Review of last week
1. The Prophet Elijah is a type of Christ (for the O.T.)
2. The Lord gave to Elijah a great Passion for God
3. The Lord gave to Elijah authority for his calling
4. The Lord gave to Elijah rest by meeting his needs for food and water
Text: I Kings 17: 8 through 16
Prayer:
Folks, God is in this house. He is here for you to worship. He is here to meet your needs.
At the close of this service, we will open these altars for prayer and ministry.
This morning’s story may seem (to some of us) a bit dramatic. It may be difficult for some of us to relate to:
· A man that has just came to town after having been fed by the birds. He is probably in need of a bath and some fresh clothes.
· A woman that admittedly is ready to die with her son with her last meal of bread and water.
This may be difficult for you to relate to, but in reality we have seen, or heard of, situations just like this. Many of our parents have told us of days (like our story taking place) during the years of the Great Depression.
Many of us can remember a few years ago the news reels of the devastation taking place in countries like Somolia and Haiti. War torn communities that were controlled by renegade bands of drug lords.
I can remember the criminals riding around in jeeps with machine guns and grenades reeking havoc on innocent women and children.
The Bible is accurate with it’s stories of the devastation of sin and disbelief. The results of sin will always be:
· chaos and confusion
· starvation and hopelessness
· violence and bloodshed
· desperate people living without God
Here we have a widow and her son at the gates of the city scrounging two sticks to cook their last meal.
A “handful of meal and a little oil”, is all they have left.
Last week we found that with the Passion of God, God will call you to do the unexpected.
Whereas in today’s text, we can readily see that God will take His Passion and create in you your own COMPASSION for His children.
I don’t know that Elijah was expecting anything more than to find that someone that would be meeting his own needs. I don’t think Elijah expected to find someone that was more hungry or more thirsty than himself.
Oftentimes, in our day to day rush of life, we become absorbed with our needs more than the legitimate needs of others.
Certainly Jesus knew this would be the case for you and I. He told us in John 13:34-35
34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
Church, we must realize the ravages and consequences of sin is not a pretty sight. There are those who are spiritually helpless and in need of God.
There are even those who are struggling to make ends meet.
The woman of Zarephath wasn’t necessarily looking for help from anyone. But somehow she knew Elijah was a man of God. In her own desperation, she saw the salvation of the Lord in Elijah.
She knew Elijah had been sent to save her.
Perhaps she had heard the stories of the children of God and their abilities to deal with the impossible.
Many of your friends and relatives that don’t know God do know what the Lord has obviously done in your life.
And when the time comes, or when things appear to be impossible for them they will look to you for help.
You sir, you maam’, you must be ready to share the COMPASSION of God with them.
You must possess the COMPASSION of Elijah in your life.
We must sense the needs of others and allow God to do whatever is necessary. To do the impossible in our life and the lives of others.
Church, get ready for the miracles of God to happen!
Christianity is not just about us crying on one another’s shoulder and feeling sorry for our selves and what we are going through. It’s about God’s PASSION.
It’s about our having COMPASSION for others.
All it takes is a little bit of COMPASSION and a little bit of faith, and we will see the impossible become reality.
Elijah also brought to the widow woman God’s peace.
The first thing Elijah told the widow woman was,
“Fear not!” This is how we minister to the needs of others. Give to the people you know the peace of God. Calm their troubled hearts with that Peace that passes all our understanding.
Jesus wants us to hear from Him. Today He is saying:
“Let not your heart be troubled…I have designed the Master’s Plan for your life…Cast all your cares upon Me…Let me have your today and I will give to you your tomorrow…”
Consider this. Where Elijah came from the people were living in corruption and deceit. There was the sin of witchcraft and the worship of the false god of Baal.
And yet God’s goodness would come out of the perverse nation of Israel and go to a lost and dieing world of destruction. This was actually the first recorded mission trip. It was a mission trip of COMPASSION.
Our story tells us of how God met all the needs of the Prophet Elijah and the woman and her son. There was a time of refreshing fellowship for them. Vs. 15 tells us that this fellowship continued “many days”.
This was a time of healing and hope for the three of them. This church is entering that refreshing fellowship. I don’t know about you, but I need it. Do you?
We need to bond with one another. We need to share in one another’s needs.
We need to minister to one another with the COMPASSION that God has given to us.
We need to share our lives with each other. The Love of God, the Mercy and Grace of God, as well.
Elijah and this woman and child began to trust one another. Elijah was being prepared to become the prophet of God that would go on and do many great miracles.
Whereas, the woman and the child were establishing a growing relationship with the God of Jehovah whom they had heard about.
For many days there was a healing that took place in that home. But it required a commitment on everyone’s part. There was a chance that they would let each other down. Maybe a misunderstanding, or maybe a trial would take place.
I can assure you that the devil doesn’t want to see this church succeed. God does, but the devil doesn’t.
