again to 1 Kings chapter 17. Praise God for his grace. Praise God for the Lord Jesus Christ. And someday we'll get to see him personally, face to face, and thank him for all that he has done for us. 1 Kings chapter 17 is where we are. Again, thank you for your prayers for our family as we are away this past week. We had a wonderful time. We were on holiday way up north, four hours north of here. We actually made up to John of Groats, and there's a sign there and it says something like, I wish I remember the exact mileage from Edinburgh, but it's, you know, you take the A9, head south, and eventually you kind of get down to here, a couple other roads on the way, get to Perth, and then carry on. But a long ways north, we had a wonderful time, enjoyed it, saw the northern lights, saw a lot of geese migrating through. Some red deer, not many. Some roe deer, some other animals and things. A lot of seals, by the way, where we stayed, and that was lovely, too. So we really had a good season away as a family. And I appreciate Daniel, his ministry. I wish he was here to personally thank him this morning, but he's absent. And pray for them. They're isolating. Came into contact with somebody that has COVID. And pray for Tommy, because Tommy does have COVID. We're praying for him this morning. I'm glad you're able to be here today and look forward to what God desires to do in our hearts. We're looking at a Bible character, Elijah. There's very few characters as, I guess, significant as Elijah in the Bible. He really had a dynamic ministry. He's a premier prophet. in the Old Testament. If you read through the scriptures, I mean, he is kind of the main Old Testament prophet that you would think of. And you can't help but think of fire when you think about Elijah. Picture him up on Mount Carmel having that duel with the prophets of Baal and calling down fire from heaven. You see him later as the king sends his men, the soldiers there to get him and bring him down from that little place where he was sitting. And he says to them, if I be a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven and consume thou and thy 50, right? That captain is 50 and twice he does that and destroys those that came to get him. And so again, you just kind of think about fire, the fiery chariot that came and took Elijah up into glory. He's one of two people in the Bible who never died. You've got Enoch, and then you've got Elijah. And so that's kind of interesting about him, that as well as the fact that he's there on the Mount of Transfiguration. He's there with Moses, he's there with Elijah, Elijah and Jesus is there as well. John the Baptist, a prophet in the New Testament, prophet preacher, that was a forerunner to the Lord Jesus Christ, he came as Elijah, right? The Old Testament spoke about there's gonna be a prophet like Elijah that comes, and the Lord Jesus lets us know that that was John the Baptist. And John the Baptist, like Elijah, was bold to confront kings. I mean, he just would say it to the face of those that were in a disobedience to God. Elijah further is known as a great man of prayer and really that brings us to our text this morning and one of the premier texts about his prayer life is the beginning of 1 Kings chapter 17 in verse 1. It says, Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, as the Lord God of Israel liveth, Before whom I stand there shall not be due nor rain these years, but according to my word." Okay, so he makes a very bold statement to King Ahab saying it's not going to rain, but it was based on his prayer life. James tells us that in James chapter 5 verse 17, Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are and he prayed earnestly that might not rain. And it rained not on the earth, but by the space of three years and six months. Three years later, when he bows his head to pray and asks God for rain, God sends rain in answer to his prayers. But here he is standing before King Ahab. He says, King Ahab, there's gonna be a drought. Because of your wickedness, I'm gonna claim a promise, the word of God that says that when God's people are in a rebellion against God, that God will withhold some things. One of those things being rain. And he claimed that promise. God gave him that promise. He prayed in faith and so he boldly says to the king, it's not gonna take place. And the word of the Lord came unto him saying, get thee hence. and turn the eastward and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that's before Jordan. Obviously this is not great news to King Ahab as he makes a statement. So King Ahab is gonna seek his life. And so God says, I've got a place for you where I'm gonna care for you. And verse four, it shall be that thou shalt drink of the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. So he went and did according unto the word of the Lord, for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that's before Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, All right, when you read that, I don't know what you think of the ravens coming in and bringing him bread and flesh in the morning and in the evening. I kind of picture in my mind, and this kids is not in the Bible just in case anybody does, I don't want to mess up your Bible stories, but I can just maybe see King Ahab's cook getting ready. You know, he's baking a little bit. He's got his bread, sets it up on the windowsill to cool off, turns his back. All of a sudden, the bread's missing. He goes back to his steaks. You know, he's going to cook up the steaks now. The steaks are missing. And in the window, there's some ravens just kind of looking really innocent or something like that. But, you know, I don't know if it was that or, you know, I mean, it's bread, so it's