. 1).

2. Elijah was fed and protected by God: proof that the LORD alone—not Baal—is the Provider and Protector of His people (vv. 2–16).

3. Elijah was used by God to raise the widow’s son: proof that the LORD alone—not Baal—has the power to sustain life and raise the dead (vv. 17–24).

1 (17:1) God, Proof of—God, Fact—Baal, Weakness of—Drought, Caused by—Famine, Caused by—Elijah, Prophecies of: suddenly, dramatically, Elijah appeared before King Ahab, predicting a drought and famine upon the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Obviously, for some years the LORD had been preparing Elijah to prove one truth to all Israel: that the LORD (Jehovah-Yahweh) is the only living and true God. In fact, Elijah’s very name means “the LORD (Yahweh) is my God.” It was his God-given mission to proclaim the message that his name declared: “The LORD is God, He and He alone.” His message was to stand against Baal, the false god that most of Israel was now worshipping. Baal was thought to be the god of fertility, the god who controlled the rain and the dew, the crops and the harvest of the fields, and gave man the strength to work and produce with his hands.

Appearing out of nowhere, Elijah abruptly confronted King Ahab to pronounce this terrifying drought upon the land of Israel. There would be a drought—neither dew nor rain—for the next few years unless he personally gave the word and reversed the drought. Of course, he was speaking under instruction from the LORD, knowing that the power to hold the rain back and to restart the rains rested solely in the hands of God Himself. But Elijah was the instrument through whom God was working; therefore, the drought was to begin at the word of Elijah and end at his word some years later. Note also that Elijah left Ahab just as quickly as he had appeared.

Just who Elijah was is not known, other than the simple statement that he was from Tishbe, which was located in Gilead, the northern section of East Jordan. No other facts are known about this prophet of God who was to become one of the greatest prophets ever to serve the LORD. For years, Elijah had apparently been observing the wicked lives of the Israelites. Their idolatry and false worship were a constant affront, an offense thrust in the face of God. At some point he became broken before the LORD over the terrible evil of the Israelites. And God moved upon his heart, giving him the mission of proving to the people that the LORD Himself was the only living and true God.

Armed with the mission of God and the promise of God’s presence, Elijah marched to the capital of Samaria to confront the evil King Ahab. Abruptly, dramatically, he burst into the royal court, standing face-to-face with Ahab. He declared the message of God: “The LORD God of Israel lives. And because He lives, there will be neither dew nor rain for several years to come.”

God had previously predicted that the land would suffer drought and famine if the people rejected Him and turned to idolatry and false worship (Le. 26:18–20; De. 11:16–17; 28:23–24). Through the drought, the LORD would prove that He, not Baal, was the true God. He and He alone controlled the rain and fruitfulness of the earth.

Thought 1. If the drought and famine prophesied by Elijah actually took place, this would be strong evidence that the LORD is the only living and true God. As seen in the following Scripture, a severe drought and famine did take place.

The LORD (Jehovah, Yahweh) is the only living and true God, the Creator and Sustainer of the universe. He and He alone controls the weather. In fact, He controls all the laws that govern the very existence of the universe and all life throughout the universe, visible or invisible, physical or spiritual.

No matter how much we may deny or question God’s existence, or exalt ourselves and science as the ultimate reality of the universe, God does exist. The LORD (Jehovah, Yahweh) is the only living and true God. We are the work of His hands. Denying God’s existence does not void God, does not make Him cease to exist. Truth is truth, and God is truth. As truth, He is living and longing for all of us to join Him after our sojourn here upon this earth. One of the great proclamations of the Holy Bible is this one truth: the LORD is the only living and true God, the Creator and Sustainer of the universe.

2 (17:2–16) Provision, Source, God—Protector, Source, God—God, Proof of, His Provision and Protection—Provision, of God—Protection, of God—Elijah, Provision and Protection of: Elijah was miraculously fed and protected by God during the years of the drought and famine. Apparently while Ahab was in a state of shock from the appearance and pronouncement by the rugged prophet, Elijah abruptly walked out before he could be arrested. Either immediately or soon thereafter, the LORD instructed Elijah to flee from the king in case Ahab sought retaliation or revenge, in particular after the drought began. Moreover, the prophet needed to be out of Ahab’s reach, for the king would be putting undue pressure upon Elijah to stop the drought. Scripture dramatically describes how God protected and provided for His dear prophet:

a. God instructed Elijah to hide out in the Kerith Ravine, which was east of the Jordan River (vv. 2–4). Evidently this was one of the narrow gorges that had a brook running through it from which Elijah would have a plentiful supply of water. In addition, the hideout would give Elijah seclusion and safety from Ahab’s frantic search for him. Note God’s wonderful promise of supernatural provision: He had personally ordered the ravens to provide food for His dear servant.

b. In obedience Elijah did just as God instructed, and God provided for His dear servant in the wilderness (vv. 5–6). Elijah witnessed the power of God as the ravens brought him bread and meat twice a day, morning and evening. And he drank fresh water from the flowing brook. Despite being all alone and being hunted down by the king, Elijah’s needs were being met by the LORD Himself. God’s dear servant was being protected and provided for day by day.

c. However, God’s provision was not only supplied in the wilderness but also in the city through the help of a widow (vv. 7–16). Eventually the brook dried up, and the LORD instructed Elijah to go and stay in the city of Zarephath near Sidon. There he would meet a widow whom the LORD had already instructed to supply food for him (vv. 8–9). Immediately, Elijah obeyed the LORD and made the trip (v. 10). When he entered the city gate, he saw a widow gathering sticks. Elijah decided to test the woman to see if she was the widow appointed by God. He asked her for a drink of water and, as she was going to get the water, he called out and asked her to please bring him a piece of bread as well (vv. 10–11).

Turning back toward Elijah, the widow responded by sharing her desperate situation: she was poverty-stricken, having no food whatsoever, only a little flour and oil. In fact, she had been gathering the sticks to cook her last meager supplies, expecting to starve to death along with her son after they had eaten this final small meal.

