Provision Part II

Intro

Last week we discussed God’s provision. Namely, we looked at the story of Elijah, and took from it truth’s about God’s provision that we needed to be reminded of.

Specifically, the largest take-away was the fact that God himself can often lead us to deserts/hard places. God himself has intentions for us. It’s not always the work of Satan, it’s not always because of fleshly temptation....it’s oftentimes because God himself has called us to a place.

We also talked about God’s promises, and how his promises relate to his provision. The big quote on that was that If you are waiting on God’s provision, you are leaning on God’s promises.

And lastly, we talked a little bit about Obedience. We discussed how all of this hinged on the obedience of Elijah.

And we looked at the truth God will use our obedience to bring about his provision. We don’t necessarily earn the provision because of our obedience, but rather our obedience is the vehicle that God uses to bring us that provision.

So that was last week, focusing on God’s provision. And today, I’m calling this message Provision Part II.

Tonight we are going to zoom out just a little bit further and look at and look at 2 overarching truth’s about God’s provision. 2 Truths about HOW God provides for us.

But first, I want to take a minute and return to our discussion on the Old Testament. We spent an entire message discussing the Old Testament and why you should care about it.

One of the things I told you we would do was revisit that and help you read the OT as we go along our series in Elijah. So here’s the principle I want to discuss when reading the OT. That’s is parallels. Or repetitive patterns.

If you’ve read the OT, you might know what I’m talking about. There are times when you read something…that you’re like…wait a minute…have I read this before?

It happens with Abraham calling Sarah his sister a few times, and then his son doing the same thing with his wife.

It happens in the creation story with the rising and setting of the sun and God declaring something good each day.

It happens anytime the number 40 comes up in the OT.

You see, anytime something comes up that is repetitive, or contains a parallel theme....it’s worth investigating. And here’s why.

The people of God didn’t have the word of God. Meaning, they didn’t have bibles they carried around. Oftentimes, whole communities only had one copy of scripture…and it was located at their local synagogue.

The word of God was more often heard, then it was read. Meaning, that the way it was written was in a way that would be easy to remember…that would be easy to categorize in your brain.

And so…that meant telling things in a way that could be remembered. And that meant creating obvious meanings and repetitions to drive home a point or character of God.

So here’s what I’m saying about the OT. Whenever you see repetition…ask yourself…how does this relate to the last time I saw this?

What is God revealing about himself of the gospel in this?

And the whole reason I bring this up tonight…is because our passage is an example of one of these connections. So, let’s get into it. We are actually going to dive into the passage we read last week…and then move forward. So let’s look at 1 Kings 17 together. But first let me pray and then I’m gonna read the whole thing.

1 Kings 17:1–16 ESV

Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” And the word of the Lord came to him: “Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” So he went and did according to the word of the Lord. He went and lived by the brook Cherith that is east of the Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. And after a while the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land. Then the word of the Lord came to him, “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” 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.” And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” 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.” 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. 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.’ ” And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. 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.

So, do you guys see the parallel here? First God gives a command to go and promises Elijah will be fed by Ravens. Then, just a few short verses later…God again says Go and Elijah will be fed by a widow. Two very similar occurrences… occurrences that not only make it easy to remember, but occurences that reveal to us something about God.

Like I said, when you’re diving into the OT, ask the question “what is God revealing about himself in this passage?” “How do these passages relate to each other?”

Here’s what they reveal, just two truths for us to see tonight.

1) God Provides Through the Miraculous (v. 1-7)

This is the passage we covered last week. We’ve already covered specific truths about how Provision plays out in our lives…but now we zoom out a little bit and see and overall trait of God’s provision....and that is that he sometimes provides through miraculous means.

Like feeding Elijah using Ravens instead of a normal, ordinary, way.

Like God leading the Israelites through the desert using a pillar of fire.

Like God freeing the Israelites by splitting the seas.

Like Abraham finding a sacrificial Ram in the thorns after God told him not to sacrifice Isaac.

Or in the New Testament...

In Acts, God sends Peter to the house of Cornelius to miraculously provide answers to Cornelius’ questions which leads to his salvation.

Jesus miraculously provides fish and loaves to those who are hungry after listing to hours of his teachings.

I could just keep on listing things. There are hundreds of examples of God providing to someone through miraculous means.

And what do I mean by miraculous? I mean things that are out of the ordinary, that can’t be explained. Things that are against the natural order. Things that defy explanation.

Things like someone who has cancer and goes in for a pre chemo checkup, post biopsy, just to see that the MRI shows the cancer doesn’t exist.

Things like someone specifically praying for enough money to keep their lights on, and getting a message from the electrical company saying they are getting a refund in that exact amount due to a freak accident with the lines a couple days ago.

I’m talking about things that make you skeptical....things that make you question…things that reveal our skepticism.

