Title: Trust Is Taking the Next Step Part III
Text: I Kings 17:8-16 (16:29-33 and 17:1-7)
Thesis: We can trust God to supply our every need as we take the next step of faith.
The Back-story:
God had sent the Prophet Elijah to let King Ahab in on what was about to befall him and the nation of Israel. This was the message, “As surely as the Lord, the God of Israel lives, the God I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain during the next few years until I give the word!” I Kings 17:1
We read about the reason for this impending prophecy of doom in I Kings 16:29-33:
A. Ahab had come to power and was the new King of Israel.
B. Ahab did more evil in the sight of God than any of the kings before him.
C. Ahab married Jezebel, a pagan princess from Sidon and began to worship Baal.
D. Ahab built a temple and an altar for Baal in Samaria and set up an Asherah pole.
Twice in the brief span of just four verses Scripture says, “Ahab did more to provoke the anger of God of Israel than any of the other kings of Israel before him.” (I Kings 16:29-33) So God sent his prophet, Elijah, to confront King Ahab and inform him that there would be consequences for his idolatry, i.e., a severe, extended drought.
In 17:1-7 we see God sending Elijah to a safe place… a remote place called Kerith Brook (remember Kerith means “cut-off). Elijah is so removed from the mainstream of life that in order to survive Ravens airlifted in bread and meat twice a day for him to eat and he drank fresh water from the brook. But eventually the effects of the drought which was originally just a meteorological drought from lack of precipitation turned into a hydrological drought in which the fresh water supplies began to dry up.
When Kerith Brook dried up God told Elijah to pack his duffle bag and move to the village of Zarephath near the city of Sidon. Today Sidon is the 3rd largest city in Lebanon and is on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Today it is made up of a population of 80% Sunni Muslim and 20% Christians and Shite Muslims. Then it was a stronghold for the Worship of Baal… the god of fertility promising abundant crops in the fields and babies in the nurseries.
Introduction:
Who decides how much is enough? How much is enough is a very subjective amount. It depends on who you ask. Because we believe God is a God of plenty we tend to think in terms of abundance. When the Israelites were dying of thirst, God had Moses hit a rock and water literally gushed from the rock. When the people were hungry God sent quail for meat and covered the ground every day with manna and told them to go out and gather whatever they could eat that day. When God told the disciples to cast their nets on the other side of the boat their catch was so huge the weight of the fish began to tear their nets. In the Gospel of Mark (8) Jesus took seven loaves of bread and a few fish and broke them into pieces and broke them into pieces and broke them into pieces until all 4,000 people had eaten as much as they wanted… after which the disciples picked up 7 large baskets of leftovers.
If abundance is the way God provides we assume a year’s supply of anything would be more than enough.
Slate Magazine ran an article last year asking, “What does a year’s supply really mean?” In that there is no legal definition the rule of law hinges on a “reasonableness test.” In other words, reasonable is a reasonable amount for an average person to consume in a year? In the case of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream they mean 52 pints, one pint per week for a year is enough. Ben and Jerry are not thinking in terms of an abundance of ice cream. For some people one good jag of depression would pretty much do in 52 pints of ice cream along with a ton of Oreo cookies, in which case, 52 pints would not be enough.
So, how much is enough? Elijah had lived for some time on bread and meat delivered twice daily by some ravens God sent to feed him by Kerith Brook. So Elijah discovered that he could trust God to lead him and to feed him – apparently enough.
So for Elijah the prophet, we might conclude that learning to trust God in the past, translated into trusting God in the future.
I. Trust means taking the next step… a promise. The next step hinged on a promise.
Then the Lord said to Elijah, “Go and live in the village of Zarephath, near the city of Sidon. I have instructed a widow there to feed you.” I Kings 17:8-9
Walking with God is a matter of taking the next step…
• Next steps can be about movement in terms of geography or landscape.
• Next steps can be about personal growth and the development of character…
• Next steps can be about overcoming addictions.
• Next steps can be learning to adapt to changes in life.
• Next steps can be about developing relationships.
The same is true of things as simple as learning to trust God.