not going to be cooking itself out there. in the wilderness somewhere. These little ravens are good at collecting things and they would bring these things to the prophet and provide for him. It's an incredible miracle that God does. But when there's a drought, then the rivers are gonna dry up, the brooks are gonna dry up. Verse seven says, and it came to pass after a while that the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. Okay, now the next instruction that God gives as far as his provision is as miraculous as birds that come and provide food for the prophet. And he's going to use somebody very unusual to provide for Elijah. It says, And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. Now, that doesn't make a lot of sense. We're gonna talk about that. But I've commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. So there's gonna be a miracle of God's provision that's gonna continue to meet the prophet's need. And the need is gonna be met as this widow woman obeys the command of God. Again, verse nine, behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. My message this morning, we're gonna focus on this widow woman, but my message this morning is for your own good, you must obey what God commands you to do. All right, for your own good, you must obey what God commands you to do. And you just stop and think about it right now. Are you a person that God can command? How easy is it for God to say, this is what I desire you to do? How quickly do you respond? We're gonna talk about some of those things, but the blessing that we desire and that we need is often dependent upon our obedience to God is what we'll see in the life of this woman. So let's pray, ask the spirit of God to help us as we come to the word of God this morning. Father, we're grateful for our Lord, and even as has been sung this morning, when I look up to the cross, Savior, thank you for providing everything that we need spiritually as you died on the cross for our sin. We thank you that the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanseth us from all sin. Father, that there's purity, that there's restoration, that there's revival, that there's renewal, that there is everlasting life, justification, declaring us righteous because of the blood of Christ, sanctification, all these truths that Lord, are exactly what we need, and as Benson, again, sang this morning about looking up to the cross and the grace that was given, and truly it's by your grace that we stand, it's by your grace that we move and live and have our being, and everything that we have is just a gift of God to us today. And Father, we thank you for this story of miraculous provision for the prophet of God, but we're gonna look at the woman through whom it was given, and I pray that the Spirit of God would open up this text to our hearts and to our minds. We pray, Father, you bless this time. We pray you bless it for the children as they're in the creche, that the Spirit of God would guide Mrs. Shores, she speaks to them about the Bible. And Father, we know that you're able to work in children's hearts, we've seen that. many times in our church, in our ministry, and so we just pray, Father, that there be fruit for her labors this morning. And Father, for us, as we look at your word, I pray for the grace of God to speak to every heart, encourage everybody in their walk with you. We pray, Father, for anybody that hear this message that's not saved, that today would be the day of their salvation, that they get what they really need from God. and father but all of us that the spirit of god would speak to our hearts about uh our obedience to god and father i can't speak without your enablement i thank you uh we've had a good sunday school hour this morning that was blessed of you and father we pray that that blessing would just continue as we come into this time i pray the spirit of god would guide me as I speak forth the truth of the word of God, that I would do so in a loving way, in a gracious way, and Father, a practical way, and Father, by your grace, a powerful way that would really impact our hearts for your glory and for the work that you desire to do. And thank you for your grace to us. It's in Christ and we pray, amen. All right, for your own good, you must obey what God commands you to do. And again, the widow of Zarephath is our example this morning. And so as we look at her and her obedience to God, I would challenge us, first of all, to go quickly to fulfill God's commands. All right, go quickly to fulfill God's commands. So verse 10. Here in our text one And let me make sure I give you our text right here 1 Kings 17 and verse 10 It says so he arose and went to Zarephath and when he came to the gate of the city behold the widow woman was there Gathering of steaks and he called to her and said fetch me I pray thee a little water and a vessel that I may drink and as she was going to fetch it so she's there and And she's out, she's getting some sticks, and we're gonna find out that she's getting sticks for a fire. She's gonna be preparing to cook a little something for her and her son. And so she's getting those sticks, and she's there, a stranger comes out. I think she identifies that this is a man of God, but he comes out and he says to her, I'd like a drink, I'm thirsty. There's a drought, not a lot of water, but there's water there. And so the Bible tells us that in verse 11, as she was going to fetch it. So there is a quick obedience. There is a response when the prophet of God said that he has a need. Again, I think that this widow recognized this man to be a man of God. Later in the story, and it's all happening very quickly, she's gonna say to him, as the Lord thy God liveth. And so she