1 Kings 17:1-24 CAN GOD REALLY MEET YOUR NEED?
Intro: There is a common element that unites all peoples of the world.
There is one thing that every person in this room has in common: we all
have needs! There will be times in every one of our lives when we will
experience a need of some type. Perhaps that need will be material in
nature, that seems to be where we focus much our own attention in this life.
There will certainly be times when there will be emotional needs, and, at
other times, needs of a physical nature will surely present themselves. At
other times, we will face days when the greatest need in our lives will be
spiritual in nature. What are we to do when needs arise? The natural
reaction is for us to worry, but we know from the Bible that this is not God's
will for our lives, Phil. 4:6; Matt. 6:25-33. Should we try to meet our own
needs? The simply answer is "Yes!" When we have is within our power to
help ourselves, then we do not really have a need, do we? What I am
referring to are those times when we have reached the end of the line. We
have done everything we know to do to met our own need. We have
exhausted every resource and we are left with the reality of our own inability
staring us in the face. What do we do then?
The answer is at once simple, yet deeply profound. It is an answer
given by the mouth of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. His answer to getting
the needs of life met was this, "And Jesus answering saith unto them,
Have faith in God.", Mark 11:22. All I am saying, an what I intend to show
from this passage, is that we have a God in Heaven who can be trusted to
take care of His children!
When our needs arise, so do our doubts! The devil and the flesh
whisper to our hearts, "Can God really meet your needs?" If we aren't
careful, we might find ourselves wondering the same thing! This, dear
friends, is the question which faces us this morning. It is a question that we
must answer and an issue with which we must come to terms. The question
I would like to ask, and answer this morning is this: "Can God Really Meet
Your Need?" I'd like to begin by saying, "God Can!" Let me show you from
this chapter why I say that God really can meet your need.
I. THE MANY SIDES OF OUR NEEDS
(Often our needs arise from strange and varied sources. Three are
mentioned in this passage.)
A. V. 1-7 An Uncommon Service - Elijah's need arose from His
obedience to the will of God. He was just doing what he was told and
then his need came.
(Ill. There are times when you seem to be doing everything just like
you are supposed to be doing it. You are paying your tithes, you are
going to church, you are living right and still there are troubles and
problems that plague your life. Why does that take us by surprise?
Jesus said it would be this way, John 16:33. Whoever got people to
believing that once we came to Jesus for salvation that all our
troubles were behind us, pulled off the greatest lie of the ages. In
truth, instead of being a hedge against trouble, your salvation often
opens the door for problems in your life. The truth of the matter is
that we can expect life to a time filled with trouble, Job 14:1. Instead
of standing around with our mouths hanging open when trouble
comes, we are supposed to rejoice, 1 Pet. 12-13, At the very least, we
shouldn't be surprised!)
B. V. 9-12 An Uncontrollable Situation - These verses reveal a widow
woman who was suffering need because of the wrongdoing of others.
Because of the sin of Ahab, Jezebel and the nation of Israel, God sent
a drought that affected the area where this widow lived. She was just
caught up in an unfortunate situation.
(Ill. There are times like that for you and me. Through no fault of our
own, we find ourselves caught up in unpleasant situations that bring
trouble into our lives. Sometimes we make our own trouble, other
times it seems to be able to find us on its own. This shouldn't take us
by surprise either! Jesus said things would be this way, Matt. 5:45.
If we expect to receive good in this life, why shouldn't expect our fair
share of evil also? Sometimes life just goes south on us and there
isn't a thing we have done to cause it, nor is there much we can do to
stop it. Often, pain, sorrow and trouble are just part and parcel of the
human experience.)
C. V. 17-18 An Untimely Sorrow - In these verses, we find a woman
who has given much to the Lord and she has received much from the
Lord, yet she is thrown into a time of grief over the untimely death of
her only son. Her world, which seemed to be on track, derailed and
filled her with sorrow and pain.
(Ill. Ever been there? It seems like things couldn't get any better. The
Lord has been blessing and you have been enjoying the best that God
has to give and then the bottom falls out and all of your hopes and
dreams come crashing down around you. It hurts! But, we shouldn't
be surprised when things take a turn in this direction. After all, if it
could happen to faithful, holy Job, then it could happen to any person
in this room, Job 1-2.)
(Ill. Let's face it, our troubles have a way of overtaking us when we aren't
expecting them. They sneak up on us and they body slam us and leave us
dazed, hurting and confused. I just praise the Lord today that our troubles
do not have the last word in this matter!)