God had sent Elijah to camp out at Kerith Brook east of the Jordan River… God told Elijah to cross the Jordan River and camp along a remote little creek in a no-man’s-land. And when Elijah did what God wanted him to do…
He discovered two things:
A. God led him
B. God fed him… albeit oddly.
So when circumstances dictated that a move might be a good idea, God told Elijah to move to a tiny little village near Sidon. And because God had so faithfully led him to Kerith and provided for him while he was there, it was likely fairly easy for Elijah to take the next step and move on to Zarephath.
Taking the next step led to the next stop… Zarephath.
II. Trust means taking the next step... a reality check! Next steps sometimes involve reality checks.
So he went… and as he arrived at the gates of the village, he saw a widow gathering sticks… I Kings 17:10
When he saw the widow gathering sticks near the gate of the village Elijah must have thought, “Aha! Just as God said, he instructed a widow to feed me, and there she is.”
If I were looking for a widow to feed me I would choose Christy Ruth Walton who lives in Jackson, Wyoming. She was married to John Walton, one of the sons of Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart. Following her husband’s death in 2005 she inherited a cool $15.7 billion. Her wealth currently stands at $30 billion and according the Forbes Magazine she is the 6th richest person in the United States and the 10th richest person in the world.
But Elijah’s next stop was not Jackson, Wyoming. His next stop was Zarephath. And the widow in Zarephath was not the heiress of a Wal-Mart fortune. This widow was absolutely penniless.
At this point the spotlight grows larger on the stage and another person enters the drama and this is Elijah’s first reality check: A penniless widow was to be his meal ticket!
The first reality check is this:
A. Reality Check - Not everyone knows or is privy to what God is up to
Elijah asked her, “Would you please bring me a little water in a cup?” And as she was going to get it he called to her, “Bring me a bite of bread to.” I Kings 17:10-11
I like how Elijah attempts to draw her into the drama by asking for just a “little” cup of water and a “bite” of bread. See how he drew her in… he asked her to go get him a “little” of something she had, a little cup of water. And as she moved to get the water he added, “and a bite of bread too.” The water she had… the bread she did not have.
It would seem Elijah was feeling pretty good about the prospects of getting a little cup of water and a bite of bread. After all, God had told him that he had “instructed” or “commanded” a widow there to feed him. But I think Elijah understood the nuances of the language. When we read a word like “instructed” we assume the widow got the memo. She should have known Elijah was coming and that God expected her to feed him.
I believe God does indeed speak to us and give us wisdom and guidance. So when I heard a guy say, “God told me who to marry, where to work, which car to buy… and [added] I’m pretty sure I’m not crazy.” I did not doubt it. Who am I to doubt his experience or his integrity and especially so if God also told the woman and the employer and the auto dealer.
It’s when someone says, “God told me to tell you…” that I get nervous. It reminds me another person’s story: He said, “I had someone approach me and tell me that God told him to tell me that I was going to follow in my father’s footsteps.” My question then to him was, “Why didn’t God just cut out the middle man and tell me himself?”
I once read a catchy title, “How to Speak Evangelical and Other Excuses.” The essence of the article was that Christians tend to use phrases like, “I feel led” or “God told me” or “God told me to tell you” as excuses to get out of stuff we don’t want to do or get rid of someone we don’t want to be with or give someone a piece of our minds.
I learned my lesson early on in our marriage that coming home with an “I feel led” or a “God told me” opportunity of a lifetime was probably not the case. God may have led me or told me but he failed to tell Bonnie. Fortunately for me and everyone else, she figures that God can lead us together just as well as God can lead me independently.
I think Elijah knew this widow did not get the “instructed” or “commanded” memo. What Elijah knew is that the nuances of the language meant, God had “chosen” a widow or “planned” that a widow in Zarephath would feed him.
So he does not lead with a “God told me to tell you to go get me a little cup of water and a bite of bread.” He led her in a baby step, so to speak, “Will you bring me a “little” cup of water and a “bite” of bread.” He did not ask for a two-liter bottle Perrier or a 2 pound loaf of Panera Three-Cheese Bread.
We know she was not on the same page by her reaction. She stopped in her tracks, turned to Elijah and said, “I swear by the Lord your God that I don’t have a single piece of bread in the house.” I Kings 17:12a
In this case God is not asking her to take a step of faith leap off the cliff. God is asking her to consider sharing a little… a little she does not have.