recognizes that this is a man of God, and somehow she recognizes that he is from God. Now as we've read this story thus far, Elijah knew that she was commanded to sustain him, but she did not, right? I mean, God said to him, I've commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee, but the Bible shows us that she didn't know that, all right? She's not aware of that, though that command has been given by God. And so God knew this about this woman that she is gonna respond very quickly to instruction that she's given. that she's gonna be somebody that's obedient, that she's somebody that is going to easily follow the leadership of God, in this case, through the man of God that was speaking to her. You know, I wonder, this morning, how easy is it for God to command you, all right? As parents, we know the difference between a child, maybe on a good day, or maybe on a bad day, or maybe typically, there might be typically about a child one of these things, but a child that's very quick to obey. It's such a blessing to see that child. You know, can you go get this for me? And there's just kind of instant obedience and they're happy to do that and excited about doing that. There's other children that you might say to them, do you want a little cheese with your wine? You know, their response as they, W-H-I-N-E, is that they're just kind of dragging their feet. They don't have a desire to do that. We might say to them, don't make me tell you again. Some parents, I think not very wisely, they might say, I'm going to count to five. Then I'm going to count to ten. They're counting off those numbers, but we ought to be somebody that when the command is given, there's an instantaneousness. to our heart that says, I just wanna get that done. Patch the Pirate, who wrote some children's musical type things and plays that are recorded, he wrote a song, and in that song it says, to delay is to disobey. See, delayed obedience is not obedience, is it? To delay is to disobey. Real obedience is if you say this or somebody says this, obedience is doing it immediately. Turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter four. Matthew chapter four, and we've got verses 18 through 22. We've got a command that God gives there to his disciples. It's a very simple command, but it is one to which they respond very quickly. Matthew 4, verse 18, it says, And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishers. And he said unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets and followed him. And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James, the son of Zebedee, and John, his brother, in a ship with Zebedee, their father, mending their nets. And he called them, and they immediately left the ship and their father and followed him. And so straightway, immediately, there was a, in the hearts of the disciples, Jesus came, he said, follow me. And God knew that they were people that he could command and that they would respond. very quickly to his commands. Proverbs 29 verse 1 says, That's somebody that's hard to command. Somebody that is not easily directed like that person driving that yoke of oxen and I mean, they got to really lay on the reins to try to get that animal to go where they want it to go, that there's people like that, that God's trying to correct them. He's trying to get involved in their life and to show them something that He desires them to do, but it's not very easy to get it across because they harden their neck against that. And there's numerous things that we could think about today. There's some that is salvation. The Spirit of God convicts you, you need to get saved, you need to obey God and believe the gospel and put your trust in Jesus Christ, but there's a resistance to that. Could be baptism. There's a lot of times that somebody gets saved and they need to get baptized and they tend to put it off or put it off for different reasons. We're gonna consider maybe some of those things, some of those reasons today, but again, the Spirit of God through the Word of God says, you know, going into all the world, preach the gospel to every creature, baptizing them, In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost. It's very clear from the word of God that God's intent for somebody after they get saved is that they be baptized. Now, there's other things. Surrender. Spirit of God says surrender. Set that sin issue in the hands of God. Set that lifestyle in the hands of God. Set your life in the hand of God. Romans 12, one and two. I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies to living sacrifice, wholly acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service, right? And so the Spirit of God, through the Word of God, and maybe the preaching and teaching of the Word of God, or through our own devotions, the Spirit of God can come at times and say, this is what I want you to do. And it's just kind of like this story, and there's kind of different aspects that we're gonna consider, but a glass of water, you need a glass of water, you got it. She's going, and God knew that about this woman. God, there's gonna be a test of this, all right? There's gonna be a test of this, but she's somebody that is ready to respond quickly to what God has. David said it like this. Psalm 119.32, I will run the way of thy commandments when thou shalt enlarge my heart. And so he's saying, if God, you open up my eyes to what you want me to do, that's me, I'm there. And so we need to be somebody that is gonna say to the best of my ability, God shows me something to do, I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna get in there, I'm gonna get it done for God. And so go quickly. And so again, the premise this morning is for your own good, you