I. The Many Sides Of Our Needs
II. THAT MANIFEST SUPPLY OF OUR GOD
(Your need may have caught you off guard and left you standing there with
your chin on your chest wondering what happened, but your little old trial did
not catch God by surprise. He was not caught off guard by what came
about in your life. In fact, He knew it was going to happen before the
foundation of the world. I'll go a step further and say that He even
orchestrated this event in your life to help you become more like Him, Rom.
8:28. Since God knew about, and since He even had a hand in it, He has
also made some preparations for it. You see, your need is merely the
evidence of God's supply for you in waiting.)
A. V. 3-4 God's Past Preparations - Thousands of years before Elijah
needed a drink of cool, clear water, the finger of God traced out the
path of this little brook. God knew that His servant would need this
provision and God made away for Elijah long before the need ever
arose. Ill. The name of the brook was "Cherith". This is a word
which means "cutting." Isn't it good to know that God made a way to
"cut" Elijah's thirst before Elijah ever got thirsty?
(Ill. Let's follow this thought and bring it up to our day. If God knows
all about my troubles before they come, and if God has a hand in my
troubles, and He does, Isa 45:7, "I form the light, and create
darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these
things.", and if all things really work together for my good, 2 Cor.
4:17; Rom. 8:18; Rom. 8:28, and they do; then it stands to reason
God has already taken all the steps necessary to meet your need
before it ever arises. It may seem that the Lord isn't moving and that
He is just going to leave you to twist in the breeze, but the truth is,
God has already met our need, before the need ever arose! He will
manifest that supply in His own way and in His own time. Your duty
is to be patient and faithful to the Lord and to His will for your life. He
will take care of you, Ps 84:11, "For the LORD God is a sun and
shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he
withhold from them that walk uprightly.")
(Ill. No where is God's past provision more clearly seen that in the
area of our salvation. Before there was ever a sinner to save, God
has already given up His Son Jesus to be the means of salvation for
all who would place their faith in Him. God met your salvation needs
before you ever had any! If God can meet this greatest of all needs,
and He did! Then He will have no problem taking care of you!)
B. V. 6 God's Present Supply - In this verse, we see Elijah being fed by
the ravens. God knew that His man needed to eat and God supplied
the necessities of life for the man of God. Notice that God's methods
were at the same time miraculous and ordinary. They were
miraculous in that God used ravens to bring food to the prophet and
ordinary in that He used a common fowl of the air to get His will
done.)
(Ill. I want you to know that the Lord has promised to meet your
needs, Phil. 4:19! However, I want you to know also that this promise
is conditional! The Philippian believers has sacrificed to give to
missionaries and to Paul and God tells them that He will take care of
their needs. This is not a blanket promise that Christians can lift out
of context and apply across the board! You may disagree, But I
believe that God will let us experience need to get us in line with His
plan for our lives. Will He take care of you? Yes! Does He love you?
Yes! Just don't expect God to bless you mess! But, my friends,
if you are tithing, and you are being faithful to the Lord, I believe with
all my heart that He will meet the needs which arise in you life and
mine. He tells us in no uncertain terms what He expects and what He
will do, Matt. 6:33.)
C. V. 14 God's Promise For Tomorrow (Ill. Elijah's demand and the
widow's response. Elijah tells her not to worry, because the Lord will
give her what she needs out into the future!)
(Ill. The future is always uncertain and we never know what kinds of
needs may arise as soon as tomorrow, but we have the precious
promise of the Lord that He is with us, Heb. 13:5, that He knows the
way we take, Job 23:10 and that He will look out for us all the way
home to glory! I may not know what will come in the morning, but I do
know One who has already been to tomorrow. He knows what will
happen and He has already made preparations for my arrival, John
14:2. No matter where the road of life leads, no matter what
problems arise, God is always ready with the necessary means to
meet the need of His children.) (Ill. Israel at Marah - Ex. 15. Ill.
Hagar in the wilderness - Gen. 21:19. If God would do it for them, He
will do it for you - Acts 10:34.)
I. The Many Sides Of Our Needs
II. The Manifest Supply Of Our God
III. THE MARVELOUS SECRET FOR GETTING YOUR NEED MET
(If the secret can be summed up in one word, I would have to say that the
word would be "faith"! This faith must manifest itself in four areas of life and
they are illustrated here for you and me.)
A. V. 3 There Must Be Faith In The Will Of God - Elijah had just
confronted the King of Israel and now God is sending him into the
wilderness. It must have been a little confusing, but God's people
must learn to place their faith in the will of God.
