It Can't End Like This

Introduction

A lot of us are in situations in our lives. We’re trying to make ends meet and if we can be honest about it, sometimes it’s just hard. I don’t care how you want to dress it up, prop it up, fix it up, try to convince it up, sometimes it just becomes a hassle and we’re faced with the question that we all have faced at some point, how long? How long must I struggle like this. May I submit to you that struggle is not always financial. Don’t you realize that there are some millionaires and billionaires that are depressed because they are struggling mentally, physically, and even socially. There are some people that are well off but can’t rest at night, because they are struggling, but I have come with good news and that is in spite of what it looks like, feel like, or what you even know, It can’t end like this.

I believe that’s a wonderful place to give God praise.

Background

Our text is found in the 1st Book of Kings. This book’s author is unknown, and provides an account of the death of David, reign of Solomon, and the decline and division of the Kingdom of Israel after Solomon and many of his successors turned to idol worship. It gives us an account of the ministry of the Bold and noble Prophet Elijah.

Our text is where we find the emergence of this great Man of God. He appears to us with no origin. We are only told that he is of the Village Tishbe of Gilead. He comes to Ahab the King of Israel at this time, whom is married to Jezebel, who was the Daughter of Ethbaal, King of Sidon. These weren’t people who worshipped Jehovah, the Holy God of Israel, but she was an avid worshipper of Baal.

According to the Lexham Bible Dictionary “Baal was the Canaanite storm god and bringer of rain. For such reasons, Baal was recognized as sustaining fertility of crops, animals, and people. His followers often believed that sexual acts performed in his temple would boost Baal’s sexual prowess, and thus contribute to his work in increasing fertility.”

The Bible says that Ahab marries Jezebel and built an temple and altar to this pagan god Baal. He Asherah Poles and the bible says that Ahab did more to Provoke or anger God more than any king of Israel that came before him.

So the Protagonist of our text presents himself to Ahab and tells him in verse 1, that “as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these except by my word.” - Let me park real quick and show you something. Ahab the king turned to a pagan god, who was the storm god and “bringer of rain.” The prophet comes to Ahab and says it’s not going to rain. Let me repeat it and maybe you’ll catch what I’m trying to say, They turned to a false god, who suppose to bring rain, and God send someone to tell them that it’s not going to rain.

What are you trying to say Pastor? What I’m trying to tell you is that when you find yourself in a place where you feel like you don’t need God, don’t be surprised when he takes his help from you. That’s why I tell people don’t allow material things to make you forget where it comes from and who gets the Glory. Once you forget where the Glory should be directed, you danger yourself of being in some uncompromising positions that doesn’t seem favorable to anyone.

He prophesies that there will not be any rain and God tells Elijah, to go to hide by the brook Cherith, and God caused an raven to feed him there. Well here’s my next nugget for you, sometimes being obedient to God will put you in some uncomfortable positions, but as long as you know you are hearing God’s voice and following his direction, let me assure you God will take care of you. Elijah standing against Ahab like that was very dangerous to Elijah’s life. Yet while he was in hiding from Ahab, God made sure he didn’t miss one meal. He had a raven feed him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening and he was able to drink and hydrate himself from the brook. I don’t know where the raven found the bread and meat, I don’t know how he secured it and brought it to Elijah, but be rest assured that while he was there by the brook, his needs were met. I don’t know what you have going on in your life, I don’t know how you have carried in this season of your life, but I want to let you know that if you stay obedient to God, he’ll meet your need every time.

Yet here we find ourselves at the door of our text, because it’s at this point, something happens. The brook that was flowing so that he can stay hydrated, dried up, the Raven stopped coming. What do you do when the supply that you depended on dries up. You worked so hard to save that money and then it seems like all of a sudden, this happens, that happens, and now it’s like your savings went up in smoke. Your relationship was wonderful, you didn’t have a care in the world but all of a sudden it’s not the same anymore. You used to stay on the phone for hours, now you can barely find a reason something to text. You came to the altar, you gave your life to Christ, your energized and excited ready to work for God. You’re ready to join and sing in the choir, your ready to join the ushers, or ready to find out your calling. You were excited to come to Sunday School and Bible Study, now it’s a drag to come to Church, you don’t really want to come but you do just because it’s Sunday. You come to church, it’s a push and a pull to clap your hands and give God praise, why because the joy that you once have dried up. What do you do when you brook dries up?

That leads me to the meat of my text.