must obey God's commands. And so go quickly to fulfill God's commands. Now secondly, listen for further instruction as you're going. As you're obeying the command of God, be listening to other things that God may desire to speak to your heart about. And so it says in verse 11, as she was going to fetch it, he called to her and said, okay, she's already on an errand for the prophet, but he says, oh, by the way, all right, he's got a little further instruction that he has to give to her. So what has she got? She's got her ears open. She's listening to what he has to say. Isaiah 30 verse 21 says, So you're going along, and I love that text that God's gonna direct you, God's gonna God's gonna guide you. God's got something that He wants to say. He wants to lead you to what He has for you. You're gonna hear, turn to the right, turn to the left. And so God is able to do that, but we need to hear God when God says that. I don't know if you see the word radio, what you think. I think it's a little nostalgic for me. It kind of takes you back in time. We were in a mining museum or a mining housing type museum over by Glasgow recently and as you walk into a 1950s room or a 1960s room, the radio's there and it's playing music or whatever from that time period. And we live in the day of DAB radio, digital radio. We've got digital televisions as well. And we kind of forget about that thing called rabbit ears. Remember that? All right, back in the day of static. You got your brother or sister to hold it just right and you tell them to stand there for the rest of the program because you got it tuned in just right. And the last thing you want to do is lose that perfect and clear signal. You know, I just want to encourage us today, get tuned in to God. You know, there's a lot of static that's out there. There's social media, there's news, there's entertainment, there's hobbies, there's all sorts of things that can be very noisy thing and if we're not careful, it becomes very difficult to hear God because of all the other noise that's there. You know, Samuel, you remember Samuel and how he tuned himself into God? He was just a child. He didn't know the Lord and the Lord's voice. And so he's getting used to it. And that could be it for us as well, that there is a process of beginning to hear God, speak in our life, hear God, work in our life, and that we need to tune ourselves into that. But he runs to Eli in the story. And because he heard his name called Samuel. And so he runs to Eli and said, here am I for thou callest me. And he said, I called not lie down again. He went and laid down and the Lord called yet again Samuel. And Samuel rose, went to Eli and said, here am I for thou didst call me. He answered, I called not my son lie down again. And Samuel did not yet know the Lord. Neither was the word of the Lord yet revealed unto him. And the Lord called Samuel again the third time and he arose and he went to Eli and he said, here am I for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the Lord had called the child, and therefore Eli said unto Samuel, go lie down, and it shall be that if he call thee, that thou shalt say, speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went, he laid down his place, the Lord came and stood and called, as at other times. Samuel, Samuel, then Samuel answered, speak, for thy servant heareth. Can you say that today? That Lord speak for thy servant heareth. You come to church, speak Lord for thy servant heareth. You open up the Bible, speak Lord for thy servant heareth. Again, that noise can get in there, but we've got to be somebody that can get in tune so that when God says something, we get it. And so for your own good, you must obey what God commands. So go quickly to fulfill God's commands and then listen for further instruction. And then third, prepare yourself to hear impossible instructions. Prepare yourself to hear impossible instructions. It says in verse 11, and as she was going to fetch it, he called to her and said, bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand. Now normally that would have been already offered. I think there had been hospitality back in that day as there is in our day. That would have been something that she would have already said, but this is not normal times. This is a time of drought and food is scarce. And so this is not an easy command that is given to her. Now, Elijah knows this. Elijah is the one that kind of caused the problem. If you want to look at it that way. I mean, he's the one that prayed about it. He's the one that there's no rain that's come. So he's fully aware of that. He's there and he says to this woman, bring me some bread. Beyond that, this woman was a widow. So her husband has passed away. So she's limited in her resources. She doesn't have very much at all. We're gonna find out how much she does have, it's not much. And so it's very difficult. And she responds, she says, as the Lord thy God liveth, verse 12, I've not a cake. And she's really saying, To Elijah, it's impossible for me to fulfill your request. It's just, and again, I think she was a very gracious lady. I think we see in the fact that she's running to get him a glass of water that if she felt it was possible, she would respond, but she's basically saying it's just not possible. You know, this woman was not suicidal. She didn't want to die of starvation, but she knew that when the food was gone, that was it. That's all they had. They didn't have access anymore. They didn't have a way to get anymore and she's really just saying this is our final meal before we die. You know my heart goes out to the people of Ukraine and I'm sure yours as well as you see Russia invading and the supply lines are being cut off and They're