13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’”
Serve
with Trust Passage:
1 Kings 17:7-16
Video:
Indiana Jones – Leap of Faith
Have you ever really had a “Leap of Faith” moment?
How do
we trust God outside our comfort zones?
Trust
plays a large role in our lives. We trust our alarm clocks will go off at the
right time. We trust the food we eat for breakfast was made properly and is
safe to eat. We trust our vehicle is safe to drive. But people and things can
fail. Trusting God outside our comfort zones is a literal walk we all must have
with God. We all have been at a place called "There."
It's a place of not knowing what you are going to eat, how your bills will be paid,
or even where you are going to live. God used an unusual source to feed Elijah
last week–a raven and this week He uses a widow. Similarly, Scripture tells us
in Matthew 6:26 that if we look at the birds in the air they don't sow or reap
or store away in barns, and yet our heavenly Father feeds them. Just like
birds, we are not to worry! We may lose our family members, friends, or even a
job. We can lose everything we have, but it's important for us not to lose our
faith! At times, our faith is all we have! At times it requires a leap outside
of our comfort zone.
What
was last week’s setting? Elijah’s story continues. Consider what
has happened. The prophet Elijah burst on the scene to confront the problem of Baal
worship that King Ahab and his queen, the evil Jezebel, had introduced into
Israel. Elijah declared that a drought would cover the region. This would be a
demonstration of the power of the Lord God over Baal, the regional god of rain
and vegetation. The Lord controls life and death, fertility and infertility. Obviously,
Ahab did not delight in hearing such a proclamation. Though not explicitly
described, Elijah apparently was in danger, so the Lord instructed him to
retreat to the Jordan River area. That area also was affected by the drought,
but God provided for Elijah in the form of water in a brook and an ample supply
of food delivered by ravens every morning and evening. Elijah was sustained in
a place of safety by the miraculous work of the Lord. Eventually, the brook dried
up but God’s care and provision did not.
1
Kings 17:7-12
Some
time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. Then
the word of the Lord came to him: “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of
Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to
supply you with food.” So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town
gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would
you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” As she was going
to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.” “As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she
replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little
olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal
for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”
1. Follow
God’s directions.
- During the good times and the bad times, the
Lord takes care of His people and directs their path.
- The blessing of the Lord is found on the path
of obedience.
- The word of the Lord is sure, even when it
doesn’t appear so from a human perspective.
- God can use the little and the least to
accomplish His purpose when the little and the least are entrusted to Him.
When
has God provided for you through unlikely means?
We
pick up in 1 Kings 17 where Elijah has been depending on God. However, we are about
to see that the way he once depended on God was about to shift. But God did not
just change gears without first giving Elijah instructions on where his next
supply would come from. Often times we miss our next
instructions from God because we are so caught up on handling the change or
shift from God. Elijah, on the other hand, saw how God provided for him
and understood that the brook running dry was a sign of the promise of the
drought to come. That is how Elijah knew he was in God 's care. We must focus on the promises of God instead of the
circumstances of our situation.
As we
already know, Elijah walked in boldness, and there is a lot to be said about that.
Most believers are too timid to pray in front of others let alone openly share
the gospel. How can one begin to think that God will move for them, when they
won't move for Him? Elijah did not hesitate to get up from where he was in
order to venture to his new destination that was appointed by God. Then once he
arrived there, he walked in the obedience and authority of God to make a
request. See this is where God wants us, so that He can use us to serve Him.
However, I am curious. How many believers would have tried to find another way
instead of humbling themselves? See, when God says move, we should move right
then without hesitation. I always compare it to the scenario of "if you
received a phone call saying that you inherited $100 million, but you had to stop
what you're doing right then to receive it, what would you do?" Many would
instantly drop what they were doing. But, when it comes to God, we wait and
contemplate. When God is actually worth far more than $100 million. We must
move for God in the fashion that we want Him to move for us.
Elijah
was out to prove Yahweh was the One, true God. The prophet had declared God
would stop the rain indefinitely, proving He alone had such power. But this
prophecy put Elijah in grave danger from Ahab and Jezebel, the nation’s rulers
who worshiped Baal. So, God had led Elijah into hiding at the Kerith Ravine. Water
flowing from this brook and food brought by ravens sustained Elijah.
What
helps you trust God’s guidance when it doesn’t seem to make sense? - Leap of Faith
Trust
comes easily when God’s leading makes sense, but that’s not always the case.
When the Kerith Ravine dried up, God directed Elijah to go to Zarephath.
Strange guidance because Zarephath was in Phoenicia,
Jezebel’s home and the center of Baal worship in that region. Furthermore,
God promised to support Elijah on the income of a widow
living there. That sounded improbable because widows in that
agricultural society typically lived in abject poverty. Yet that was where God
sent Elijah, and Elijah trusted God enough to go.
1 Kings 17:13-14
Elijah
said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make
a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then
make something for yourself and your son. For this is
what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be
used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain
on the land.’”
2. Encourage
others to join you.
- The promises of the Lord are true because He is
true.