(Ill. Often, God's will and our will are 2 entirely different animals. But,
the secret of getting your need met by God is trusting that God knows
what is best for your life and by being willing to submit to His will even
when you don't understand it. God can bless and use a surrendered
life.) (When the mist of life hides the God of glory from view, you
must rest assured that He is there and that He is faithfully executing
His plan for the ages, and for your life!)
B. V. 9 There Must Be Faith In The Ways Of God - (Imagine how Elijah
felt when his brook dried up and the ravens quit bringing food and
God comes along and sends him to a widow so she can keep him up.
Widows were poor, they weren't known for putting on the dog. But,
Elijah knew that God knew more about taking care of prophets than
Elijah did and he just went.)
(Ill. If you try to sit around and worry about what's happening in your
life and if you spend your time trying to figure out what God is doing,
you will go crazy. You can't understand God and you can't figure Him
out! If you could, He would cease to be God and you would become
God. You were God, then you could fix your own mess and you
wouldn't need Him anyway! We must have faith in the great truth that
God knows what He is doing and we must learn to trust God's ways,
Isa. 55:8-9, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are
your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are
higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways,
and my thoughts than your thoughts.")
C. V. 13-16 There Must Be Faith In The Work Of God - (Put yourself
is this widow's place. She is at the point of starvation, she and her
son have enough food left for one final meal and they plan to lie down
and starve to death. Then, here comes the preacher! He tells her to
feed him first. It must have been a real trial of faith for this woman to
make that great a sacrifice, but she placed her faith in the Work of
God. Notice, verse 13, she is told to "go and do...", verse 15 tells us
that "she went and did..." This is key, but is often missed by people
when they face a trial of life. If you have submitted your life to the
Lord and are faithfully engaged in carrying out His will in the world,
you are on the Lord's pay roll and you are His responsibility. Too
often we forget to Whom we belong, 1 Cor. 6:20; Matt. 6:25-33.)
D. V. 14 There Must Be Faith In The Word Of God - (Ill. This widow
woman entered this valley of testing with the greatest promise ever to
be given to anyone. Did you see it? Don't miss this! Verse 14, the
prophet gives her the promise in the form of a seven word statement,
"thus saith the Lord God of Israel..." When you have God's word
on an issue, that issue is settled forever! This woman had the
promise of God to back up her faith. Now, we all know that "faith
cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God." Therefore,
when we read the statement of David in Psalm 37:25, "I have been
young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken,
nor his seed begging bread.", then we can place our faith in that!
Folks, the devil will lie to you, the world will lie to you, your family and
friends will lie to you, but you can rest assured that while the universe
stands and there is a great God in Heaven He will never lie to you!
And if God said that He would look after your need, then you can take
that to the bank of eternity and know that it will draw interest forever.
You can place your faith in the Word of God.)
E. V. 17-24 There Must Be Faith In The Wonder Of God (Ill. The
context. This faithful widow's son died suddenly and she went to the
man of God for help. Now, as far as I can determine, this is the first
account of a resurrection in the Bible. Elijah had never seen one, nor
had he heard of one, but he believed that God could produce one by
His great power. Here is one of the great keys to getting your needs
met by God. It is simply coming to the place where you just believe
God is big enough to handle your problem. It is reaching the place
Paul came to when he made the matchless declaration found in
Ephesians 3:20, "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding
abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the
power that worketh in us," When we get beyond "God could and
God might", and we come to the place where we become confident
that "God can and God will", then we will see business pick up in
that area of seeing our need met. Those who see God consistently
come through for them in strange and miraculous ways are people
who know God can and will.) (Ill. Daniel, the 3 Hebrews, David, Noah,
etc.)
(Ill. Does the word "faith" sum up your life? It should! We are to be a
people of faith, Hab. 2:4. Faith looks beyond the present pain and sees a
God who can and will. Are you there yet?)
Conc: I know this message hasn't been earth shaking and deeply profound,
but I hope it has opened our eyes to the truth that if God can do anything,
then God can meet your need! Since we know from the Bible that God can,
why not bring your needs, your burdens and your worries and fears to Him
this morning and find out that not only can He, but that He will also!
Maybe you need is that of salvation, you can come and have that
need met today. Maybe yours is a material or physical need. You can come
and find the assurance that God will take care of that too. Maybe you need
is emotional in nature, God can handle that! Whatever the need bring it to
God! Satan and the flesh say, "Can God?" Those who walk in faith rest
their head on the precious promises of the Word of God and in blessed
assurance reply back, "God can, God can!"