Hearing the desperate plight of the widow, Elijah challenged her to trust the LORD for His provision (vv. 13–14). He told her to go home and bake the bread, but to give him the first part. She could then make bread for herself and her son, for the LORD would replenish the flour and oil miraculously. He would provide for all three of them until the day that it rained (v. 14). Note this was a promise based on the authority of God’s Word, for Elijah declared that this is what the LORD Himself had promised. Would the widow believe the Word of the LORD? Would she make the bread first of all for Elijah?

The widow did believe the promise. She obeyed the prophet of God, doing exactly what Elijah had instructed her to do. And the result was astounding: the LORD miraculously provided food every day for the woman and her family and, of course, for Elijah the prophet. The flour and oil never ran dry, just as the LORD had promised through His faithful prophet.

Thought 1. Two of the greatest promises in God’s Holy Word concern His provision and protection. God protects and provides for His dear people. But there is a condition: we must trust and obey God’s Word. Just as the widow trusted and obeyed the LORD, so we too must trust and obey Him. If we truly believe the LORD and His promises, He will meet our every need. No genuine believer will have his needs unmet nor lack the necessities of life, not unless the LORD is using the experience to strengthen the believer or to take him on home to heaven with Him.

If we seek the LORD and His righteousness first, He promises to provide food, clothing, and shelter for His dear people. He also promises to protect us through all the trials and difficulties of this life, through all the hardships and misfortunes, the temptations and seductions. Note that His protection is not from the hardships or trials but through them. As believers, we will endure most of the same misfortunes and temptations as unbelievers—and even some that unbelievers will not experience—but God will be with us every step of the way. He will hold our hands, hold us up, and even carry us when needed. This is the clear promise of God’s Holy Word.

(1) God promises to provide for His dear people, supplying and meeting their every need.

(2) God promised to protect His dear people, delivering them through all trials and temptations.

Living at the Bottom of the Barrel I Kings 17: 7-16

We have read a familiar portion of Scripture. Times were hard in Israel at this time. King Ahab was ruling over the nation and had led them into gross idolatry and sin. Because of the sins of the people, God had sent a drought that lasted for three and a half years. Our text is facing the backdrop of this unprecedented drought. There are many approaches that we could take with this text. There are many great lessons to be learned. One of the heroes of the faith is a central figure in this story. His experiences certainly give valuable insight to our Christian journey. I am interested in the life of the widow woman who lived in Zarephath. Little is recorded of her; we don’t even know her name, but her life has been a source of inspiration and profound truth for all who have read her story.

I want to consider the situations surrounding this woman’s meager existence as we think on the thought: Living at the Bottom of the Barrel.

I. The Severity of Her Situation – Clearly we find that this woman was living while facing extreme circumstances and a severe situation.

A. Her Difficulty (9-10a) – Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. 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: Twice in these verses the woman is described as a widow. It is interesting to note that God told Elijah that He had commanded a widow woman to sustain him. In that culture widows were typically very poor. They lived a very difficult life.

 We don’t know how long she had been widowed, but it is certain that she had known great difficulty. The drought was hard enough to endure, but she had to make it all alone. It appears that this poor woman’s life had been filled with one tragedy after another.

 Some of you might be able to identify with her. You may not be a widow, but maybe your life has been filled with heartache and pain. How often have we recited the old phrase, “When it rains, it pours?” Simply being a Christian does not exclude us from heartache or difficulty. Some of the most faithful Christians I know have faced great adversity.

B. Her Despair (12a) – 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: Life was surely desperate for her and her household. The man of God desired a cake of bread, but all she had was a meager handful of meal and a little oil in the cruse. That was all that stood between her and absolutely nothing. It appears that this was all that she had left; this was the extent of her earthly possessions. She had no money to buy any provisions and the drought hindered her from growing anything to replace her depleted supply.

 We too are facing difficult times. I am aware that we are blessed beyond measure to live in America. Even the poorest of our nation are rich by the world’s standard. However, the current crisis that we face is very real in the lives of many people. There are folks who have seen their life’s savings disappear with the fluctuation of the stock market. Countless millions are unemployed without any hope of employment. Sons and daughters have left home for a war zone to never return. Homes have been devastated by sin and it seems that all they had is now gone. Many today are living lives of despair that they never imagined.

C. Her Diagnosis (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. She had resigned to defeat. Her life seemed hopeless. What was the use in living? Why was there any reason to go on? All that she possessed would soon be gone along with her hope for the future. She was prepared to fix one last meal and die.

 Isn’t that tragic? This was a woman who no doubt loved her son. She had lived a difficult life and now she was ready to end it all. She had reached the end of her rope and was ready to let go.

 I’m convinced that many in our day are there as well. Life has not turned out as they had planned. Maybe the bank account is gone, the dream job that promised to be secure has been lost, life now seems hopeless and they are ready to give up on living.

 You might say: surely it isn’t that serious. I can assure that it is. Many have fought the battle and have no more strength to press on. It might surprise us to know just how many have reached the point of desperation. I. The Severity of Her Situation II. The Sufficiency of Her Situation – I am glad that the story doesn’t end here. The widow soon finds hope in her desperation. She found that she possessed all that she needed to survive.

What was involved in the sufficiency of her situation?

A. Faith in the Lord (13-14) – 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. 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. Keep in mind that the little she had consisted of a handful of meal and a little oil in the cruse. She was going to prepare that for herself and her son and die. Now Elijah was seeking a portion of the meager supply first. He promised, by the authority of the Lord’s word, that neither the barrel nor the oil would fail until it rained.

 We have the benefit of reading the story after the fact, but imagine the faith that it took to do as Elijah commanded. He was asking for her excess; he was asking for all that she possessed. She had to step out in faith.

 Much of our lives must be lived by faith. We have placed our faith and trust in One we have never seen, only met through faith. Living by faith is easy preaching, but hard practice.

 We must also keep in mind that God isn’t asking for our excess. He doesn’t want what is leftover; He wants our all. We must be willing to fully submit our lives unto Him, walking by faith, even when we can’t see the way clear.