A second reality check is this:
B. Reality Check - Not every one is courageous in the face of poverty and privation
“All I have is a handful of flour left in the jar and a little cooking oil in the bottom of the jug. I was just gathering a few sticks to cook this last meal, and then my son and I will die.” I Kings 17:12b
I am quite certain that Elijah was a man of faith who was trusting God to lead him to the places he needed to go and to provide for his needs along the way. He was walking with God and God was providing his needs. He had walked to Zarephath and now God was going to provide for his needs… he was about to become a live-in, boarder at the widows home for the next three years. The widow was to be his bed and breakfast, lunch and dinner.
I do not mean for this to be understood as denigrating to anyone but we often hear about the faith of the prophets. We hear about the faith of prominent Christian men and women on who speak to packed arenas. We hear the televangelists speaking of their faith to millions of television viewers. We hear of the faith of leaders of para-church organizations. We hear about the faith of the high-profile pastors of mega churches. And we are in awe of what God is doing in and through them.
But the spotlight this morning is literally on a “no-name” widow who lived with her son in a tiny little village in the Middle East a long time ago. She was like you and me.
Granted, unlike many current day Christian leaders, Elijah did not fly in on his corporate jet. He did not ride into Zarephath in a stretch limo. He was not dressed to the nines. His did not have rings on his fingers and bells on his toes or a bone in his nose or even a majestic eagle tattooed on one forearm and cross on the other. He did not have a $400 haircut. He did not have a staff or an entourage. He did not require 5 Star accommodations. He was just pretty much getting by… and in fact, in this story, he is the beggar who is trusting God to provide for his needs through a penniless widow. That, in itself, is a huge expression of trust in God to do something totally unlikely through the most unlikely person on the planet.
On Monday evening I went over to Wendy’s for a grilled chicken breast and a little side salad. When I ordered a woman came up to the counter beside me and asked the cashier if she could buy a cup of water. The cashier gave her a cup of water. As I picked up my tray and went over to get some napkins the lady kind of followed me and as she passed she quietly said, “Enjoy your dinner, sir.” (Yeah, like that’s gonna happen now!)
Here was a woman begging for a cup of water. Can you even imagine the gall it would take for me to ask her to buy me dinner? So imagine how, from the widow’s perspective, being asked for a little cup of water and a bit of bread may have looked and sounded pretty uppity and presumptuous.
This widow did not know the back story. She knew nothing of the powerful prophet of God confronting the King of Israel. She knew nothing of the ravens having fed Elijah bread and meat while he camped out on Kerith Brook. She knew nothing of God’s plan to feed Elijah from her hands. All she knew is that there was a man standing there asking her for food.
Fact: Not everyone is all pumped and courageous in the face of poverty and privation!
I can’t tell from the reading if her reply is:
• A sarcastic reply spat out in anger at the unconscionable request of a stranger?
• A sad reply, because she wished she could feed this stranger?
• A fearful reply, because how do you deny a prophet of God’s request?
What is clear in the text is her level of despair.
“All I have is a handful of flour left in the jar and a little cooking oil in the bottom of the jug. I was just gathering a few sticks to cook this last meal, and then my son and I will die.” I Kings 17:12b
Have you ever been there? Despair?
It is no small thing to totally trust in God when you have so little.
III. Trust means taking the next step... a leap of faith. In this case it was a leap of faith.
“Do not be afraid! Go ahead and do just what you’ve said, but make a little bread for me first. Then use what’s left to prepare a meal for yourself and your son. And this is what the Lord says, “There will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers until the Lord sends rain and the crops grow again!” I Kings 17:14
We are all well aware of how much is not enough.
Not enough is what often has the greatest hold on us.
A. We demonstrate trust when we break the hold of what we have and opt for hope.
So she did as Elijah said… I Kings 17:15
Let me explain what I mean by that:
Richard Stearns, President of World Vision and author of several books shared this story. In 1987, the largest stock market crash occurred since 1929 crash. In one day he and his wife lost 1/3 of their life savings and money they had set aside for the kids’ college education. He became obsessed with how he could recoup his losses and manage further losses by selling his remaining mutual funds and stock.