For the moment, I am as content with the plan of God as I have ever been in my life.
God is doing great things in your life and my in life right now. God is making us stronger and more reliant on one another. It is His plan of redemption and healing.
I am careful not to change one thing in this church that would stifle what is already taking place.
However, just as Elijah challenged the widow woman, I also must challenge this congregation into taking the next step towards the deeper things of God.
I am bound to follow the laws of God given to us in His Holy Word. I am committed to meeting that challenge in my life and ministry. Likewise, you must decide if you will respond to what the Lord is challenging your heart to do.
I will not try to demand of you or to compel you to respond to the voice of the Lord. But I will tell you that together we will face new challenges that will require of us:
1. Greater responsibilities
2. Hearing the voice of God.
I do not know all that God has for this church in the coming weeks or months. What I can tell you is that we must begin to prepare ourselves, and our relationship with Christ, for tomorrow’s challenges.
COMPASSION FOR THE PEOPLE
Part Two
Text: I Kings 17:16 thru 18
Prayer:
Review:
1. Elijah was a man of PASSION for the things of God
2. Elijah was a man of COMPASSION for the children of God
3. His experiences had grown him into one of the greatest prophets of the Old Testament
4. He identified the sins of deceit and corruption
5. He left his homeland on a mission trip of COMPASSION to the land of Zidon to meet the needs of a widow woman and her son
6. At verse 16, we find him living in the comfort of God’s blessings and the growing fellowship of his new friends
Many of us have found ourselves enjoying the very best of life from time to time. It may seem that nothing could ever go wrong in our lives. We are pleased with what God is doing for us and through us.
What has happened is God has renewed and restored our lives. Times are great.
And suddenly there is a crisis that arises out of our comfortable lives. Perhaps a desperate situation is now facing us and we are shocked with grief and despair.
Has this ever happened to anyone else other than me?
This is the case for our friends here in I Kings.
Suddenly tragedy has gripped this home.
An innocent child has stopped breathing.
This boy is all that mattered to this widow woman.
She has gone from perhaps the most blissful time in her life to the most desperate.
The widow woman is not ready for this. But then neither would any of the rest of us. God has been meeting all of their needs, but now her life has been shattered.
The widow woman is:
· Flustered
· Confused
· Ready to blame God (the God who has met all of her needs)
“What have I to do with thee, oh thou man of God?”
Living for God has never been a promise of never having to face the trials and tribulations of this life.
Tragedy could face any of us at a moment’s notice.
In our story, the widow woman would now learn to go beyond the day to day routine of a relationship with Jehovah God.
She will now learn the importance of real trust and reliance on the Lord and the Master of her life.
Read vs. 19 thru 22
Elijah had once before proven (to this woman) the power of God. What had he once told her when he first met her at the gates of the city?
“Fear not…”
The Lord knows what to expect of any of us when tragedy strikes our lives.
When we face a dilemma of any size, great or small, He knows what our reaction will be.
Sometimes we are no different than the widow woman:
· Flustered
· Confused
· Blaming God
As a result of this tragedy, even the prophet Elijah is questioning what God has done.
Human suffering can easily take it toll on any of us.
We all can get emotional when tragedy strikes.
Consider Jesus Himself hanging on the cross for our sins. He, at one point, cried out to His Father,
“Father, why have You forsaken me?”
The stress of a crisis can leave anyone helpless and hopeless.
No matter what has ever happened before in our lives, no matter how God has come through for us time and time again, we can easily panic in a crisis.
We know what we should do, but our faith is shaken.
My friend, if this happens to even faithful Christians, think what it must be like for those without the Lord to turn to.
So what is my point?
We must be people of COMPASSION. We must be ready for our unsaved friends and loved ones when tragedy comes to their life unexpectedly.
Without COMPASSION, we will:
1. Fail God in His plan to use us for His purposes
2. Be unable or unprepared to be men and women of authority
3. Miss God’s best for our lives
We need to understand that God has purposed you to be in the right place at the right time. He knows the trials you will share with those around you.
God wants you to be prepared to fulfill His plan of hope and healing in the lives of others.
All of this will require of you His COMPASSION for His people.
God delights in restoring folks faced with impossible situations. We gotta’ be there for those folks we know.
Close:
The ultimate goal or purpose for the widow woman was for her to receive a greater faith relationship with Jehovah God.
God wanted to have full control of her life.
Our story also tells us that the restoration and resurrection process can do more for us than get out of an impossible situation. It can also grow our faith and relationship with our heavenly Father.
Consider the story of Jesus when He went to Lazarus’ grave. Jesus knew for four days that Lazarus was dead, but when He arrived at the tomb He wept.
Jesus was grieved with COMPASSION for His friend, Lazarus.
Read vs. 23 & 24
This is the result of having COMPASSION in our life and doing something with it.