lacking in food, they're lacking in medicine, they're lacking in water. And we look at a humanitarian crisis like that and we think that is horrible and that we desire to see that need met. But those people in Ukraine are in a situation that this woman was in. She didn't have what she needed. She couldn't get what she needed. She couldn't even provide, she felt, for the prophet. You know, I can almost hear her reasoning with God in her heart. And again, she wants to please God. She wants to obey God. She wants to serve God. In her heart, she does, but she feels like it's impossible. I can't do anything. So she's kind of maybe thinking about that, and she's maybe saying to God, God, surely you don't expect to take the last meal for myself and my son. You know, God, really, do you expect that we just die of starvation? I mean, I've got this food, it's all I've got left. Really, God, are you asking that of me? She might think, God, surely you know I've been praying. I've been praying, I've been asking for you to meet my need and the need of my son. And God, if you had met my need, then I could have met the need of the prophet. But God, you haven't even met my need. How can I then provide for the need of the prophet? Again, so we look at that and we think, you know, she's in a tough spot. It's kind of an impossible place. Are you facing anything like that? Are you facing anything in your life? You just feel it's impossible. I can't do this. Whatever it is that God is asking us to do, you just feel like this is too great a ask of God. And let me just remind us this morning that there are oftentimes in the Bible where God asks his people to do the impossible. Where God's expectation is something that you look at and say, there's no way that that could be done. Let me just give you some examples. Moses at the Red Sea. I mean, here they're fleeing the Egyptian army and just on the exodus has taken place and they get to an impasse. They've got the Red Sea in front of them. They've got the armies of Pharaoh behind them. They're crying out to God and God responds, the Lord said unto Moses, wherefore cryest thou unto me? Speak unto the children of Israel that they go forward. And I mean, we've been at the sea recently. I mentioned my family on holiday, and you stand at the water, and even the bit of water just between us and the other side, this little bay that was there by the property, and the water would be flowing very quickly in and out during the tidal times. I mean, just look at that little bit of water that was there, and you just think there's no way. But they're looking at the Red Sea. And God says, hey, talk to him, tell him to go forward. Peter on the Sea of Galilee, remember he said, Lord, if it be thou bid me come, and Jesus said, come, but that's not possible. It's not possible to step out on water and water holds you up. It's just not possible. Gideon is called of God to fight the Midianites, an army that's described as grasshoppers for multitude. In Judges 6.14, the Lord looked upon him and said, Have not I sent thee? And he said unto him, O my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? Behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house. And the Lord said unto him, surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man. Impossible, how could? I mean, we know the story, 300 men are gonna put the Midianite army to flight, but that's not possible, that's impossible. Look at Abraham and Isaac. Isaac, the son of promise, finally be given after years of waiting upon God. And then God says, take thy son, thine only son, Isaac, and offer him on the mount that I shall tell thee of. Again, so many times in the scriptures, we look at something and think, man, that's not possible. That's impossible. And again, you might feel like that this morning. You might look at your situation and say, I know what God wants me to do, but, It's not possible. Well, that's okay, all right? To recognize that, why? Because God's called his people a lot of times to do something that's impossible. So that is rational, and we'd look at that, and we might even agree with that, but that doesn't mean that we stop there. It doesn't mean that we justify ourselves there and say, I'm going to stay there because it's impossible to do what God desires me to do. We got to go further, even as this woman does. For your own good, you must obey what God commands. So go quickly to fulfill God's commands. Listen for further instruction. Prepare yourself to hear impossible commands. It's going to happen at some point. You're going to be tested. You're going to hear something. You think, oh, there's no way that I can do this. But here's a precious part of the story. Do not fear. but trust fully in God. Do not fear, but trust fully in God. Elijah said unto her, what? Fear not. Why does he say fear not? Because impossible things are kind of scary things. I know God wants me to do it. Why won't I do it then? Because it's impossible, so I'm afraid. I'm afraid to step out and do that. It might be, how can I afford to obey God, as in this story? How can I afford to obey God? How can I do what God wants me to do? There's no way. Pastor, you don't know, all right? Well, listen, I could tell you stories about my own life, things that I look at I can't do. This is one of them, as I stand up here. You know, we can't do it, okay? I mean, and that's scary. How can I do what God wants me to do? It might be too expensive, changing jobs, tithing. I mean, there could be things, the Spirit of God speaking to us, too expensive, too life-changing. You don't understand. How could I change my life that drastically? Too hard, too hard, God's too hard. I can't, I can't. Well, okay, but if God's asking us to, I