B. Following the Lord (15a) – And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: She stepped out in faith and followed the direction of the Lord. She gave all that she had before she received anything in return. Her faith had to be proven by her actions. She may have believed God would meet her need, but until she stepped out and trusted Him she wouldn’t know for sure.

 We are commanded to have faith in the Lord, but faith is of little value apart from obedience. We must be willing to follow the Lord’s guidance for our lives. It is of no benefit to trust and know that the Lord will meet our needs unless we are willing to do as He says.

 God may have placed a particular burden on your heart. He may want you to pursue a new direction for Him. You may possess the faith that God will provide, but you will never know for sure until you step out in faith.

 The church as a whole may need to step out in faith. We believe that God is able, but often we are reluctant to follow His direction for our lives. We will never experience the bounty of God until we are willing to follow Him!

C. The Favor of the Lord (15-16) – And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. 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. God honored her faithfulness. Because she did as she was commanded, God met her needs. I don’t believe that the barrel was miraculously filled every day. In fact, I believe that it probably looked pretty meager, but each time that she reached in the barrel there was enough to supply the needs for the day. The cruse of oil was likely never full, but there was always enough to pour out what she needed. When she reached the bottom of the barrel, she found the abundance of the Lord!

 Life may be hard right now. You may not be able to see how things could possibly work out. You may have more month than there is money. Your family may face a desperate need that seems impossible to overcome.

 Is it possible that God wants to get you to the bottom of your barrel so that He can provide His abundant supply? It may not be all you dreamed it would be, but I can assure you that it will be enough and it will certainly be best. Living at the bottom of the barrel is really a secure place to be. When I reach the end of myself, it is then that God will provide!

I. The Severity of Her Situation II. The Sufficiency of Her Situation III. The Sovereignty of Her Situation – I want to close with this thought. From our perspective it may seem that her life was falling apart, but just the opposite was true. She may have had a hard time seeing or understanding it, but God was always in control. Our lives are no different. Let’s take a moment to consider the sovereignty in this situation.

A. God has a Plan (7-9) – And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land. And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. The Lord had sent Elijah to dwell by the brook during the drought where the ravens fed him. In time the brook dried up, but the Lord was not taken by surprise. He already had a plan in place. The widow had never met Elijah and yet God was going to use her situation for His glory and the good of His prophet, as well as theirs.

 While in a valley it is often hard to see the hand of God. We don’t always understand, but we must have faith that God has a plan. There is no such thing as luck or coincidence in our Christian lives. God is always aware and in control. Rom.8:28 – And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

B. God has a Purpose – Situations in life happen for a reason. There is always a purpose for all we face.

Notice the purposes revealed here.

1. To Sustain – God had told Elijah that He had commanded a widow woman to sustain him. Through her obedience, God would also sustain her and her son. We must realize that God is the One who sustains us anyway. We may be in the midst of a trial, but God has not allowed it so that we might perish, but so that we might live. Times may get hard, and we may live in fear and doubt, but God will see us through.

2. To Strengthen – The Scripture doesn’t specifically say, but I am sure that it is safe to say that the faith of all involved was strengthened through this difficult situation. Elijah learned that God could use not only the ravens, but even the most unlikely people to care for him. The widow and her son realized that no matter how desperate things may seem, God was able and willing to provide. I am sure that their faith was no longer the same.

 Valleys are never enjoyable, but in them we learn that God is good and He will meet the needs of His people. How much is our faith strengthened when we feel as if we are in control? It is when we reach the bottom of the barrel and must lean upon the Lord that we learn to trust Him. Are you living at the bottom of the barrel? If so, you ought to rejoice. It isn’t an easy place to be, but there we know that God has been given complete control.

THE CASE OF THE EMPTY BARREL

Intro: The story of the prophet Elijah is a fascinating account of the power of God in action. We thrill when we hear about Elijah standing tall before King Ahab, the priest of Baal, and the wayward people of Israel. About how he prayed and the fire of God fell from Heaven.

Let me remind you of some of the events of that special day on Mt. Carmel. The nation of Israel had turned their backs on the Lord. They followed the god Baal, who was the deity worshipped by Ahab’s Queen, Jezebel. On Mt. Carmel, Elijah challenged the 450 priests of Baal to a showdown. He said they would pray and the God who answered by fire would be the God of Israel. The people agreed, the king agreed, and the priests of Baal agreed. The showdown commenced.

The priests of Baal prayed all day and nothing happened. Baal did not answer. No fire fell. The priests of Baal gave up in frustration. It was Elijah’s turn to call on the Lord God Almighty.

In preparation for his prayer Elijah, gave a command for a trench to be dug around the altar, and for twelve barrels of water to be poured over the sacrifice and the wood on the altar. When this was done, Elijah stepped up, prayed a short prayer, and the fire of God fell on the mountain. In 1 Kings 18:38 the Bible says, “Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.” When the people of Israel saw this miracle, “they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God,” 1 Kings 18:39. Elijah took the priests of Ball to the brook Kishon and killed all 450 of them.

I think you would agree that this was a mighty display of the power of God. Elijah was the conduit through which that power flowed that day. He was God’s man, doing God’s work, in a big way. But, it wasn’t always that way! Elijah did not just wake up that morning and head to that mountain to do what he did. Elijah wound up on that mountain because he had been prepared through a series of hopeless situations.

Again and again, God placed the prophet in circumstances that were beyond his power. And, again and again, God proved that He was greater than everything Elijah was called on to face. Notice how God worked in Elijah’s life.

Gad called Elijah to stand before Ahab and pronounce a sentence of divine judgment on the nation of Israel. Elijah’s message was that it would not rain until he said it would. And it didn’t!

• God then sent Elijah to dwell beside an isolated stream in the wilderness. At that stream, God fed Elijah every morning and night with bread and meat carried to him on the wings of ravens.

• When the brook went dry, from the very lack of rain Elijah prophesied, God sent Elijah to a place called Zarephath to be fed in the home of a widow. While he was there, God sent them a miraculous supply of food. While he was there the widow’s son died. God used Elijah to raise the dead bot back to life.

