You ever been broke? I mean really broke? She was and she couldn’t believe her ears! She was at the end of her rope. Life was hard enough for a widow in that day and age, but the drought that they had been experiencing had been the straw that broke the camel’s back. Well she should have been lucky enough to have a camel with a broken back. She was out of food, out of money and was so broke that she couldn’t even afford to pay attention. She had enough food at home to make one last meal, and she figured hey if we’re going to starve might as well have a hot meal first. So out she went to collect some fire wood and it was at that point that into her life comes the prophet Elijah, who like a typical preacher was asking for something. Now the first request was fairly simple, he said “Would you please bring me a cup of water?” Well, that wasn’t all that tough, even she could afford to give someone a drink of water, but as she turned to walk away it got a little tougher because he said “oh by the way could you grab me a sandwich as well.” Her response to this man of God would not only have an immediate impact on her life but it would ultimately be a life changing impact.
Mother’s day and mothers. A Jewish proverb says, “God could not be everywhere so he made mothers.” The Spanish say, “an ounce of mother is worth a pound of clergy.” Think about it mother is the name for God in the lips and hearts of little children. Now let’s recognize right off that simply having children does not make you a mother, all you have to do is watch the news to have that verified. Napoleon said, “The future destiny of a child is the work of a mother”. I believe that mothers have a special place in the heart of God.
And so in the book of I Kings we are told a story of a mother, I used this text a couple of weeks ago as we looked at stewardship and thought wow that would be a great Mother’s Day Story. A single mom with a son, who was facing the type of economic pressure that single mom’s still face today. Except there was no safety net for her, no monthly cheques coming in, she lived on what she could scrape together to live on. And on this fateful day, this day when she figured that she was at the very end of her rope and there wasn’t even enough rope left to tie a knot God arranges for to take a trip into the divine zone.
And although we know very little about the woman who was written of in the scripture that Karen read this morning we do know that she was a mother and a very devoted mother. And because today is mother’s day I thought it fitting that I should preach on a mother, and not just any mother but a very special mother. And even though my mother is a very special mother I thought that using a mother from the Bible would be more a little more appropriate for church.
The prophet Elijah has foretold of a famine and drought that would over come Israel, and in the course of this famine and drought he finds himself in need of a little food. And so our story opens in 1 Kings 17:9 “go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food.”
1) She Was An Appointed Mother. Here is a woman about whom we know nothing, we have no name to call her by, we don’t know her age of her lineage. Nothing and yet God used her as his instrument to provide for his prophet. This woman had an appointment with destiny! She was chosen for a specific task. Actually two specific tasks. The first was to raise a son, the second was to provide for one of God’s servants.
She had a divine appointment to be a mother, but she also had a divine appointment to be a servant of God. It was no accident that she was chosen to meet Elijah, it wasn’t a fluke, it didn’t just happen. Just as the angel Gabriel said to Mary, rejoice highly favoured one, the lord is with you blessed are you among women. Just as Mary was chosen, just as Esther was chosen, just as Ruth was chosen, just as Sarah was chosen, just as Deborah was chosen, just as Pricilla was chosen, just as Tabitha was chosen. In the very same way this nameless widow was chosen to serve God by serving God’s servant.
Now the first appointment, the raising of the son comes with certain ground rules, the first and greatest being, Proverbs 22:6 Teach your children to choose the right path, and when they are older, they will remain upon it. As parents our greatest responsibility and our greatest appointment is the spiritual training of our children. All else pales in comparison. If we neglect their health, there is a good chance that they will get sick, if we neglect their teeth, there is a good chance that they will lose them, if we neglect their education there is a good chance they will end up a bum on the street. But if we neglect their spiritual training there is a good chance they will go to hell, and hell is forever.
Now keeping that in mind realize that the only responsibility in Proverbs 22:6 for the parent is the first part, Teach your children to choose the right path Dr. James Dobson said that the message of this proverb was this , “Do your best when they are young and hope for the best when they are old.” Dobson also reminds us that there are two ages mentioned here children, and old people and nothing in between, he doesn’t say anything about adolescents or young adults, not even Solomon was game to talk about teen-agers let alone make predications.