God tells Elijah “go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” Elijah does what God says and when he gets to the city, the text says there he finds a widow gathering sticks.

Dilemma

When I take notice of this woman, she’s not named, but I notice something. I notice that she is in a dilemma. I know that you noticed that there is a drought and that seems like the big problem but look a little bit deeper. The Bible says that she is a widow and according to the text, she has a son. 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. Some of you may be able to identify with her. You may not be widow, but maybe you have experienced heartache and pain. How often have we recited the old phrase, “when it rains, it pours?” Simply being saved does not exclude us from heartache or difficulty. Some of the most faithful Christians I know have faced great adversity. She’s in a dilemma, but forgive me I must put a shout moment in here because I noticed something and that is she’s in this dilemma, this difficulty but God tells Elijah that she’s going to sustain thee. I was baffled about that statement because here this Woman can barely sustain herself and God tells Elijah that she is going to sustain him.

For about 30 of you that will shout and give God praise for the next 33 seconds, God said that your dilemma will not be your destruction. I don’t care how bad it is, it’s not here to take you out. It’s not here to kill you, if anything your dilemma will become a part of your deliverance because somebody’s testimony will be if I didn’t go though this, I will not have know that God is able to bring me out of it. Fist bump 3 people and tell them my dilemma is not my destruction.

Determination

I look at this woman and I saw something else, I saw Determination. Here she is she’s a widow during a drought. It didn’t just get bad, I can just imagine it has been bad. Yet the text grabbed me by my spirit last night and I noticed something. I noticed that she was a determined woman. Pastor how do you come to this conclusion? Well may I submit to you that maybe we have been looking at this scripture all wrong. Here she is she’s picking up sticks and the Man of God tells her to get him some water, and as she was on her way to get it, he tells her that he wants some bread. He wants something to eat. Now observe the text with me, she’s gathering sticks, which is proof of her poverty in that day, and her response to Elijah is as the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse. I’m gathering these sticks, I’m going to cook what I have left and me and my son is going to die. Hear me, I see in this determination. This woman has not given up hope because she goes to the flour jar and oil jug and instead of crying or complaining, which the scripture shows no record of, she prepares to cook. In other word, she literally held on to the very end. She was determined not to give up, if it’s the end it’s just the end, but I’m not going to just roll over.

You all know determination don’t you? Determination is you getting off work and fussing and telling people that you’re going to quit. You know you said you were done. Yet when that alarm clock went off that next morning, you rolled out of bed, put your uniform on and went to work, why because you were determined. Whether you were the determined not to quit, get that raise, make sure you have food on the table for you kids, you were determined.

I believe that I have a few determined folk in here that say, “Pastor that’s why I’m here today, I’m tired, I worked all week long, I did this and I did that, but I was DETERMINED to hear a Word from God THIS SUNDAY. I am determined to praise God in spite of life’s circumstances. I’m determined to stay saved, even when I want to put my religion down and tell that brother or sister off. I’m determined to not walk in the spirit of offense, even though that brother or sister hurt me. Somebody here is saying “PASTOR I’M DETERMINED.” Do I have any determined folk in church today, if you’re determined, I wish you’d take about 17 seconds and give God a determined praise.

Desire

The last thing, I see in this text that I feel inspired to bring out today is that this Woman had desire. Here she is, she has held on to the end. There’s nothing but a little oil and a little flour left. She’s come to terms with the fact that her and her son is about to eat their last supper. Yet here comes a man, she don’t know him. He’s just come into the City. He tells her to give him something to eat and she tells him she don’t have enough. THEN Elijah tells this widow, Do not fear, go and do as you have said. But feed me first, and cook for you and your son. Because if you do this, Thus saith the Lord, 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. Elijah tells her to feed him first. She’s already made her plan out. She’s preparing to die, but I believe she desired to live. Why do you believe that Pastor? Verse 15a says it all, “And she went and did as Elijah said.” Here she is, according to the text, we can deduce that she doesn’t even believe in God because of what she says in verse 12, AS the Lord YOUR God lives. She’s not a follower of Jehovah God, but she desired to live that she trusted what Elijah said. In other words she was saying it can’t end like this. I can’t die like this. I can’t let my son die like this. This can’t be the end. She did what Elijah told her and the end of this story is verse 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 to Elijah”

Conclusion

That’s what I’ve came by to tell someone this morning. It can’t end like this. I know you’ve been struggling a long time, but it can’t end like this. God is getting ready to work on your behalf.