• All of those things, and more, helped prepare Elijah for the day when he would stand in the power of God and pray the fire down from Heaven.

When I think of these things, it stirs my heart. I praise the Lord for what He did in the life of Elijah and how He trained him and used him in a special way. What I often don’t think about is that poor widow who got caught up in Elijah’s training. Just because God wanted to prepare Himself a prophet, a poverty stricken widow found herself in a couple of hopeless situations. I want to study one of those Hopeless Cases today.

I want to preach about The Case Of The Empty Barrel. As I do, I want you to see that God is able to do amazing, powerful things in our lives. He can take what appears to be a hopeless situation and manifest its power through that situation it. I want you to know that there is hope for your Hopeless Case today. Consider the facts of this story that teach that very truth today.

I. V. 10-12 A HOPELESS PREDICAMENT

Verse 10 introduces us to a poor widow. She is the focus of this passage. Her description shows us just how hopeless her situation was. Let’s talk about her for a moment.

A. Her Place In Life - One of the first things we learn about her is that she is a “widow” who lives in a place called “Zarephath.” These two truths reveal a lot about this woman. As a “widow” she was in a difficult place at best. In that society women were largely dependent upon men to take care of them. They depended on the men in their lives to provide shelter, food and protection. We find out in verse 12 that she had a son. Not only is she responsible for her own care, she is also responsible providing for a child.

In Israel this would have been bad enough, but in Zarephath it was have been tragic. In the Law, God commanded His people to look after the poor and for the more affluent to take care of those who had nothing. “For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land,” Deut. 15:11. In Zarephath, they had no connection to the Law of God. The poor in most Gentile nations at that time were on their own. This woman is in a very bad place.

B. Her Problems In Life - The depth of her poverty is revealed in verse 12. Elijah asks for for “a morsel of bread.” He isn’t asking for a whole loaf. He isn’t asking for a sandwich. He is asking for a small piece of bread. The widow replies that all she has is a “handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse.” She outside at that moment in time “gathering two sticks.” She intends to take those sticks and use them to cook the last of her food. She is looking or fuel to cook a final meal for her and her son. As you read her words in verse 12, you can hear the desperation in her voice. She is in a hopeless situation, and in her mind, there is no way out.

C. Her Plan In Life - Her plan is simple. She is going to take two sticks, and the last of her food, and she is going to “go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.” They have reached the end of the line. Death is the only ending she can see. This is a woman without hope. This is a woman who sees no way out of her situation. This is a woman who is ready to embrace death for herself and for her son because there is no other alternative. This is about as hopeless as it gets.

• Most of us have never faced a situation quite like this have we? But, we all experience circumstances that appear to us to be hopeless.

- It might be a sickness in the body that continues to deteriorate.

- It might be a fracture in a marriage that appears to be getting worse.

- It might be a financial crisis that grows worse day by day.

- It might be the death of a loved one and we see no way that any good could ever come out of it.

- It might be a case of ever-deepening depression that fills the heart and mind with hopelessness.

- It might be any of ten thousand other things, but the fact is, there are times when life appears to be hopeless.

• Many in the Bible felt that way.

- Moses - When he fled from Pharaoh after killing an Egyptian, Ex. 2:11-15.

- Elijah - When he fled from the wrath of Jezebel, 1 Kings 19:4.

- Jonah - When he found himself in the belly of the whale, Jonah 2:4.

- The Disciples - When they found themselves in the storm, Mark 4:38.

- Jacob - When he was told that Joseph was dead, Gen. 37:34-35.

- David - When he enemies rose up against him, Psa. 42.

• Many more could be named, but you know what I am speaking about. There are times when we are afraid, there are times when circumstances appear hopeless. There are times when there seems to be no way out. The despair recorded by Solomon in the book of Ecclesiastes is something most of us feel from time to time.

• Here is what Solomon said about life. This is the view of hopelessness.

- “Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun,” Ecc. 2:11.

- “Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit,” Ecc. 2:17.

- “For all his days are sorrows, and his travail grief; yea, his heart taketh not rest in the night. This is also vanity,” Ecc. 2:23.

- “For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity,” Ecc. 3:19.

• Have you been there? Are you there today? Keep listening! There is hope for your hopeless case beloved!

I. A Hopeless Predicament

II. V. 9, 15a A HUMBLE PRESENT

In spite of her condition, God works in this poor widow to bring her to the place of absolute faith in Him and His power.

A. An Unusual Relationship - Verse 9 tells is that she is “a widow” in “Zarephath.” Zarephath was the hometown of Queen Jezebel. It was a Gentile town filled with worshippers of the fertility god Baal. She was a very unlikely candidate to be chosen for the work of God. God chose to send His prophet to a pagan town to the home of a Gentile widow who could not even take care of herself and her son. Of course, Elijah was a wanted man. Ahab was looking for him because Ahab wanted to kill him. God sent Elijah to the one place on one would think to look for him.

This poor, Gentile widow was trapped in sin. She was lost without any hope of salvation. But God, in His grace, spoke to her heart and revealed Himself to her. He used her to take care of His prophet. Many years later, the Lord Jesus would refer to this woman as an example of great faith in God, Luke 4:25-26. No Jew in Israel would have given this poor woman the time of day, but God loved her and extended His saving grace to her.

This was a very unusual relationship. God finds the clay for His wheel in unusual places. He takes that which no one else wants and He makes something glorious out of it. That’s what He did with this poor widow, and that is what He has done with the likes of us. I praise His name for His saving grace, and for His love for lost sinners!

B. An Untroubled Request - When the brook dried up, Elijah left the wilderness and traveled to Zarephath. He traveled under the promise that God has already gone ahead of him and “commanded a widow woman there to sustain” him, v. 9. When Elijah arrives in Zarephath, he finds a widow gathering sticks. He speaks to this widow and asks for a drink of water, v. 10. When she goes to get the water, he calls to her and asks her to bring him a “morsel of bread,” v. 11. In verse 12, she tells him her tale of woe. She tells him of her poverty and of her plans to cook what little food she has. She tells him of her plans to share one final meal with her son. After that, she says, they will lay down to wait for death, presumably by starvation.