We can train up our children, we can walk a blameless walk, we can see that they are in church each week, we can have family devotions, and we can read them God’s word. But we cannot, cannot, cannot make the decision to follow God for them. I mean we can’t even guarantee that they will turn out nice. As much as we would like to determine their salvation, we can only show them the way and trust God to bring them into his fold. You know what they say, you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.
Mothers and fathers, you have a responsibility to train your children right, and if you do all the right things then you increase their chances of becoming Christians. You can’t however get saved for them, anymore then you can eat for them. We can bring up two children the same way and one might choose to become a devout servant of God and the other might choose to become an axe murderer, but it is their choice. Don’t flog yourself and call yourself a failure because ultimately there’s as much good luck as there is good management in raising our kids..
And kids don’t blame your parents for your stupidity. You ever see one of those talk shows where people stand up and talk about how the reason there are what they are is because of their parents. Just once I’d like to hear someone stand up and saw “I had two great parents, they loved me and did everything they could but I’m complete idiot.” You’ve seen the books, “Adult Children Of Alcoholic Parents” or “Adult Children Of Abusive Parents” I’m going to write one called “Adult Children Of Normal Parents.”
But listen up, if as a Christian parent you failed to direct your children’s feet into the paths of righteousness, if you didn’t seek to give them the spiritual training they required, God’s going to hold you to account. And you can take that to the bank.
Along with her appointment to raise a son she had an appointment to serve God by serving others. God has used women mightily throughout the years. And maybe that is the reason that all of our Junior Church teachers are ladies, and maybe that’s why there are more women in the average evangelical congregation then men. And maybe that’s the reason why historically the church has had more female missionaries then males. Could it be that women are more attuned to the voice of God as he calls them to salvation? And more attentive as he calls them to service? Ladies and gentlemen, let us keep our hearts open as we endeavour to hear and keep the appointments that God has for us.
1 Kings 17:10 So he went to Zarephath. As he arrived at the gates of the village, he saw a widow gathering sticks, and he asked her, “Would you please bring me a cup of water?”
2) She Was A Caring Mother.
The old adage “more is caught then taught” probably holds truest in child rearing. If we don’t show concern for the welfare of others let’s not expect our children to. And if we don’t practice giving to the work of God, then we shouldn’t expect our children to. And if we don’t exhibit a caring loving attitude toward our brothers and sisters in the Lord, let’s not be surprised when our children don’t. Children pick up more then you will ever, ever, realize. That little computer between their ears has an unlimited memory. They hear everything you say, and see everything you do and it is stored away in the memories of your children for future reference. Someone commented that it wasn’t that their children didn’t listen to him that was a worry it was that they did.
Your capacity for caring will be multiplied through your children if they catch it. But you will never teach your children to care until they see how you care. Caring not only for others but also for them. Parents your children want nothing more then your love, and your care and your encouragement. Take an interest in what they do, show them that you are proud of them. Tell them just how proud you are, tell them how smart they are or how pretty they are. Tell them that you love them and show them with hugs and kisses.
And remember that you can’t buy their love with gifts. Money and presents are no substitute for your love.
1 Kings 17:11-12 As she was going to get it, he called to her, “Bring me a bite of bread, too.”
But she 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.”
3) She Was A Practical Mother.
When everything is said and done I believe that the chief priority for the Christian is to take care of their family. God does not take food out of the mouths of our children to support the ministry of Chuck Swindall, or Benny Hinn, or Billy Graham, or Denn Guptill.
Our financial obligation to God is the tenth, the tithe. And God isn’t going to deprive your family so he can get his cut. However you and God may very well have two different concepts of being deprived. God wants us to take care of our families, God expects us to take care of our families, as a matter of fact God commands us to take care of our families 1 Timothy 5:8 But those who won’t care for their own relatives, especially those living in the same household, have denied what we believe. Such people are worse than unbelievers. Pretty heavy words aren’t they. This woman had no problem being kind to this man of God, but when the rubber met the road her first concern was for her son.
1 Kings 17:13-14 But Elijah said to 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!”
4) She Was A Believing Mother.