- A faith response is one in which we
act upon a conviction that what God makes known is true.
- God supplies from the riches of His power and
grace to give what we need to live.
- Because of our own experiences with the Lord,
we who believe are well-equipped to encourage others to trust Him too.
What
are some opportunities you’ve had to trust God and lead others to do the same?
Here we find the greatest level of obedience, which is sacrifice. We
are already familiar with the text in 1 Samuel 15:22 when Samuel asks, “Does
the LORD take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying
the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice.” We find here that Elijah wanted
the widow to be obedient in her sacrifice. How often do we hold back from what
God has told us to do, or to give out of fear of being left "empty
handed"? The other point in this is that the widow was so distraught that
the only thing she could see is death. Elijah probably
thought God sent him there to save his life, but he was actually sent there to
save hers and her son's life.
Now,
this last part always amazes me. See, this is the part where God was creating a famine and drought in other places, but
God was granting surplus here. We have often heard the phrase "You
can't see the forest for the trees," but here we find that this woman
could not see the bread for the flour mill; she only
saw what she didn't have.
However,
God 's provision was more than enough because of Elijah and her obedience. Let's
just think, what would have happened had Elijah not followed God? I'm glad that
he wasn't the only one that followed God in what appeared to be dark times.
Christ also pushed through the dark times to save us and give us life
everlasting. See Christ’s Garden of Gethsemane moment was a time of challenge
and sacrifice in obedience.
When our routines are in upheaval and our provision is in question,
we have a new opportunity to trust God and lead others to trust Him too. That’s
exactly what Elijah did in his situation.
The
widow had nothing to offer Elijah and no prospects of getting more. She had
lost hope and given up. Elijah might have joined in her despair. After all, he
also had nothing for sustenance and no “check in the mail.” The difference was
Elijah had learned from experience that his God always provided. Elijah didn’t have to see God’s promises with his eyes to
claim them by faith.
Elijah’s
actions compare with those of Jesus when He instructed His disciples to feed
the five thousand. They responded like the widow, “We have here only five
loaves of bread and two fish” (Matt. 14:17, emphasis added). But Jesus
challenged them to offer their meager resources to God and see Him do what only
He can accomplish. By directing the widow to feed him
before feeding her son and herself, Elijah invited her to believe God’s
promise.
Just
as Elijah had predicted the drought, he prophesied continuing provision for the
widow as if he had already seen it happen. With his ear tuned closely to God’s
voice, Elijah spoke aloud with confidence what God had impressed on him in
secret. His example serves as a model for us. Will we
hold fast to faith when hope seems lost? Will we share our faith and
invite others to trust with us in the God who never forsakes His own?
1
Kings 17:15-16
She
went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for
Elijah and for the woman and her family. For the jar of flour was not used up
and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken
by Elijah.
3. See
God’s work.
- Our willingness to obey the Lord allows us to
know the benefits of His work in our midst.
- The Lord will provide what we need; His
provision is always sufficient.
- Look for God at work all around you. Trust Him
to be faithful.
- Rejoice that the Lord desires to use you to
declare His word and to encourage others to trust and obey Him.
What
lessons about trust do we learn from Elijah and from the widow?
Make
the comparison of this Gentile woman and the one Jesus ministered to in the New
Testament.
We can
trust based on how God worked in biblical times, and our faith can grow when we
hear what God has done for others today. But nothing is like the confidence we
possess when we take Him at His word and see His power for ourselves. We must
personally trust His faithfulness and His provision.
Our
willingness to trust God and act in faith gives Him the opportunity to display
His power. In the modern world, no one better modeled how to trust, try, and
prove God than George Müller of nineteenth-century Bristol, England.
Müller
famously founded orphanages and trusted God to provide miraculously for the
children under his care. In his autobiography, he wrote, “I want to show these people that God is faithful and can be
trusted without reservation . . . by giving my brothers visible proof of
the unchangeable faithfulness of the Lord, I might strengthen their faith . . .
This is the primary reason for establishing the orphan house . . . that God
would be magnified because the orphans under my care will be provided with all
they need through prayer and faith.”6 Müller’s daring faith challenges us still
today: How will we trust, try, and prove God? And how will others see God’s
faithfulness proven as a result?
The
Point for this session: Service to God should be fueled by trust in Him.
LIVE
IT OUT
Trust. Identify one thing God has told you to do
that doesn’t seem logical. Do it anyway.
Encourage. Name someone struggling with a crisis. Share
with this person your hope in Christ. Tell them how God has brought you through
trouble and pray with the person.
Give. Give an “outrageous” gift to your church or
someone in need. Trust God to replenish what you need.
Live
It Out - Hobbs
If, as
some say, the difficult places of life are God’s
training ground, many people who lived through 2020 may think themselves
to be trained to the max for anything! Think of all we went through as a nation
and a people.
- Areas of the country were ravaged by forest
fires that raged for weeks, burning thousands of acres and homes. Deadly
“inland hurricanes,” blasted though the Midwest US, destroying crops and
ruining the farming season. Multiple hurricanes tore through the Gulf Coast,
some areas being hit several times during the year.