Elijah hears all of this and his response is strange. He tells her to go ahead and o and she has said, but to feed him first. He says, “Give me what you have left. Then, after I have eaten, fix food for you and your son.” She knows that she only has enough food to prepare a small cake for her and her boy. Elijah knows that he has the promise of God to supply his needs through the hands of the widow. Because Elijah has the promise of God, he is able to preface his request for bread with the words “fear not.” He was able to tell her God would honor her obedient sacrifice by providing for her, her son, and Elijah in a miraculous way, v. 14.

God had already been there and told the widow that the man of God was coming. He had already told her that she was to feed the prophet when he came. She didn’t know how she was going to do that, and she was terrified. When Elijah showed up and made his request, she allowed her fear to show. She expressed her doubts to the prophet. Elijah knows that God will keep His Word. So he encourages her to put away her fear and simply trust the Lord.

Elijah didn’t know how the Lord was going to feed them, but he knew God was as good as His Word. Elijah knew that the rain had stopped because he prayed and asked God to stop is, James 5:17-18. Elijah knew that God had promised to feed him down by the brook, and God had kept His Word, 1 Kings 17:3-6. So Elijah knew that God could be trusted here as well. The widow didn’t know all those things. All she knew was that a God she knew very little about was telling her to give what little food she had to a man she knew nothing about. Elijah was untroubled by the request because he had faith in God, but the widow faced the command with great fear.

C. An Uneasy Response - Verse 15 tells us that the widow did as she was commanded to do. She went to the place where she cooked her bread, she took those two sticks, that little bit of meal and that small amount of oil, and she prepared a meal for the prophet of God. She presented a humble present to the Lord. What faith!

I wonder if she was filled with fear as she watched Elijah eat the last of her food? I wonder if she thought, “Well, there will be no last meal for us before we die!”

Regardless of her fears and doubts she accepted the promise of God and obeyed His command. She did as God requested. Her faith was even greater than the faith of Elijah! The faith of this widow falls into the category of mountain moving faith. Jesus said, “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you,” Matt. 17:20.

• I don’t know what impossible situation you are facing today. I don’t know what you will be called on to face before you leave this world. I want you to know that God can be trusted, regardless of what comes your way. If, like this widow, you are in a relationship with God, you have His promise that He will take care of you.

- He will give you grace for everything that comes your way - 2 Cor. 12:9

- He will meet every need that arises in your life - Matt. 6:25-34; Phil. 4:19

- He will walk with you every step of the way - Heb. 13:5; Matt. 28:20

- He will see you safely through the dangers that come against you - Isa. 43:2

- He will carry you when you can no longer walk - Deut. 33:27

- He will use every pain, problem and pit of life to develop you and to make you more like Jesus - Rom. 8:28-29

• Those promises, and thousands more besides, are given to the people of God. Our duty is not to try and solve every puzzle in life. Our duty is not to plan our path so that life runs smooth. Our duty is to simply trust the Lord to keep His promises. If we can but do that we can face the hopeless situations in our lives with hope, knowing that our God reigns, and that all will be well.

I. A Hopeless Predicament

II. A Humble Present

III. V. 15b-16 A HEAVENLY PROVISION

The widow obeyed God and God honored His promise. God told Elijah they would be fed and they were. God was as good as His Word in this situation, and He will be as good as His Word in your situation as well.

I don’t know how all this worked, but I do know that after this widow fed Elijah she went back to prepare a meal for herself and for her son. Can you imagine the fear that must have been in her heart as she approached that meal barrel and that little bottle of oil? I am sure she wondered if there would be anything left for her and her son because she had just used all she had to feed the prophet. Yet, when she reached into the barrel, there was meal there! When she tipped that little cruse over, more oil poured out.

For the next three years, every time she used all the meal and the oil, there was plenty the next time she needed some. Folk, this was a great miracle. I don’t know how God did it, but He did. She would take some out, and He would put more in. They never missed a meal. While others around them starved to death because of the famine, they had food to eat until the rains came. God took care of them during a hopeless situation.

There are a couple of quick thoughts I want to share before we finish today.

• Serving God from and empty barrel does more to fill my barrel than trying to fill it myself. In other words, if I will forget about what I think I need and leave my care in the capable hands of God, He will take care of me. If I spend all my time trying to solve my problems, I will only make my problems worse. My duty is to faithfully serve Him and rest in the assurance that He will do what is right, all the time!

• My two sticks, my meal and my oil will accomplish very little, but God can wonders with what I leave in His care. This widow planned to use those two sticks to cook a final meal for her family. She was planning to die. In the end, she used those two sticks to feed God’s prophet. She took those two sticks and placed them in the hand of God and He didn’t just supply one meal, He supplied thousands of meals. Three people eating three meals per day would translate to over 3,200 meals in three years time! What a miracle of multiplication.

Here’s the point, two sticks in a widows hand will accomplish very little. What kind of a fire could she have built with just two sticks? When she placed those sticks into the hand of God, her world changed. In fact, if you put two sticks in the hand of God, He will use them to save the world! (Ill. The cross of Calvary!)

What you have to do is let go of your sticks, your meal, and your oil, and like this widow, you have to put them in the hand of God. If you will learn to do that, you will see Him do things you can hardly believe. “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not,” Jer. 33:3. Two sticks aren’t much, but in the hand of God, they are plenty!

• All David had was a sling, a shepherd’s staff and a few stones, but in the had of God the killed a giant.

• All Moses had was a shepherd’s staff, but in the hand of God it parted a sea.

• All a little boy had was five loaves and two fish, but in the hand of God it fed a multitude.

• All the widow had was two sticks, but in the hand of God it fed her family.

• God doesn’t need a lot to work with. In creation, God took nothing and made everything. All He is looking for from us is the faith to place our two sticks in His hands. When we do, everything changes.