can do all things through Christ, which strengthens me. Faithful is he that calleth, who also will do it. We just gotta understand today that God would say to us, fear not. Fear not, we don't need to be afraid. I had the privilege in my trip to Israel to go to Capernaum. Capernaum is that village where Jesus Christ did so many of his miracles. It's where Peter lived and where his mother-in-law was healed. And it's just a wee fishing village that was there on the Sea of Galilee. So from where the boats were to the synagogue is probably max 75 meters, maybe, and it would have been a narrow passageway. The buildings aren't standing. The synagogue foundation is original from the time of Christ, and you can see the width of the road that Jesus would have been walking down. And a man that was involved at the synagogue named Jairus came And he had a daughter that was dying. And he said, my little daughter lieth at the point of death. I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her that she may be healed and she shall live. And Jesus went with him and much people followed him and thronged him. And I imagine Jairus is pretty excited. He's got the Lord, his daughter's in need. The answer is gonna happen, it's gonna get done. But then, you know, the throng about Jesus Christ and the woman with the issue of blood reaches out and touches Jesus. And she's healed. And Jesus says, who touched me? And all of a sudden there's a pause and it seems a somewhat lengthy pause because the Bible speaks about time passing because as this is taking place, somebody comes up and says to Jairus, while he was yet speaking, there came from the ruler of the synagogue's house certain which said, thy daughter is dead. Why troublest thou the master any further? And as soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, be not afraid, only believe. Why? Because Jairus was facing an impossible situation. Jairus wanted his daughter to be healed, but now it was impossible. There was no way for his daughter to be healed, but Jesus just turns around and says, be not afraid, only believe. You know, again, God would desire in our hearts today, we might be terrified, whatever it is that God's commanded us to do, the Spirit of God speaking in our hearts about it. It could be numbers of different things, and we feel like it's impossible, but we need to hear what the prophet said, and that is fear, fear not, fear not. Again, are you afraid of those commands? And so many times, somebody doesn't wanna get saved, because they might think, what will my friends say? You know, how's my life gonna change? And there's a fear in their heart. They know they gotta obey God. They know they need to do it, but that fear is keeping them from stepping out and obeying God in salvation. Again, with baptism, I'd say the number one reason people don't get baptized after they get saved is because of fear. And again, God says what? Fear not. Somebody don't surrender their life. Why? Because they feel like they can't trust God with their life. And what's going to happen if I surrender my life to God and God calls me to do this? And I can't do that. I'm scared to do that. And again, God would just say, what? Fear not. Let God take care of that. It's impossible. God, you don't understand. It's impossible. Well, fear not. And so this morning, For your own good, you must obey what God commands. Not be afraid. Go quickly to fulfill God's commands. Listen for further instruction and be prepared to hear some impossible commands. But then, fifthly this morning, Let God stretch your faith by testing it. Okay, let God stretch your faith by testing it. Paul Chappell's a preacher that I enjoy listening to. He pastors a large church in Lancaster, California. And he often quotes this saying, a faith that cannot be tested cannot be trusted. A faith that's gonna sustain us through tough times of life has to be a faith that is refined by those tests that come to it. Now, we don't like those tests. We'd like to say to God, God, if you'd rather, I just not like to go through the impossible things. Let's just do the possible and I'm going to keep my eyes on you and the possible things. But God often will lead us through the impossible things and test our faith. And so Elijah says in verse 13, go and do as thou has said. Okay, and in my mind, if I'm picturing this story taking place, I kind of see the woman kind of going like this. All right, that's great. All right, go and do as thou hast said. I'm off the hook. The prophet understands kind of what I'm going through here. He sympathizes with it. Go and do as thou hast said. But he doesn't stop there, does he? He says, but make me thereof a little cake first. Now, I appreciate the sympathy of Elijah. Elijah didn't say, okay, go just make me everything, right? He says, okay, but go make me a little cake first and bring it unto me. Okay, so he's not unsympathetic to our need, but what does he demand? He demands this, you've gotta put God first. You've gotta put God first. And you might think, you know, Why doesn't the prophet meet her need? Why doesn't he care about the fact that she's destitute? And the truth is this, I believe this, that he is meeting her need because he knows that if she obeys God and meets God's need first, that God will take care of her needs. I think sometimes pastors feel badly preaching on giving because they think people can't afford to give. You know, as you talk about taking from your resources and giving to God, you just feel like, well, Lord, you know, maybe somebody is really hurting. Maybe they're really tight and things are difficult. And that, and from a human perspective, you look at it and say, but it's not possible. But I like what has been said, and that is this, people can't afford not to give. Because God's gonna bless that. The Bible says, Matthew 631, therefore take no thought saying, what shall we eat or what shall we drink or wherewithal shall we be clothed? For after all these things did the Gentiles seek, for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you. Live your life a whole out for God. Put God first in every area of your life. Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. and all these things shall be added unto you. What is that? Clothing, food, and resources that the Bible's just spoken about. The Gentiles are all about that, focused on that. But God says, put God first, and God will meet that need. You know, when I was in Israel, I bought a mite and a denarius, so two coins that are from the time of Christ. A denarius is a day's wage. A mite is 164th of a day's wage. I've got them with me today. They're in my briefcase. Remind me after church if you'd like to see them. All right, but I mean these coins from that time of Christ, a denarius, a day's wage, and a mite, not much. We call the mite a denarius. Widow's mite, because of the story that's in the scripture in Luke chapter 21, it says, Jesus looked up and he saw the rich man casting their gifts into the treasury. He saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites. And so she put in 132nd of a day's wage, it was about 15 minutes of labor or something like that, that was the money that she had, she put that in. Not a lot of money financially, but a lot for her to give. And he said, of a truth I say unto you that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all, for all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God. But she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had. And Jesus, knowing this and standing there, didn't go up to this widow and say, no, no, no, dear lady, I mean, I appreciate your heart and that's great that you desire to give to God, but you just can't afford to give. Jesus looked at it, I believe it's similar to our story. He looked at it and he said, you can't afford not to give, why? Because if she gives her all to God, God is gonna meet what? Her all, right? There was a trust, a dependence upon God that was shown and God was not ignorant of that as is testified by the fact that Jesus standing there understands exactly what is given. Again, are you willing to let God test your faith? First, to give to God and trust God to meet your needs. In the case of this woman, there might be other ways that God desires to test your faith by looking at that impossible thing, but that impossible thing, if you'll step through it, maybe just the thing that's gonna open up God's blessing upon your life. And so how do we do that? How can we face something that we look at and say, okay, fear not, right? I shouldn't be afraid, but what can help me with my fear? And that's sixth here. Let God strengthen your faith by his promises. Let God strengthen your faith by his promises. It says in verse 14, for thus saith the Lord God of Israel, the barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruise of oil fail until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth. If she would put God first, God said, you're gonna have it, everything that you need. Now I wanna emphasize that though Elijah is saying this, that God is saying this. Notice what it says in our verse there, 14, for thus saith who? the Lord God of Israel. Notice what it says in verse 16, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah. It was always God's word, no one spoken to the prophet. The prophet gave the message, but the promise was from whom? God. And so it's a command from God to give and receive, and God's gonna take care of our needs. Now let me ask you this morning, has God given us any commands in the word of God about giving that he's also giving us promises that he's gonna meet our needs? And the answer is abundantly. There's many. Malachi 3 verse 8 says, oh let me give you Matthew 6, 33, we already looked at it, but seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you. Malachi 3.8, will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse, for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation, bringing all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house. Now, okay, so God's saying the tithe is the Lord's, and we'll talk about what the tithe is. of gross that is given back to God and gratitude for what God has given, but bring that into the storehouse. And then it says, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it. God says, test me. He says, test me, you've robbed me by withholding the tithe. Obey me and give the tithe. And what? God's going to be faithful. God's gonna give super abundantly in a way that the people could look at it and say, you know what, I trusted God, it was really tough, but I trusted God and God came through. Jesus said in Luke 6, 38, give, and it shall be given unto you, good measure, pressed down and shaken together, and running over shall men give into your bosom, for with the same measure that you meet with all, it shall be measured to you again. God says to the same degree that you give to God is proportional. In the same way it's gonna be given back to you. There's a principle in the scriptures of reaping, or sowing and reaping, right? You give and it shall be given. Abraham practiced tithing, Hebrews 7 verse 2. to whom also Abraham gave a 10th part of all. Offerings are above a tithe, and there's something that is given to God's work at different times. The Old Testament scriptures, he had the temple. Exodus 35, verse five, take ye from among you an offering unto the Lord. This was actually for the tabernacle. Whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, an