One night his wife came into the study where he was stewing in his juices and she said, “Honey, this is consuming you in an unhealthy way. It’s only money. We have our health, each other, our kids and a job… so much to be thankful for. We need to let go of this and trust God.”
She suggested they pray about it and they did. When they were finished with their short prayer time his wife said, “I think we need to get out the check book and give some money away.”They wrote generous checks and sealed them in envelopes addressed to their church and several other ministries they wished to support. And they agreed together that this was something they needed to do to show God that we knew this money was not theirs.
“That’s when,” he said, “I felt a wave of relief. We had broken the spell that money had cast over me.” He said, “I actually felt reckless and giddy because we had just taken a crazy leap of faith.” (Richard Stearns, The Hole in the Gospel (Thomas Nelson, 2010), p. 213, from PreachingToday.com)
So she did as Elijah said… she broke the hold that handful of flour and that bottom of the bottle bit of olive oil had on her.
When she took that leap of faith she opened the windows of heaven to receive the sufficiency of God’s provision.
B. We experience the sufficiency of God’s provision when we trust.
There was always enough flour and oil left in the containers, just as the Lord promised Elijah. I Kings 17:16
Now the tricky part… we think we know how much is not enough but do we know how much is enough?
There are those who tell you that if you give them your last dollar a Brinks Truck full of money will back up to your front door and drop off bags and bags off money… that the Sweepstakes people will ring your doorbell and present you with an armload of roses and a giant cardboard check or you will strike oil in your front yard or whatever… and that could happen.
But in our story what happened? They had bread to eat for the next three years or so.
We are big into big. If you are into Starbucks you know that they have a Tall container which is my idea of small. They have a Grande size which is my idea of medium and they have a Venti size which is a large drink. Now they have a new size of drink called a Trenta which is a 31 ounce iced coffee or tea drink.
One ad pictured the new Trenta size container next to a mock-up of a human stomach. The Trenta container holds 916 milligrams and the average human stomach holds 900 milligrams. The new Trenta drink holds more than the average human stomach. Is that enough iced coffee?
The Outback Steakhouse has their equivalent to the meal deal. It is a sirloin that comes in either a 6 or 9 ounce serving for say $10 - $12. They have a 6 ounce fillet which they sell for say $18. They have a 10 or 12 ounce rib eye which runs about $18 - $20.
Of course the 6 ounce Signature Sirloin is enough but a 9 ounce is better. Of course a 6 ounce piece of Signature Sirloin shoe leather is enough but a 6 ounce Victoria’s Fillet is better. Of course a 10 ounce Rib Eye is enough but a 12 ounce Wood Fired Rib Eye is 2 ounces better. 12 ounces of Wood Fired Rib Eye should be enough.
I’m sure it was said in jest but even C.S. Lewis once said, “You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.”
When we begin wondering how much house is enough or how much car is enough or how much food is enough or how many pairs of shoes is enough or how many books is enough or how much money in the bank is enough or how many cans of soup is enough or how much of whatever is enough… we likely have more than enough.
It is interesting that during this time of hardship in which they had only one option… that being to trust God – what they had is described as enough.
Enough: Sufficient. All that is required. Appropriate. Adequate… as a pronoun, “Enough to keep me going.”
The bible says, “Don’t worry about anything; instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he had done. Then you will experience the peace of God which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7
“…God will supply all your needs according to his glorious riches which we have in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19
Conclusion: I shared this story with our men’s bible study group this spring… the story-teller observed a couple on the cruise ship he and his wife were vacationing on.
They were angry with the table stewards for not giving them super-service. They seemed afraid they might starve between courses. Their appetites seemed the one thing that mattered to them. I never saw them reading a book or paper. They sat between meals and stared out, apparently waiting for the next meal. One night I saw them sitting thus and staring blankly, when a bright idea flashed across the dull brain of the man. He went to the mantelpiece and picked up the vases, and looked into them, and then returned to his wife with the news: “They’re empty!”
Of course the empty vases were a metaphor for their own, albeit, over-stuffed but empty lives.
The Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, “True godliness with contentment is in itself great wealth. After all, we brought nothing into this world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.” I Timothy 6:6-8
So in conclusion we find ourselves back where we began: As we take the next step of faith we can trust God to supply our every need… and that’s enough!
