Gtcotr/ss080110
God gives every bird his food, but doesn’t throw it in the nest.
Rarely does God work by Himself.
God usually demands that we participate in our miracles.
With that in mind our text for today will be found in 1 Kings 17
The year is about 910 BC
Ahab, the 7th King of the Northern 10 Tribes of Israel, is reigning
Ahab had married Jezebel who was exerting evil influence over Israel
1 Kings 16:33 says that Ahab did more to provoke the Lord than all …
1 Kings 17 God sent the Prophet Elijah to Ahab to prophesy “no rain” …
In order to protect and preserve the Prophet Elijah, God directed him:
1 Kings 17 (NKJV)
3 "Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan.
4 And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there."
5 So he went and did according to the word of the LORD, for he went and stayed by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan.
6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook.
7 And it happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.
We gain some points to ponder from this passage:
1. “Drink from the brook” (this represented a natural supply)
2. “Commanded the ravens to feed” (the supernatural supply)
3. God expects the natural and supernatural to work together
4. Sometimes the natural supply becomes insufficient or dries up
5. Without the natural supply, God may not choose to continue the supernatural … God does not seem to like working all by Himself.
God often marries the natural and the supernatural; the practical and the spiritual to accomplish His purposes.
Anyway, after the brook dried up, God gave new orders to Elijah:
1 Kings 17
8 ¶ Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying,
9 "Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you."
There must have been something in Zarephath that was not available in Cherith. Most likely there was a well which would provide a natural supply. And, there was also a widow in Zarephath whom God wanted to use to be the supernatural supply.
If I had have been Elijah and was told that I was being sent to be the guest of a widow who was going to be my supply during the time of famine, I imagine I would have expected God to have chosen a rich widow, someone of means. After all, don’t you have to have resources to be a resource for others?
Nope, the truth is: You don’t need resources to be a resource - To be a resource what you need is a source.
And evidently God was planning to be the widow’s source. Let’s see what God did.
1 Kings 17
10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, "Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink."
11 And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, "Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand."
12 So she said, "As the LORD your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, 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."
Notice here that God chose a woman doing all she could, where she was, with what she had.
When God wants to bless someone He often chooses someone who needs a blessing to be the blessing.
* She was limited by what she saw
* She was limited by what she expected
* She was limited by what she planned to do with what she had.
* She had an ‘eat what I have and die’ mentality
1 Kings 17
13 And Elijah said to her, "Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son.
14 "For thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the LORD sends rain on the earth.’"
Fear was limiting this widow … she was limited by:
• Her past and all she had ever known
• Her present and what she saw all around her
• Her future and what she expected would happen
But her fear gave way to faith when she heard the Word of the Lord. And, when she acted on the Word everything changed.
1 Kings 17:16 The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke by Elijah.
When this poor woman put her faith in action, God became her source and she became His resource.
When you make God your source, He will make you His resource.
Make Life Application: God wants you to be His supernatural partner, His resource. Don’t let fear limit you. Hear the Word of the Lord today!