offering to the Lord, gold and silver and brass. And so that's beyond. It's just us giving to God. But let me ask you today, if you give to God, is God unwilling to fulfill his word and give back to us? I'll tell you this. When I was a child, my parents taught me to tithe, and I praise God for that. So that tithing for me was never something that I thought about. When I got a job, I gave a tenth of what I received. unto the Lord. You know, I'm so glad God taught me that. Why? Because my wife and I, by God's grace, have been debt free for our entire marriage. I could tell you stories of miraculous provision by God, by God's grace, where God's met our needs. We give tithes and offerings. And again, I've shared stories with my kids. When we give extra, we let our kids know about it because we want our kids to see the flip side. when God comes around and blesses because of our giving. And we have seen it again and again and again. And I praise God for God's goodness in that. And I emphasize that this morning. Why? Because that's what this widow woman is facing, specifically. Her impossible trial is, I can't afford to give to God. But again, she can't afford not to give to God, because she's got the promise, on the other hand, that God's gonna bless her if she gives. Okay, so conclusion, verse 15. And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah. Okay, she took God at his word, she commanded, and she obeyed. So what is the result that we see of her obedience? Well, first, because she followed the command, she had provision. It says, and she and he in her house did eat many days. Because she followed the command, she had provision, and then she had plenty, verse 16. In the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the crews of oil fail. Okay, so she had plenty. And then lastly, she had proof that God's word is true. It says, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah. She could testify and say, I stepped out in obedience to God. I couldn't afford to give. I thought, but God said, give first and I'm going to meet your need. And she stepped out in obedience. Now she could say, I've got proof positive that God fulfilled his word because this is amazing. God is just taking care of me and met my needs. You know, as you read that story this morning, do you wonder why God commanded that woman to feed Elijah? of all people, why not somebody that had it, you know? And I wonder this, I really believe that she was praying, I really believe that she was seeking God, saying, God, you've gotta meet my need, please provide for me and my child, and God turns around and comes back with the unexpected, and it is this, rather than saying, I'm gonna give to you, he says, give. And then God turns around and he meets her need. Okay, she's given an impossible command, give to me first, right, the prophet. What would have happened if she hadn't obeyed? They would have perished. I think what she said is true. I'm gonna go make this for me and my son, we're gonna eat it, then we're gonna die. And God turned around, he came back to her with something that she'd look at and say, God, I can't, I can't. It's impossible. And there could be things like that in your life today and you think, I can't, I can't, pastor, you just don't understand. It could be, again, numerous things that the spirit of God is speaking to our heart about and you think, I can't. But the thing is this, fear not, fear not. Go to the word of God, find promises about obedience. Step out in faith and obey God. Why? Because I really believe this. your obedience is necessary. Because without it, your needs aren't gonna be met. Okay? That's the correlation here. Whatever that is, we might look at that and say, this is just a huge thing. Let's step through it in obedience to God and believe that God's gonna be faithful. And when we see that, we're gonna look at that and say, praise God, I'm so glad that I did that. Whatever that impossible thing is, because God has shown himself to me in so many ways. And so may the Spirit of God just work that in our hearts. It could be many things today, but I challenge you this. If God's speaking specifically to your heart, surrender today. Say to God, okay, today I'm gonna make that decision. It could be so many things. It's impossible, I can't do that, but I'm gonna do that because I know the Spirit of God said this is what you should do. And so I'm gonna step out by faith, I'm gonna obey God, and then I'll have the grace necessary, and I'm not gonna be afraid. I'm gonna take the promises of God and see God meet my need. All right, let's pray. Father, may the Spirit of God anchor this truth in our heart today. I have no doubt, as I look out this morning, I'm looking at people that have impossible situations where, Father, you have spoken to them about it, and they might be making an excuse, like this woman. Don't you know I can't afford to? I can't. It's too hard. Father, it could be somebody that knows they ought to knock on doors and tell people about Jesus, but they feel like that's impossible for them. It could be a surrender to ministry, but it seems impossible. It could be any one of a number of things, salvation, baptism, church membership, faithfulness. Whatever. So I just pray, Spirit of God, would you speak to each heart individually. You know what you're trying to do in everybody's life. And Father, I know this, that there's promises in the word of God that we don't have to be afraid, and that if we obey, that's where the blessing is. That's where the answer is. That's where the provision is. And so God, would you just encourage us to take this text, take you at your word, and believe it and obey you. It's in Christ's name we pray, amen.