02 - Trust in God

1 Kings 17:1–16 KJV 1900

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. And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. 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. And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

1 Kings 17:1-

Prayers

Review Last Week and Series Purpose:

Long before builders erect walls or install windows or place a roof on a physical building, they start with a process most people never see once the building is completed—the foundation. Huge machinery rolls onto the property, digging up the dirt. Men with hard hats pour over paperwork and specs. Small colored flags are meticulously placed around the property. Appointments are scheduled to have inspectors visit the construction site, giving their stamp of approval for the seemingly most minor details. All of this and more takes place before a building even begins to take shape. To the unlearned observer, one might think this is ridiculous."Let's get this building under way!" But the builder knows an important truth—a structure without a firm foundation is useless, even disastrous. The most vital part to a structure rests on the investment into its foundation. There is a similar truth in the Christian life. Without a solid foundation to the Christian activities or ministries in which we may take part, our lives will eventually crumble. In this series, we are investigating God's Word for the elements of a solid foundation. There isn't a more important element than that of trust. In this lesson, we look at building trust toward God in our lives.

Illustration:

Alaska and California are the two states that experience the most earthquakes.' Because of this, building codes have been put into place to ensure safety for residents in the event of an earthquake. Many beautiful buildings have crumbled to the ground because they could not withstand an earthquake. Building according to the earthquake codes is costly in time and resources. It's often frustrating as the timeline for building completion drags out. But it provides safety and protects the investment made in the rest of the building. Challenges and tests in our lives are like earthquakes. They can shake us to the core and have the potential to destroy us. They also reveal the strength of our spiritual foundation. it is at these times when we can see where we have placed our trust. gives us an example of two people—a prophet and a widow—who both trusted God during one of the most difficult times in their lives.

In this lesson, we learn from them how we can build trust in our lives. The setting of this story is similar to that of our culture today. The country of Israel had forgotten the ways of God. Their king and queen—Ahab and Jezebel—had no interest in God's laws or the consequences that would befall Israel by rejecting them. Just as we see prevailing in our world today, there was a flagrant rejection of the one true God and an acceptance of pluralism and idolatry. In response to Ahab and Jezebel's disobedient idolatry, God sent Elijah to proclaim His judgment. Many years earlier, God had already made clear to His people the consequence that would befall their land if they rejected Him.

Deuteronomy 11:13–17 KJV 1900

And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil. And I will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle, that thou mayest eat and be full. Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them; And then the Lord’s wrath be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit; and lest ye perish quickly from off the good land which the Lord giveth you.

Elijah's proclamation of the coming drought was not just a crazy prophet trying to scare Ahab into submission to God. He was proclaiming the truth of God's Word.

1 Kings 17:1 KJV 1900

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.

As always, God's Word came to pass. God sent a drought to the land. As we can imagine, this became a season of incredible testing in Elijah's life. It was also a time of testing for a widow and her son, who are introduced to us in this passage. During this time of extreme difficulty, their lives were shaken, and their faith was tested. Through their responses, the foundation of their trust was exposed.

Declaration:And for us when our lives are shaken and our faith is tested and it seems like the blessings of God have dried out. Whenever these things happen in our life, these events will reveal to us the foundation of our trust.

Proposition: And the thing is everyone here possesses trust. But the thing is, it is the object of our trust that makes the difference when it is put to the test.

And for us today, when those trials and tests come in our lives, the question is who or what will you put your trust in? Your Self, your friends, your career. Who or what will you put your trust in?

It is at a time of trial that the source of our trust will be revealed. As someone once said, "A faith that cannot be tested cannot be trusted."

Transitional Sentence: Lets take a look at three points that will make sure we have the right foundation and that its a foundation that runs deep.

Transitional Sentence: In our study tonight, we will discover how to develop a faith that can be trusted. As we look in at the prophet Elijah and a widow in Zarephath, we will see how their trust was tested, although in different ways. Both passed the test and experienced the incredible provision of God

1. The Trust of Elijah

Because Elijah preached the Word of the Lord to Ahab, he became the special target of Ahab and Jezebel's anger. It's likely that the people of the land were angry with him as well.

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 Jordan. 4 And it shall be, that thou shah 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. Now more than ever, Elijah had to trust God for everything. God told Elijah to go, and Elijah "went and did according unto the word of the LORD." His obedience was proof of his trust in God.

Illustration:

(Maybe use the Milleniou tower in San Fran)

1 Kings 17:2–5 KJV 1900

And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. 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.

Pisa, Italy, is the home of the well-know landmark, the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Though this tower draws tourists from all over the world, it is actually an embarrassing display of the ramifications of a faulty foundation. construction of the Tower of Pisa began in 1173. It was build in soft soil and was given a foundation that was less than ten feet deep. Even before its completion 200 years later, its infamous tilt was noticeable to the naked eye. The inadequate foundation was too unstable to support such a large structure.

From 1990 to 2001, the tower was closed to the public while a $25 million project was conducted to stabilize the structure and reduce its lean. But even after these 11 years of reconstruction, the lean was only able to be reduced by 16 inches.

Now more than ever, Elijah had to trust God for everything. God told Elijah to go, and Elijah "went and did according unto the word of the LORD." His obedience was proof of his trust in God.

Millions of people make their way to the Tower of Pisa and gaze with awe the phenomenon of such a structure. And even though we as Christians, as born-again believers, we sing hymns like “My Hope Is Built On Nothing Less”, and we declare, “On Christ The Solid Rock I Stand” some of us have mastered the are of giving the illusion of success all the while ignoring the foundation that is designed by God to support the structure of our lives. We need to realize and be aware that it is possible to have the appearance of growing in Christ but have a crumbling foundation. The same is true about the many souls we cross paths. People whose structures are just as much a contradiction to functionality as that of the tower of Pisa.

Elijah must have had plenty of questions for God regarding this manner of provision. The food service via ravens, while surprising at first, seemed to be working out just fine. Why must he now turn to a poor widow mother, expecting her to feed him? Aside from being extremely humbling for Elijah, there was surely a measure of feeling inconsiderate toward this woman. Yet, with simple trust in God, Elijah obeyed. As the story unfolds, we see God taking care of Elijah and the widow and her son. He was answering this mother's prayers, blessing her faith in God, and all the while feeding Elijah. This unlikely plan was not God trying to create a difficult test for Elijah, although we often assume this to be the case in our lives when God's direction does not make sense. Perhaps you're in a season right now when, like Elijah, you cannot see the full picture. Ask yourself,"Am I fully trusting God and obeying Him in every area? Is

A. To Go to Cherith

1 Kings 17:3 KJV 1900

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

1 King 17:3

1 Kings 17:5–6 KJV 1900

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. 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:

Proposition: This evening the question I see here tonight is, How is your life looking below the baseline?” Is there a solid foundation that goes many feet down into the ground or is your life a beautiful building above in danger of collapse because there’s practically nothing solid below.

Transitional Sentence: Lets take a look at three points that will make sure we have the right foundation and that its a foundation that runs deep.