Actually that’s why I’m bringing this up…because we as Americans are naturally skeptical. We are so use to seeing green screen effects, computer animation, television shows, magic acts that we naturally become skeptical that minute something supernatural happens.

Not to mention, we have such a low view of those around us…that when someone tells us a story…we immediatley begin to think things like “well, maybe they just screwed up”… “maybe they don’t have all the facts”.... “maybe they miscounted”.... “maybe they aren’t as smart as they think they are”....

You guys know what I’m talking about. If you’re American, high likelihood you do this.

But we all need to come to the truth…that God is a supernatural being. And he does supernatural things.

Now I’m not talking about people performing signs and wonders…or whether believers can perform acts like that...I’m not even going to enter the debate if healings still happen…if those gifts ended with the apostles....that’s another message for another day. I’m focusing on God himself right now.

What we need to focus on here is what the scripture shows. God himself is a supernatural being that does supernatural things to provide for his people. I mean, even the fact that God intervened in your life to bring you to know him is a supernatural act. One that defies the natural order of things. What person in their right mind naturally denies themselves…naturally fights their flesh…naturally turns towards God instead of the earthly pleasures of life…no. Scripture is clear, God had something to do with your salvation. That’s a supernatural act.

So to wrap up this point. Don’t be so quick to dismiss something because it’s supernatural. Don’t be so quick to throw it away. You are in a supernatural relationship with a supernatural being…miraculous things are going to happen sometimes.

Now…test those things. Like we said in 1 Thess.

1 Thessalonians 5:21 ESV

but test everything; hold fast what is good.

Test it against God’s word, alongside God’s people, with the help of God’s spirit. But…when it is found to be good....hold fast to it.

Sometimes, God uses the miraculous to provide. Acknowledge it. And when it happens....worship him because of it.

God Provides Through His Church (v. 8-16)

The widow here that provides food to Elijah belongs to God. She’s one of God’s people…we know that because she’s following God’s commands…and she confesses God as the God who lives. She is the church. Israel. And God uses her to provide. God provides through his church…the body of believers…the sons and daughters of God.

So the first question I want you asking is...

What are you doing to better receive that?

You need to understand…this moment is not only humbling to Elijah because he has to rely on someone else to sustain him....but he has to rely on a widow. Literally the ones in society who were suppose to be taken care of by other people. The ones who often received the most aid and help....and yet there she was to help Elijah.

Super humbling moment for him. Super humbling moment for any Jewish man. Our response is…are you humble enough to receive when the Lord uses the church to provide to you?

Whether it’s physical, or spiritual. Financial, food-wise, or even just biblical counsel. Are you humbling yourself like Elijah humbled himself to receive from the least of these?

Nowadays…we don’t seek the church for help. Not unless it’s too late. But scripture says the church should be our lifeline…I’ve brought this one up before…but it’s so relevant

1 Peter 2:5 ESV

you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Peter is saying that the way to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God, are to be built into a spiritual house…and that only happens together. Because each one of us is a living stone that makes up part of the house.

There is no such thing as Christianity apart from the church. There is no such thing as walking with God while avoiding the Godly. There’s no true brother or sister in Christ that doesn’t seek to be with his or her brothers and sisters.

So…you need God’s provision in your life…maybe you’re leaning on his promises while waiting....how does the church factor into that for you? Are you leaning on it? Are you engaging in it? Are you asking for the help that you need?

Is the church the first group of people you turn to when something is wrong? Or is it an afterthought?

But that’s not the only question you should be asking tonight.

What are you doing to better give that?

The widow had nothing left. She was prepared to die. Yet, she was willing to give what she had. Talk about giving through inconvenience…when it doesn’t physically make sense.

This goes against our natural response to things. We so often filter things through our schedule. You know what I’m talking about? Like we first and foremost volunteer to do something if it fits into what we already have planned. Sort of like how the widow already had a plan with the food she had.

But God had a different plan. God a plan that she would sacrifice what she had in order to provide to someone as the church should provide. God had a plan for her to trust him in the giving....to trust him in the sacrificing.

Are you like that? In response to seeing that God provides to his church, it’s not just that we should be seeking to be provided by his Church more…we need to seek to be the provision for others seeking the church. Not out of convenience, not out of self ambition…but simply because God calls us to....and to even do it in faith.

One of the things I want you talking about tonight in discussion group is “how can I be a better provider?” “How can I be the provision?” “How can I be more like that widow who had nothing and yet was still willing to give everything.”

Let me give you a quick, but not full answer.

We’re back to it....trust in God’s promises. Look at what the widow had to lean on? She hadn’t seen the fulfillment that God would provide food…in fact, she was prepared to starve to death before Elijah came along. Yet, based on nothing but the promise of God…she obeyed. And through that obedience....God brought her provision.

One of the ways you can be a better provider…is by leaning more strongly and with better faith in the things God promises those who follow him. To guide them. To provide for them. To give them wisdom and strength.