Conc: A man called Chaplain Robinson, his first name has been lost to us, shared a true story about his grandmother that took place in 1949. His father had just returned home from World War II. On every American highway, you could see soldiers in uniform hitchhiking home to their families, as was the custom at that time in America. Sadly, the thrill of his reunion with his family was overshadowed by the illness of Robinson's grandmother. The problem was her kidneys. The doctors told Robinson's father that she needed a blood transfusion immediately or she would not live through the night.

The problem was that his grandmother's blood type was AB negative, a very rare type of blood even today, but even harder to get back then because there were no blood banks or air flights to ship blood. None of the family members had matching blood. So the doctors gave the family no hope of her surviving through the night. Robinson's father left the hospital in tears to gather all the family members so they could say “Good-bye” to Grandmother.

As Robinson's father was driving down the highway, he passed a soldier hitchhiking home to his family. Deep in grief, the father had no inclination to do a good deed at that moment. Yet, he felt strongly impressed to stop and pick up the stranger. Robinson's father was so upset that he did not ask the soldier's name. The soldier, however, noticed the tears in his eyes and asked what was wrong. Through the tears Robinson's father told this stranger about his dying mother in the hospital because they could not give her a transfusion of AB negative blood because they did not have any. She would be dead by morning.

It got very quiet in the car. Then this unidentified soldier extended his hand out to Robinson's father with the palm upward. Resting in the palm of his hand was his army dog tags with his blood type engraved on them, AB negative. The soldier told Robinson's father to turn the car around and get him to the hospital where she was given a transfusion of this man's blood.

Robinson's grandmother lived until 1996, 47 years later, and to this day no one in the family knows the soldier's name. Robinson's father wonders if he was a soldier or an angel in uniform._

We never know how God will keep His promises. We never know how He will manifest His power. We never know what He will do!

What happened there? Somebody got their two sticks into the hand of God. When they did, everything changed!

What do you need to get into His hand today?

• Some impossible situation?

• Some lost family members?

• Some sickness?

• Some need?

• Some sin?

• Your lost soul?

Whatever it is, it’s like the widow’s two sticks. In your hands, they won;t amount to much, but in His hands, they will become a miracle as He manifests His power to solve your hopeless case.

EMPTY BARREL GRADUATE SCHOOL

Intro: Elijah holds in his hand a diploma from Dry Brook University. He has trusted God to take care of him even in the most desperate of situations. He trusted God to send the ravens to feed him, and he trusted God to supply his water using the little brook Cherith. He watched as God met his needs day in and day out. He also watched as God allowed his brook, the only source of water he had, to dry up before his eyes. Surely, enduring this kind of trial would count for something! Surely, things would get better for the prophet now!

Yet, when God speaks to Elijah, it is to send him into another difficult situation. You see, the prophet's training isn't over just yet. God is creating a man of God! Elijah may have graduated from Dry Brook University, but now he is about to enroll in Empty Barrel Graduate School. At Cherith God broke the prophet's flesh: He taught Elijah to depend on God. At Zarephath, God will break Elijah's pride. Here, he will learn that God, not Elijah calls all the shots of life. He will learn that things are never like they appear. He will learn that God can use the humblest of means to train His children fro His glory.

Remember, God intends to use this man in a mighty way! When we get to chapter 18, we will see why God put the prophet through such rigorous training. God is building a man of God!

Now, with that in mind, there are times when it seems that our trials come back to back to back to back. That is, it seems that before one trial can end, another begins! When these times come, we may be tempted to question the Lord as to what He is doing. Simply stated, God is getting you in a position where He can use you in a greater way. I will remind you that before He can mold us, He must first melt us! After all, God's goal for every saint of God is that we be made into the image of the Lord Jesus Christ, "Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:", Eph. 4:13.

Therefore, let's join the prophet Elijah as he continues his training at Empty Barrel Graduate School. There are lessons here that we can glean from as well. These lessons will help us when we face our times of testing.

I. V. 8-11 A FRESH PATH

A. V. 8 The Call - As Elijah sat there beside that dried up brook, it must have felt like he had been abandoned by God. Have you ever felt that way? It is a terrible feeling! However, God had not forgotten about Elijah! God knew exactly where he was. God knew al about that dry brook and God had something else in mind for the man of God! Let me just remind you that the dried brooks of life are merely those things which God uses to move us along in His will. He will use the dried up brooks you face to teach you fresh lessons of faith and obedience.

(Ill. There is a lesson here for us, and it is a hard one to swallow! That lesson is this: genuine faith waits for God to reveal His plans. It will sit by a dried up brook forever, even if it means death, waiting on the will of God to be revealed. Friends, this is where we get into trouble! We have this tendency to run ahead of God and take matters into our own hands. Yet, God's will is that we learn to wait on Him, even when He doesn't move on our schedule! If your brook is dry this morning, do not fear! God has not forgotten about you. He knows just where you are and when the time is right, you will hear His voice calling you to a fresh arena of service! "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.", Isa. 40:31. We are action oriented people, but sometimes God's command is that we just be still and wait on Him, "And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever." Exodus 14:13.)

B. V. 9a The Command - when the Lord does speak to Elijah, He commands him to go to Zarephath. This is a strange command considering the fact that Zarephath is in a Gentile nation. It is country of Jezebel. It is a land of idolaters. It is a wicked place filled with wicked people. Yet, that is exactly where the Lord sends His prophet! To top it off, to get to Zarephath from Cherith will force Elijah to march over 100 miles through territory ruled over by king Ahab, who is looking for Elijah everywhere. It seems like this command of the Lord makes no sense at all! Of course, one of the reason for sending Elijah to Zarephath was to vividly illustrate the impotence of Jezebel's wrath and power! (Ill. Again, there is a lesson for us in this verse: Often, the life of faith will lead through difficult pathways. Folks, God never promised that this way would be an easy way. In fact, just the opposite is true! God has promised us that life will be filled with trials and troubles, Job 14:1; Job 5:7; John 16:33. Yet, that is the path of faith! Yet, even when the command of God makes no sense, faith simply obeys God without regard for the consequences, v. 10! You can see this truth displayed throughout the Bible.

