“Getting Into Shape: When Faith Doesn’t make Sense”
1 Kings 17:1-16
Good morning. I suppose I should tell you a little about myself. Oddly, in the Scriptures I have no introduction – I just all of a sudden appear in what you know as 1 Kings 17. My name is Elijah – which means, “The Lord is my God.” I was a prophet – I spoke for God. My ministry began where your Scripture reading began this morning. That’s probably a good place to begin my sharing as well – to give you a glimpse of how God shaped me.
This was an interesting time in Israel’s life. It was the time of the greatest spiritual crisis Israel had seen for generations. King Ahab and Queen Jezebel had led the people into worship of Baal, the Canaanite god of fertility and rain. So the land was filled with gross sexual immorality and rampant theological heresy. In fact, the Scriptures now say that Ahab did more to provoke and anger the Lord than all the kings of Israel before him. Can you imagine such a condemnation? How do you think your pastor – what’s his name? Pastor Curly? Cutie? Oh, Curry – sorry! How do you think he would feel if he were to go down as the worst pastor you ever had? Well, that’s Ahab. The most wicked and idolatrous King Israel ever had. Because of him, Israel was about to experience God’s judgment. God will only let His people rebel just so long, you know. Sooner or later EVERY BANQUET OF SIN IS SERVED THE DESERT OF CONSEQUENCES. This was no exception. Your sins, whatever they are, have consequences, too. They may seem harmless, even enjoyable now; it just means your desert has not yet been served.
But back to my ministry. It started when God asked me to confront King Ahab and Queen Jezebel. He told me to announce to them that there would be no more rain or dew until God decided there would be. That’s quite a pronouncement. After all, rain was more important to them than electricity is to you. They could not grow crops, and therefore eat, without rain. That’s why Baal – the god of rain and fertility – had such appeal to God’s people. So God decided to render judgment upon Israel by proving to them who was in charge of the rain. So I made the bold announcement. As the rain stopped, and the drought began, I would become public enemy #1; I knew the drought would be blamed on me. Talk about a grand beginning to ministry! Sometimes faith doesn’t make sense.
So be careful what you pray and wish for. Ever ask God to use you? Ever dream about being used by God in a special way? Beware – NOT ALL GOD’S CALLS ARE TO THE GLORIOUS HEIGHTS. I had to begin with Ahab! Not all people are assigned by God to minister in beautiful vacation spots; some are sent to the slums. To where, and to what, is God calling you? If you want to be used by God – wonderful! But be prepared! He will decide where you go and what you do. Remember, I began by turning off the water – and therefore cutting off the life – of my own people. I was branded “The enemy!” Sometimes faith doesn’t make sense.
But God was for me. He moved me – literally, physically moved me. He told me to go to the Brook Cherith, that there would be not only the water of the brook to quench my thirst, but also ravens to stay my hunger. I would also be out of the jurisdiction of Ahab. Isn’t that just like God? GOD PROVIDES FOR HIS PEOPLE. I went to Brook Cherith and, sure enough, there was water and food every day. God never gave me more than I needed, but also never any less. What I needed, He provided. So what’s your need right now? Where is your life on the brink of shortage, facing hunger? What lack is staring you in the face? And where is your Brook Cherith? To where, to whom, to what is God sending you so He can feed and water your soul? We need to learn to depend upon God. If I had not gone to the brook, I would have had no blessing. I had to trust God to provide. And He did!
But back to the story. It’s tough to be right! I had told Ahab there would be no rain or dew! And there was no rain or dew. I know – because every day the brook dried up a little more – until one day the brook was gone. No rain, no water for the brook! I knew that day would come – but still it shook me. We’re never fully ready when a crisis arrives at our doorstep. Sometimes faith just doesn’t make sense. But God was prepared again. When the brook dried up, He told me what to do and where to go. Isn’t that just like God? HIS WORD COMES AT THE TIME OF CRISIS, NOT BEFORE. Seldom does God tell us His will before we need to know it. Don’t worry or panic about some crisis that may come to your doorstep sometime in the future; when it arrives, so will God.
So He spoke to me again and told me He had made a way. And what a way it was! He said, “Go and live in the village of Zarephath, near the city of Sidon. There is a widow there who will feed you. I have given her my instructions.” GOD’S WAY DOES NOT ALWAYS APPEAR LOGICAL. There are some things you need to understand. Zarephath is the center of the area where the worship of Baal started. The people of Zarephath and the surrounding area were the ones responsible for God’s judgment in the drought. And they had no water or food. Why in the world did God send me there? And what was worse, there was a King living there – named Ethbaal – who was the father of wicked Queen Jezebel. God was telling me to go from the security of a place where I had at least food and was safe from Ahab to a place of extreme drought and famine right into the jurisdiction of Ahab again. And that’s not all! God said He had talked to a widow to help me. Can you picture that? A widow – someone with no social or economic standing, no husband, no relationship with her father’s family, no job, no means of support. She was assigned to help me. To top it off, Zarephath literally means, “A smelting furnace, a place of refining; a crucible.” I was to go to a place that didn’t sound like much fun! Sometimes faith doesn’t make sense. This was really a challenge to trust God! I mean, if things got tough around here would you go to ISIS for help? But then, if that was God’s way for you…Just beware that God’s way doesn’t always appear logical.
