Synopis of May 14, 2023 Sermon

Delivered by Bishop Joseph W. Walker, III

Text:

1 Kings 17:7-16 NKJV 
7 And it happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land. 
8 Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.” 10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink.” 11 And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” 
12 So she said, “As the LORD your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.” 
13 And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son. 14 For thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the LORD sends rain on the earth.’ ” 
15 So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days. 16 The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke by Elijah.

I. INTRODUCTION 

• God is making moves even when we are often oblivious to it. We must understand that everything that happens in our lives is not random. God has a way of putting the right people, into the right position, at the right time.
• While we are trying to figure it out, God has already worked it out.
• You know that it isn’t’ over until God says so. Like the woman in the text, you might find yourself at the end of the rope, but God shows up and reminds you that He has you.

• God says hold on and don’t give up because God’s got you!
• This story reminds us of how two realities, going on simultaneously, in two separate places, eventually align, to give us revelation.
• In today’s story, we see that the brook has dried up. Looking at her resources, the Widow thinks it will be over after her and her son eats this last meal. One might say that she has succumbed to the issue of the Drought.
• While this story is playing out, God has a prophet called Elijah that He is working on. God tells Elijah that the brook, which has been his source of water, will begin to dry up. For a while, the brook provided water for him and a Raven brought him bread and meat to eat.
• In another place, we have a Widow that is not covered, and she has a son. At the same time the Widow is gathering sticks for her last meal, God instructs Elijah to move into her direction. This encounter will change both Elijah’s and the Widows’ lives forever.

Now we have to ask ourselves, what can we learn here?

II. RECOGNIZE SEASONS OF DROUGHT CAN BE CHALLENGING 

• It’s ok to acknowledge that this can be scary. You only have what you have during a Drought and when it is all gone, it is gone. Many of us have had droughts in our lives. Some were financial droughts, some were job droughts, and some were family droughts. During these droughts, it looks like at any time, things may come tumbling down.

A. It’s tough not knowing when it will end. 

1. We could deal with it better if we knew when our Drought would be over. It is about the fear of the unknown that makes it so hard. Some people refer to this feeling as “Intolerance of Uncertainties”
2. You have to trust God and hold on! We know that trouble doesn’t last always, but we still wonder when the end of our drought is going to come.

B. Your contemplations can determine your conclusion. 

1. The stuff in your head determines how your situation will come out.
2. Your enemy will try and convince you to give up. Stop preparing to die and prepare to live. Turn to your neighbor and say, “you got more life to live”. You have a relationship with a God who controls the wind and the rain. Surely if He can control the wind and rain, He ought to be able to handle our situation.

III. RECEIVE STRATEGIC AND DIVINE CONNECTIONS 

• We will discover that God will bring the right people at the right time, to help us achieve what we need.
• The prophet has come through a season whereby he has been fed by the Raven, but now he’s  about to have a Widow woman help him. The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord.
• You have to discern the relationships that come into your life. Stop being mean or historic. Don’t miss out on who God sent you, by judging them according to things that happened in the past.

A. Your situation is under divine observation. 

1. God never has a lapse of memory. He knows about all of your struggles. He also has a plan to do something about it.

B. God is sending people in your direction with what you need. 

1. Some of us try too hard to make relationships work.
2. How do we know God is sending people in our life:
3. They will be assigned to your vision. – They will be talking about the same vision that God gave you.
4. They will add value. – They come to multiply or add and not subtract.
5. They will assist you in getting the Victory. – They will be there to help you win!

IV. READILY SUBMIT TO A DIVINE COMMAND 

• When God speaks, you will have to do what God says to do. He will not give suggestions. It will be a Divine Command.

A. Faith puts Him first 

1. The Widow was down to her last meal. She thinks that after this meal, that will be it, because there is no more food left.
2. When you are in Self Preservation mode, you are just thinking about yourself. While the Widow was in this Self Preservation Mode, the Prophet asked her to make him a cake first.
3. You need to always put God first. When you don’t put Him first, you put a hole in your purse or your pocket. For example, when you don’t tithe, you make money, but it never seems to be enough. In other words, you always come up short.
4. When you put God first, stuff finds you. When you put God second, you will always be looking for stuff.

B. Your faith has to be greater than the facts 

1. Remember Haggar, when the Lord said “fear not”? God has a way of blessing you in hidden ways. Sometimes, God will bless you, but it will bet temporally hidden from view.
2. If God sent the Prophet to the widow, then God must have plans to sustain the Widow. At the moment  God gave this command, the blessing is hidden.
3. While you are going through, know that it is already done. God is just waiting for the right moment to present it to you.

V. REJOICE THAT YOU SURVIVED THE DROUGHT CONTINUALLY 

• Obedience is better than sacrifice. When God has plan, you won’t just survive, you will also thrive.
• You can’t worry about others and what they are doing. Just know that you will survive. If the devil could take you out, he would have already done so.

A. If you do what He said, He will do what He promised. 

1. When the widow made the cake, the contents never ran out. Every time she went back, something was there. As long as you are doing what God told you to do, stuff will be there. You will never be without.

B. You won’t just survive you will thrive 

1. God wants you to get to a place where you’re not just surving. You didn’t survive just to be average. You survived to go over the wall. This is your thriving season!

5 reasons why you should praise God

1. He kept me sane when I came up short. If it wasn’t for my relationship with God, I would have lost my mind!
2. For the struggle and what I saw. – I wouldn’t know that God was a way maker if it wasn’t for struggle. I wouldn’t get up early to get to church, if it wasn’t for the struggle! I wouldn’t even pray like I do, if it wasn’t for the struggle.
3. The blessing was not seasonal, it was sustainable. – When God blesses you, it will be continual.
4. He is a God of surplus and supply. – Just because it runs out around me, doesn’t mean it will run out to me. There will be a continuous supply for me.
5. He showed up and he showed out. – Older folk use to say, “He may not come when you want him, but he’s always on time”.