•Noah and the ark - Gen. 6•Abraham and Isaac - Gen. 22•Daniel and the 3 Hebrews - Dan. 1

There are times when the commands of God seems harsh and strange. However, faith recognizes the voice of the Good Shepherd and follows obediently wherever He may lead!) C. V. 9b The Challenge - Notice that again Elijah is told to "dwell there". He is to go to Zarephath and stay there until he receives new instructions from the mouth of the Lord. Often, God's times of testing do not come with a time limit attached! He merely sends unto it and leaves us there until His work in us is finished!

However, the real challenge is in what God told the prophet next, "behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee." That must have been a serious blow to the pride of the prophet. You see, in those days, widows were the poorest of the poor! In times of drought and want, the widows were the first group to die off. Instead of God telling Elijah, "I have a widow over there in Zarephath and I want you to go take care of her." God says, "Elijah, I am sending you to another place of testing where you will have to look to me for all you receive, every day." For Elijah, Zarephath was a place that would live up to its name. The name Zarephath means "smelting furnace, or refining". It refers to the furnace into which metal is placed so that it can be heated up and have any impurities removed. Cherith was the place where Elijah had been cut off and cut down. Zarephath would be the place where he would be refined. It would be here that the last vestiges of Elijah's pride and self-reliance would be stripped away.

(Ill. We are a self-reliant people aren't we? We always want to believe that we can "handle it" ourselves. We would like to think that we are in control of our lives and that we are calling all the shots. However, when the Lord begins to work in your life to reveal Himself in you more clearly, He will send you to a Zarephath where you have to depend on nothing but Him. When you have been brought to the place where you can lean on nothing but God, He has brought you to the greatest of places that life can afford. For it is in that place that you will learn Who is in control. That is the challenge we all face in our faith life. We all face the challenge of getting to the place where we are trusting God and Him alone for all the needs we have in life! That is where He wants each of us, "The just shall live by faith.", Rom. 1:17.)

D. V. 10-11 The Comfort - When Elijah receives this command, he does not hesitate, he just gets up and goes where God tells him to go. When he arrives at Zarephath, he sees "the" widow picking up sticks. Evidently, the Lord lets him know that this is the vessel He has chosen to sustain Elijah. When he sees her, he calls to her to fetch him a drink of water. It must have been a comfort to his hear to see her turn to fetch his drink! It must have appeared like God had things lined up for the prophet. (Ill. There is a lesson here as well. Our God is a God Who works on both ends of the line. Let me illustrate. When Jacob and his sons needed food, God provided a Joseph in Egypt. When the children of Israel sent their spies to Jericho, God gave them a Rahab. When the Jews faced a Haman, God raised them up an Esther. When an Ethiopian Eunuch needed salvation, God sent him a Philip. The point is this: When your time of need arises, rest assured that your Father has already gone ahead to spread the table of provision in your behalf, Phil. 4:19.)

I. A Fresh Path

II. V. 12-15a A FANTASTIC PROMISE

A. V. 12 A Doubt - When Elijah asks the widow for a cake of bread, her fear is brought to the surface. God had already commanded her to care for His prophet, v. 9, but she is trapped is the fear of faithlessness. She has her eyes on the circumstances and not on the God Who controls the circumstances! (Ill This is the place where many people are living this morning! When we look at our problems and our needs, we feel like we are trapped in a hopeless situation. We are guilty of looking at the problem and not at the Provider! As much as Elijah was sent to Zarephath for his benefit, he was also sent for the benefit of this widow. She needed to learn the value of faith in God. My friend, are you trapped in doubt this morning? Does it appear that your situation is hopeless and that you are helpless to do anything about it? The answer lies in looking beyond your problem and getting your eyes on the Provider, Heb. 12:1-2! If you are saved, then you are in the family of God. God is your Father and He has promised to take care of you, Matt. 6:25-34. Therefore, when you doubt, you are saying that God cannot do what He has promised to do! Is He God or isn't He? Your doubt says that God is dead! Your faith recognizes His power and position!) (Ill. It must have been a discouragement to Elijah to hear the widow express her lack of faith. If he had focused on first impressions instead of on the word of God, then he might have lapsed into despair. However, he believed God more than he believed even what he saw! Real faith knows that God is greater than what the eye can see. Real faith knows that God can make the impossible possible, Heb. 11:1!) B. V. 13-14 A Demand - When Elijah hears the widow's sob story, he makes what appears to be the coldest demand in the Bible. He tells her to go ahead and fix her last supper, but to feed him first! On the surface this appears harsh and cruel, but it was, in fact, a plea for faith and surrender to the will of God.

