How God works

1 Kings 17:8-16,

8 And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, 9 Arise, get thee to (zah’re-fath), which belongeth to (see-don) Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. 10 So he arose and went to (zah’re-fath). 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. 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. 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.

I.       God was using an unusual source to take care of Elijah

A.    Widows were among the poorest people of that day

1.     And God sends Elijah there to be taken care of

2.     This is the last place one would go to get some help

3.     The Widow is about to make her last meal for her son and both would die

B.    God in His mercy shows other wise

1.     God always uses the weak to show that the blessings are coming from Him

II.     I want you to notice something here in verse 13

A.    It is just like God to ask us first to do something by faith before He does whatever He is going to do for us

B.    Next lets look back at verse 12

1.     The woman is down to her last meal

C.    Elijah tells her first to bring some water and then make him some food and what is left over she can have.

1.     Elijah first ask for some water

2.     Then he pushes the envelope and ask her for some food

3.     Remember, she down to her last small meal and God is asking her to give part of it up and do it first.

III.    Than comes the promise of God

A.    God wants us to live by faith

1.     Romans 1:17, For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

2.     Galatians 3:11, But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.

3.     Hebrews 10:38, Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.

a)     If you don’t use faith, God shall have no pleasure in us

B.    In verse 14 Elijah give her the promise from God

1.     This woman is in her darkest hour, she and her son are about to die

2.     In verse 13 Elijah tell her to fear not

C.    God never gave to much, but what was needed for each day

1.     God could have filled the oil and floor up!

2.     No each day they had to trust God for their supplies

IV.   We to have promises from God

A.    We have the Bible full of promises that we can take advantage of.

1.     God has brought these promises to us by way of the Bible

2.     Just like He brought promise to this woman by way of Elijah

B.    But just like the woman here, we must do what God wants us to do and do it by faith.

1.     We have a need

2.     God gives us a promise

3.     We have to do what He asks

4.     It must be done by faith

5.     Than God delivers

C.    This works the same way when we tithe to God with our money

1.     In the Old Testament, He starts off with a tithe and in the New Testament He goes beyond that to a cheerful givers which ends up being well over the tithe

D.    God is teaching us here, that we are to give of our selves and than He will take care of us.

1.     O we can take care of our selves like some many others are doing on earth today.

2.     I find that Gods way is better, more fulfilling in the long run.

3.     When God asks us to do something, though it seem impossible for us to maintain, the thing impossible shall be done

4.     Matthew 6:33, But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

This story is told by the captain of a ship on which George Muller of Bristol was traveling. During his life he received more than 1,000,000 pounds from the Lord, without advertising—every penny came as an answer to prayer.

“We had George Muller of Bristol on board,” said the captain. “I had been on the bridge for twenty-four hours and never left it and George Muller came to me and said, “Captain, I have come to tell you I must be in Quebec on Saturday afternoon.” “It is impossible,” I said. “Then very well, if your ship cannot take me, God will find some other way. I have never broken an engagement in fifty-seven years; let us go down into the chart room and pray.”

“I looked at that man of God and thought to myself, “What lunatic asylum can that man have come from, for I never heard of such a thing as this?” “Mr. Muller,” I said, “do you know how dense this fog is?”

““No,” he replied, “my eye is not on the density of the fog, but on the living God who controls every circumstance of my life.” He knelt down and he prayed one of the most simple prayers. When he had finished I was going to pray, but he put his hand on my shoulder and told me not to pray. “As you do not believe He will answer, and as I believe He has, there is no need whatever for you to pray about it.”

“I looked at him and George Muller said, “Captain, I have known my Lord for fifty-seven years and there has never been a single day when I have failed to get an audience with the King. Get up, Captain, and open the door and you will find the fog has gone.”

“I got up and the fog indeed was gone, and on that Saturday afternoon George Muller kept his promised engagement.”

[1]

Sunday morning Biker Service 3/4/07

----

[1]Tan, P. L. (1996, c1979). Encyclopedia of 7700 illustrations : A treasury of illustrations, anecdotes, facts and quotations for pastors, teachers and Christian workers. Garland TX: Bible Communications.