May 1 2011 When You're Running Out Of Everything
/WHEN YOU’RE RUNNING OUT OF EVERYTHING
(I Kings 17:1-16)
(I Kings 17:1 – Now Elijah confronted King Ahab, as surelyas God lives, the God of Israel whom I worship and serve, there will be no dew or rain during the next few years unless I give the word!)
KERITH: THE RAVINE OF OBSCURITY
(I Kings 17:2-7 Then the Lord said to Elijah, Go east and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. The Kerith brook will give you fresh water to drink and I’ve commanded ravens to bring you food there every day. SoElijah obeyed what the Lord said to do. He moved to the Kerith Ravine and lived there. The birds brought him food each morning and evening and he drank from the brook. But after a while the brook dried up, because there was no rain.)
3 REASONS GOD ALLOWS BROOKS TO DRY UP
1. To keep from depending on the brook
2. To move me to a better place.
3. To prove He hasn’t forgotten me.
JOURNEY NORTH: THE ROAD OF INSECURITY
(I Kings 17:8-9a – Then the Lord said, now get up and go to Zarephath and live there. I’ve prepared a widow there to take care of you. So Elijah went to Zarephath.)
WHAT TO REMEMBER
1. The path to a miracle is always through discomfort.
2. The source of a miracle is always unexpected.
3. The pattern for a miracle is C.P.R.
ZAREPHATH: THE REFINERY OF SCARCITY
I Kings 17:9b-16 – When he reached the town gate, Elijah saw a widow gathering firewood. He asked her, Would you please bring me a drink of water? As she was going to get it, Elijah added, And please bring me a small piece of bread too. The woman answered, As surely as your God lives, I swear I have no bread. I only have a handful of flour left in a small jar and a little olive oil left in a jug. I came to gather some wood so I could go home and cook our last meal. My son and I will eat it and we’ll die of hunger. Don’t be afraid, Elijah said, Go home and first make a small loaf of bread from what you have, and bring it to me. Then cook something for yourself and your son. God says, I assure you that jar of flour will never be empty, and the jug of oil will never run out, until the day I send rain to the land. So the widow did what Elijah told her to do, and she and her son and Elijah had enoughfood every day. The jar of flour and the jug of oil never ran out, just as God had promised.)
WHAT TO REMEMBER
1. What I need more of, give what I have to God.
2. What I have the least of, give that to God.
3. I give to be a blessing.
LESSONS FOR TOUGH TIMES
1. God is all you need.
2. Where God guides, God provides.
3. Trust God one day at a time.
4. God’s promises hinge on my obedience.