So I headed off to Zarephath. I realized that God was calling me to more than just a place – He was calling me to an attitude; He was calling me to AN ATTITUDE OF PERSISTENT OBEDIENCE. I mean, just getting there took persistence! We’re talking here about 90-100 miles – on foot – through drought stricken land. Think about 90-100 miles. What’s a place 90-100 miles from here? … Good. Imagine walking there – in extreme heat with little, if any, food or water. You’re beginning to catch on to the toughness of my journey. Obedience can be painful. There are no five or ten year plans in the Bible. God simply asks His people to follow Him, and then He points out the next step. I learned that obedience comes one step at a time, one day at a time. But I also discovered that as our day is – as our steps are – so shall our strength be. I want to remind you this morning that you can never know the future significance of your current obedience to God. If God is asking you, right now, for obedience in some area of your life, just do it. God knows why He needs it; God knows the influence of it. So just do it.
In that spirit, I made the long journey to Zarephath. Isn’t it just like God? There, at the gate of the city, just as I arrived, was the widow, gathering up sticks. This wasn’t a coincidence; it was a God thing! Who else but God could have arranged this? So I asked her for a cup of water. And as she left to get it I added, “Bring me a bite of bread too!” After all, I was hungry. That stopped her in her tracks. She turned to me and said, “I swear by the Lord your God that I don’t have a single piece of bread in the house. And I have only 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 should have expected this. After all, it had been my prediction that there would be a drought. I was asking her for what she did not have. What could she possibly offer me? Faith sometimes doesn’t make sense. But, then, isn’t that just like God? He often demands from us what we think we do not have. But GOD NEVER ASKS FROM US WHAT HE WILL NOT ALSO GIVE TO US IN THE FIRST PLACE. He had told me the widow could provide. God knew she could provide for me; I knew she could; she just needed to know she could. It makes me wonder: What is God asking from you right now? More of your time or money? Your heart? Your family? What is your response? “God I have nothing to give. I’m barely surviving now? I can’t give time I don’’ have? I can’t teach when I don’t have much education in the Bible myself! I can’t give more to you when I can’t even pay my monthly bills. I don’t spend enough time with my family – how can I do more in the church? I have nothing left to give. What is it you really want from me?” If that’s the way you feel, remember the rest of the story.
I told her: “Don’t be afraid. Go ahead and cook that ‘last meal,’ but bake me a little loaf of bread first. Afterward there will still be enough food for you and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘There will always be plenty of flour and oil left in your containers until the time when the Lord sends rain and the crops grow again!” See – GOD IS BIGGER THAN OUR NEED. God is bigger than our desires, our plans, our lack of knowledge, our lack of time or money; bigger than our circumstances or our limitations. So DON’T BE AFRAID. WORK WITH GOD. I challenged the widow to first give away – for in giving there is blessing! Think about it. I told her that God would provide oil and flour. Well, if God would provide oil and flour, couldn’t He also have simply provided the bread? But that’s just like God, isn’t it? He’s always partnering with us, to grow us. He wanted to flood the earth, but He first had Noah build the ark. God was going to part the Red Sea, but He first had Moses hold out his rod. God was prepared to destroy Jericho, but first the Jews had to march around it. So God wanted the widow to be part of his miracle. To care for me God used some ravens, a brook, and a poverty-stricken woman. Believe me, GOD CAN USE ANYONE AND ANYTHING AT ANYTIME. He can use any one – even you. He can use anything – even your circumstances and situation. He can do it at any time – even right now! God is bigger than any of your needs. So work with Him; give the first portion of everything to Him.
You’ll discover what the widow and I discovered: THERE IS BLESSING IN OBEDIENCE. The woman accepted the challenge; and she, her son, and I continued to eat from the ongoing fresh supply of flour and oil day by day. No matter how much we used, there was always some left – just as God had told us there would be! Friends, DON’T MISS THE BLESSINGS BECAUSE YOU DO NOT TRUST GOD! That’s why I really want this time we’ve spent together to be a challenge to you. I know that many of you are concerned about the future; in fact, you’re worried about getting by in the present – sort of like the widow at Zarephath. She, too, was concerned. One meal from death, in fact. And all of this happened because God said it was time for Israel to reexamine her priorities and get back to Him. God wanted Israel to be faithful – for her sake! When faith doesn’t makes sense you find out how close you are to Him; you discover how obedient you really want to be. You can also learn how great and wondrous are the riches and blessings of God.
So I ask you this morning: HOW IS YOUR FAITH? The way to truly have what you have is to put God first. This wonderful widow refused to be had by the little she had; you should too. How big is God for you? How much do you trust Him? How much are you willing to endure through obeying Him? Give God your time and He will give you more time than you ever thought you had. Give God your tithes and offerings and watch Him stretch your dollars more than you ever dared to dream. Give God your limited abilities, knowledge, and skills and watch Him spread abundant blessings through them. Give God your life and experience His abundance. Victory comes from letting God have it all. That’s why God will ask you over and over again to give it all to Him, even when you think you have nothing to give. You are free to refuse – but you will run out of oil and flour. Or you can release it to Him, and you will never lack. The choice is yours.
My time is about up – so one last word. I never died. God just simply received me into glory. I did return one time – on the mountain while Jesus was transfigured. I had the honor of encouraging Jesus to fulfill all the prophecies God had spoken through His prophets. And He did – on a cross, where He died for you. Your faith is not in me but in Him – He’s the great Elijah. So I leave you with Him.
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(Posted on Screen as Elijah leaves)
Jesus said, “I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air…your heavenly Father feeds them…See how the lilies of the field grow…If that is how God clothes the grass of the field…will he not much more clothe you?...I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die…If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give it up for me, you will find it.”