- A sweeping Covid-19 pandemic brought not only
uncertainty, sickness, and death but also divided a nation into camps of those
who considered it a real danger and those who wondered if the media were
overblowing it.
- Racial tensions boiled over because of violent
deaths on the streets of our cities.
- And add to all this the question of a
presidential election.
- And look at all that has occurred in 2021? Some
days we couldn’t help but wonder, Can anything or anyone be trusted? Is there
any source of stability and hope for a troubled world?
Conclusion: At
times our obedience may not make sense to us; however, we have to place our faith
and trust in our Maker, our Lord and Savior. Throughout our lives we may go
through a drought from time-to-time. The droughts of our lives may be in the
form of sickness, death, or even a relationship that leaves us broken. When we
are going through a drought, remember that in John 4:14, if we drink from the
water that Christ offers, we will never thirst again. We have to stand on the
promises of God. God will always provide. In Romans 8:28, “We know that all
things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called
according to his purpose.” Elijah was called and God provided for him using
unusual sources. His obedience and faith carried him. We have to walk in
obedience and have the same kind of faith that Elijah had.
A Leap of Faith
The
book of Hebrews is an excellent place to find answers to our questions about
faith. Chapter 11 begins with this short definition of faith: “Now faith is
being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Hebrews
11:1).
What, then, is a leap of faith? The term leap of faith is not found in the Bible. It is a common idiom, though. Usually, to take a leap of faith means “to believe in something with no evidence for it” or “to attempt an endeavor that has little chance of success.” Leap of faith actually originated in a religious context. Søren Kierkegaard coined the expression as a metaphor for belief in God. He argued that truth cannot be found by observation alone but must be understood in the mind and heart apart from empirical evidence. Since we cannot observe God with our eyes, we must have faith that He is there. We jump from material concepts to the immaterial with a “leap of faith.”
Continuing
in Hebrews chapter 11, we find an impressive list of men and women in the Bible
who took a “leap of faith,” as it were. These are just a few of the people
mentioned who took God at His Word and trusted Him to do what He had promised:
- By faith, Noah obeyed God and built an ark to
save his family from the flood (Genesis 6:9 – 7:24).
- By faith, Abraham prepared to sacrifice his
son, believing God would provide a lamb (Genesis 22:1–19).
- By faith, Moses chose to side with the Hebrews
rather than stay in the Egyptian palace (Exodus 2 – 4).
- By faith, Rahab risked her life and sheltered
enemy spies in her home (Joshua 2:1–24).
Throughout
the rest of Scripture, the stories of the faithful continue.
- By faith, David confronted a giant with only a
sling and a stone (1 Samuel 17).
- By faith, Peter stepped out of the boat when
Jesus invited him to come (Matthew 14:22–33). The accounts go on and on, each
story helping us to understand the biblical meaning of a leap of faith.
Exercising faith in God often requires taking a risk.
Second Corinthians 5:7 tells us, “For we live by faith, not by sight.” But a
biblical step of faith is not a “blind” leap. Our faith is backed by assurance
and certainty. Faith is soundly supported by God’s promises in His Word. A leap
of faith is not an irrational impulse that causes us to jump out into the great
unknown without any foresight. According to the Word of God, believers are to
seek counsel from godly leaders (Proverbs 11:14; 15:22; 24:6). Also, Christians
are to acquire wisdom and direction from God’s Word (Psalm 119:105, 130).
The stories in the Bible exist for a reason. Our
trust and faith grow stronger as we read these accounts of God’s powerful
deliverance and rescue in times of need. God miraculously delivered Joseph from
slavery and placed him in charge over all of Egypt. God transformed Gideon from
a coward to a courageous warrior. These Bible characters took leaps of faith
because they trusted in the God who was powerful enough to rescue them, hold
them up, and not let them fall (see Jude 1:24).
Putting our faith into action may feel like a scary leap, but that
is part of the testing and proving of our faith: “In
all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to
suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven
genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even
though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ
is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do
not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and
glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation
of your souls (1 Peter 1:6–9; See Hebrews 11:17 also).
Stepping out in faith requires trusting God to do what He has
already promised in His Word, even though we may not see
the fulfillment of His promise yet. Genuine faith, belief, and trust will move
us to action.
A leap of faith might mean leaving the safety of your comfort zone.
Peter abandoned his safety and comfort when he jumped out of the boat to walk
on water to Jesus. He could take that leap of faith because he knew his Lord
and trusted that He was good: “The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on
all he has made” (Psalm 145:9). When Jesus said, “Come,” Peter exercised
childlike faith, the type of faith we are all called to possess: “But Jesus
called the children to him and said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and
do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these’” (Luke
18:16).
When
we demonstrate authentic trust in God, we know that our “leap of faith” is
actually a leap into His all-powerful and loving arms. He delights in our trust
and rewards those who earnestly pursue Him: “Without faith it is impossible to
please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and
that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).