1. Involved Encouragement - "Fear not!" Elijah comforts her heart in this matter. She is told that she can trust God. 2. Involved Enlightenment - "Thus saith the Lord God of Israel." She gets a direct word from God concerning her situation. She has God's word that she will be taken care of. 3. Involved Excitement - "Neither the barrel of meal nor the cruse of oil will fail until God sends rain upon the earth. This widow hears the news that she is about to be center stage for a miracle designed to care for God's man. She is about to be caught up in a manifestation of the power of God. (Ill. The point here is that God's calls on our lives often make demands that are difficult to understand. Why would He call me to do that? Why would the Lord allow that to happen? Why this and why that? However, when God's demands are accompanied by a clear word of God, then we need have no fear, but we can respond in faith, knowing that God will take care of us. Remember Abraham? He was called on the sacrifice his son Isaac - Gen. 22. It must have been the most difficult demand he faced in his life! Yet, he responded in faith and came to know God is a brand new way. Abraham learned that God is Jehovah-Jireh! That is, He is the Lord Who will see to it! That is what you learn when the demands of faith are placed upon your shoulders.) C. V. 15a A Decision - When this widow heard the word of God, she went and did as Elijah had commanded her. it must have took great faith to use the last little bit of meal she had to prepare bread for a total stranger. Yet she did it by faith! (Ill. This is the place that God wants to bring us all to. He wants His Elijahs and His widows to learn to trust Him in every circumstance, regardless of what outward appearances may suggest. Have you reached that place in your walk with God? If not, then don't be surprised when God's paths lead through dark valleys and uncertain ways. He is in the process of training His servants. We can do not better than to learn to obey Him promptly, just like Elijah and the widow did!) (Ill. God wants us to get to the place where we can give it all away! Legend has it that a man was lost in the desert, just dying for a drink of water. He stumbled upon an old shack--a ramshackled, windowless, roofless, weatherbeaten old shack. He looked about this place and found a little shade from the heat of the desert sun. As he glanced around he saw a pump about fifteen feet away--an old, rusty water pump. He stumbled over to it, grabbed the handle, and began to pump up and down, up and down. Nothing came out. Disappointed, he staggered back. He noticed off to the side an old jug. He looked at it, wiped away the dirt and dust, and read a message that said, "You have to prime the pump with all the water in this jug, my friend. P.S.: Be sure you fill the jug again before you leave." He popped the cork out of the jug and sure enough, it was almost full of water! Suddenly, he was faced with a decision. If he drank the water, he could live. Ah, but if he poured all the water in the old rusty pump, maybe it would yield fresh, cool water from down deep in the well, all the water he wanted. He studied the possibility of both options. What should he do, pour it into the old pump and take a chance on fresh, cool water or drink what was in the old jug and ignore its message? Should he waste all the water on the hopes of those flimsy instructions written, no telling how long ago? Reluctantly he poured all the water into the pump. Then he grabbed the handle and began to pump, squeak, squeak, squeak. Still nothing came out! Squeak, squeak, squeak. A little bit began to dribble out, then a small stream, and finally it gushed! To his relief fresh, cool water poured out of the rusty pump. Eagerly, he filled the jug and drank from it. He filled it another time and once again drank its refreshing contents. Then he filled the jug for the next traveler. He filled it to the top, popped the cork back on, and added this little note: "Believe me, it really works. You have to give it all away before you can get anything back." That is the essence of genuine faith! It is not a risk, but it is a challenge to human reasoning. Faith will call on us to do the unthinkable so that we might receive the impossible!)

I. A Fresh Path

II. A Fantastic Promise

III. V. 15-16 A FABULOUS PROVISION

(Ill. The Bible tells us here that until the rains returned to the earth, the meal barrel and the jar of oil did not run out. Every time the widow went to get meal and oil to prepare a meal, there was more to be used. When she decided to bake that cake for Elijah, she traded the certain for the uncertain and received the impossible in return!)

A. The Grace Of It - Because this widow took God at His Word and prepared bread for Elijah, God allowed the widow, the widow's son and Elijah to enjoy plenty while all around them hundreds starved to death. That is grace! The difference in the widow's home was the she learned to live by faith and she was supplied by the hand of God. God honors faith because faith honors God!

B. The Greatness Of It - For years, until it rained, every meal time was a miracle. God worked a miracle in that barrel and in that jar every single day. He took nothing and made it last until it was no longer needed. Friends, we serve a God Who specializes in doing the impossible! It may look hopeless to us, but we must never count God out! He can take the little that is dedicated to Him by faith and multiply it to enormous proportions! (Ill. The 5 loaves and 2 fishes fed a multitude - John 6:5-13.) C. The Glory Of It - The glory of this story resides in this fact: that barrel of meal and that cruse of oil were never full! Elijah and the widow were taught to live day by day. Everyday she scraped the bottom of the barrel and everyday there was just enough meal to fix their food. Everyday she watched the last drop of oil drip from that jar, but the next day there was always more. The glory in the story lies in the fact that Elijah and the widow were taught to trust God day by day! As the days passed, their faith was strengthened as they saw the Lord provide! You see, the difficulties of life are to faith what barbells are to muscles. They will strengthen its very fiber! When God has brought you to the place where you are forced to trust in Him for today's provision, He has brought you to the best place you can be. He has blessed you beyond words! You may not think so at the time, but when His path leads to a greater trial, it is a blessing to know that God always takes care of His children!

Conc: George Mueller, born into a German tax collector's family, was often in trouble. He learned early to steal and gamble and drink. As a teenager, he learned how to stay in expensive hotels, then sneak out without paying the bill. But at length he was caught and jailed. Prison did him little good, for upon release he continued his crime spree until, on a Saturday night in 1825, he met Jesus Christ.

Mueller married and settled down in Bristol, England, growing daily in faith and developing a burden for the homeless children running wild and ragged through the streets. At a public meeting in Bristol on December 9, 1835, he presented a plan for an orphanage. Several contributions came in. Mueller rented Number 6 Wilson Street, and on April 11, 1836, the doors of the orphanage opened. Twenty-six children were immediately taken in. A second house soon opened, then a third.

From the beginning, Mueller refused to ask for funds or even to speak of the ministry's financial needs. He believed in praying earnestly and trusting the Lord to provide. And the Lord did provide, though sometimes at the last moment. The best-known story involves a morning when the plates and bowls and cups were set on the tables, but there was no food or milk. The children sat waiting for breakfast while Mueller led in prayer for their daily bread. A knock sounded at the door. It was the baker. "Mr. Mueller," he said, "I couldn't sleep last night. Somehow I felt you didn't have bread for breakfast, so I got up at 2 A.M. and baked some fresh bread." A second knock sounded. The milkman had broken down right in front of the orphanage, and he wanted to give the children his milk so he could empty his wagon and repair it.

Such stories became the norm for Mueller's work. During the course of his ninety-three years, Mueller housed more than ten thousand orphans, "prayed in" millions of dollars, traveled to scores of countries preaching the Gospel, and recorded fifty thousand answers to prayer.

Friend, where does this message find your faith? Does is seem that God is moving you from one hard place to another? Does it seem that things just get harder and harder for you as you journey through life? You must remember that God is refining you! Just like fine wine is transferred from vessel to vessel to remove the "lees" so God will pass His servants from one difficulty into another to remove from our lives those things that are not pleasing in His sight. Don't fight Him! Your best course of action this morning is to surrender to His will now!

Others of you are lost, you need to be saved today. Some are not walking in close communion with the Lord, you need to be restored. Whatever the need, this altar is open for you and there is help to be found in Jesus. Will you come and trust God for whatever your need may be?