Faithfulness
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Faithfulness
Faithfulness
8 Then the word of the Lord came to him, 9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” 10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.” 11 And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” 12 And she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.” 13 And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son. 14 For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’ ” 15 And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. 16 The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.
How faithful are you willing to be for God to use you?
How much faith do you have in God when you don’t understand?
How much faith do you have in God to do what looks impossible?
These few passages are not about Elijah, but about an unlikely woman.
Why?
She had a burden on her heart
states she was a widow.
9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.”
A woman whose heart that was broken with sorrow. A woman who knew grief. A woman that lost the love of her life.
A woman whose heart that was broken with sorrow. A woman who knew grief. A woman that lost the love of her life.
2. She had a child to care for
12 And she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.”
Evidently, her husband had died when the child was young. She had a great responsibility that was too great for her.
She had no Social Security; no one to help her, and could not put food on the table.
3. She had nothing in the cupboards
Verse 12 shows that she had a handful of flour and a little oil.
There was nothing else in the kitchen.
Have you ever been there? I have. There was days growing up that we had maybe a few pieces of bologna to share or some bread that we put sugar on it for taste.
Adrian Rogers Sermon Archive D. She Had a Blemish in Her past Life
An unusual woman—I don’t believe that you would have chosen her, that I would have chosen her, to do some special work for the Lord; but I want you to know that God often chooses someone who’s burdened down with a load of care. I want you to know that God often chooses someone who is poverty-stricken. I want you to know that God often chooses someone who is laden with responsibilities
An unusual woman- One that I believe you or I would not have chosen to do the work of the Lord.
But God often chooses someone who’s burdened down, poverty stricken, someone who is laden with responsibilities. Why? To show His glory.
1 corinthians 1:26-27
For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;
26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.
God does use wise people, He does use millionaires, He does use beauty queens. But many times He uses the less desirable, those that we don’t see as important too reveal Himself.
God does use wise people, He does use millionaires, He does use beauty queens. But many times He uses the less desirable, those that we don’t see as important too reveal Himself.
But here is the work the Lord commands
Here is a woman that was in great poverty; to the point of starvation and this preacher comes along.
If we didn’t believe God told Elijah to do this, we would hate him for what he did.
We would have said he was the most selfish, egotistical, self centered preacher ever.
She is about to die of poverty and here is what Elijah says
13 And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son.
You go ahead and do what you said, but bring me something first.
But this was the Lord leading Elijah because he wanted to show this woman something and us.
First, He asks for her poverty
He didn’t ask for her riches, He asked for her poverty.
Many times we if I had a million dollars what I could do for the Lord.
But the reality is what are you doing for the Lord with what you have now?
10 “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.
God doesn’t ask for what you don’t have. He knows what you have.
What do you have that you can give to Him? Financial, Time, Yourself.
Second, He asks for her priority
Looking at again, he tells the woman to “Make me first a little cake”.
ME FIRST!!
The Lord is saying that in everything I must be first.
God does not settle for second place.
He wants your First Fruits, First Thoughts of Everyday, and the First day of each week.
Adrian Rogers states, “The first thing when my eyes open- I say Good morning Lord. I yield my heart to you.”
Last, He gave her His promise
14 For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’ ”
If we are obedient with what He asks then He will hold to His promise.
If you give God everything you have, then God turns around and gives back to you everything that He has.- Adrian Rogers
It starts with giving Him your life. If you have not given your life to Him, then start now.