This is the crunch, now God is offering her a choice, “If you believe in me, really believe in me then provide for my servant first and you’ll never want, but remember first you have to trust me.” Now think about it. God could have filled the jars first and that would have made everything a whole lot easier.
It’s easy to believe when it’s laid out in front of you, but that’s not faith, at least not like the Bible defines faith in Hebrews 11:1 What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see.
You have to show your faith before God will show his faithfulness. Peter had to get out of the boat before he could walk on the water. Joshua had to march around Jericho for seven days before the walls came down, and David had to fire his sling before the giant came down.
We read about a very similar situation involving Elijah’s protégée Elisha in 2 Kings 4:1-7
One day the widow of one of Elisha’s fellow prophets came to Elisha and cried out to him, “My husband who served you is dead, and you know how he feared the LORD. But now a creditor has come, threatening to take my two sons as slaves.”
“What can I do to help you?” Elisha asked. “Tell me, what do you have in the house?”
“Nothing at all, except a flask of olive oil,” she replied.
And Elisha said, “Borrow as many empty jars as you can from your friends and neighbors. Then go into your house with your sons and shut the door behind you. Pour olive oil from your flask into the jars, setting the jars aside as they are filled.”
So she did as she was told. Her sons brought many jars to her, and she filled one after another. Soon every container was full to the brim!
“Bring me another jar,” she said to one of her sons.
“There aren’t any more!” he told her. And then the olive oil stopped flowing.
When she told the man of God what had happened, he said to her, “Now sell the olive oil and pay your debts, and there will be enough money left over to support you and your sons.”
Did you catch verse 3, “Borrow as many empty jars as you can from your friends and neighbours.” Don’t ask for just a few. You know what he was saying; you show me how big your faith is. He was saying the very same thing that his teacher Elijah had said to a widow when he told her to feed him first and the flour and oil would never run out. Some folks did that last week at consecration Sunday, they said “I believe that God will provide x amount of money for me to give to His work.” We don’t see it first, instead we promise it in faith. In the next 24 months we will be starting to build a church building, God willing. And when we start it won’t be because we have all our ducks in a row, whatever that means. It won’t be because we know exactly how we are going to pay for it. We will do it because God wants us to move ahead, and if we are going to be obedient then we will need to step out in faith.
1 Kings 17:15 So she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her son continued to eat from her supply of flour and oil for many days.
5) She was an obedient mother
It is one thing to believe, it is quite another thing to turn your belief into action. Anybody can believe. Simple belief is the simplest chore in the world. Acting upon that belief is another kettle of fish. It would have been easy for the widow to say, “Ok, I believe, now produce.” But instead she was willing to give her last morsel away in order to prove her faith and God’s faithfulness. Her actions said, “God, I not only believe you, but I believe you enough to give you everything I have” then God produced a miracle. Do you remember the first miracle that Christ performed? It was at Canna of Galilee? It was at a wedding and Christ turned water into wine. But you ever think about how come he needed water, I mean couldn’t he have turned air into wine? Sure he could of but what he really needed was the obedience of man, he needed man to do his part. Our first responsibility is to our family, until God assumes that responsibility by asking for more.
1 Kings 17:15-16 So she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her son continued to eat from her supply of flour and oil for many days. For no matter how much they used, there was always enough left in the containers, just as the LORD had promised through Elijah.
6) She Was a Rewarded Mother,
God is faithful, and he will never make a promise that he can’t or won’t keep. Gabriel told Mary, with God nothing is impossible, and we need to believe that.
Mothers there are times that you feel that your children may never come to know Christ. But don’t quit praying because we are told in the book Matthew 21:22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer. ” and in Mark 11:24 Listen to me! You can pray for anything, and if you believe, you will have it.
And in John 11:22 But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask.”
And John 14:13 You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, because the work of the Son brings glory to the Father.
Do you believe that? Do you believe it enough to put it into practice? Those aren’t the words of Denn Guptill those are the words of God.
What can you give mom this Mother’s Day? How about the knowledge that you know Christ as Lord and Saviour?
Hope you enjoyed the message. PowerPoint may be available for this sermon email me at denn@bccnet.ca
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