The Widow's Cake

It's In Your Hands: Elijah and the Widow

GOD IS NOT GOING TO ASK YOU TO DO WHAT HE HAS NOT EQUIPPED YOU FOR

GOD IS NOT GOING TO ASK YOU TO DO SOMETHING OUTSIDE OF YOUR ABILITY TO PERFORM

GOD WILL NEVER ASK YOU TO DO SOMETHING THAT HE HAS EMPOWERED YOU TO DO

GOD WILL NOT ASK YOU TO DO WHAT HE DOESN'T ALREADY KNOW THE END OF IT

• What God Has Called He Has Equipped FOR
• Where God Gives Vision He Will Provide Provision
• Remind Yourself That You're Just A Vessel Being Used by God

Let's Review who you are in Christ:

Genesis 1:26 (AMP) Then God said, "Let Us (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) make man in Our image, according to Our likeness [not physical, but a spiritual personality and moral likeness]; and let them have complete authority

Psalms 139:14 (AMP) I will give thanks and praise to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.

Psalm 82:6 (AMP) I said, "You are gods; Indeed, all of you are sons of the Most High

John 10:34 (AMP) Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your Law, 'I said, you are gods [human judges representing God, not divine beings]'?

The Power of Small Daily Choices

I want to ask you all a question, during your life time have every had 1k at one time?

• Who in here has every had $1000 before
• Raise your hands if you can save $4 a day

After 10 years the number is Total savings $19,562.27

After 20 years the number is Total

• All of us should have at 57k saved
• Interest earned $32,757.59
• Total contributions $24,000
• Initial deposit $1,000
• Total savings $57,757.59

After 30 years the number is Total

• Interest earned $99,353.63
• Total contributions $36,000
• Initial deposit $1,000
• Total savings $136,353.63

How much of your success or failure has passed through your hands

We all have had things that passed through our hands that we have mismanaged.

It's in your hands

Elijah Predicts Drought

1 Kings 17:1-16 (AMP) Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, "As the Lord, the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word."

• Remember as God's representative we speak on his behalf and God will back us up
• Ahab was the king at the time and believed that his false god's controlled the rains and the harvest
• Elijah was just stating a known truth, that disobedience would lead to drought

Deuteronomy 11:16-17 (AMP) Beware that your hearts are not deceived, and that you do not turn away [from the Lord] and serve other gods and worship them, or [else] the Lord's anger will be kindled and burn against you, and He will shut up the heavens so that there will be no rain and the land will not yield its fruit; and you will perish quickly from the good land which the Lord is giving you.

1 Kings 17:2-3 (AMP) And the word of the Lord came to him, saying, "Go from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan [River].

Psalm 37:23 (AMP) The steps of a [good and righteous] man are directed and established by the Lord, And He delights in his way [and blesses his path].

God's Provision by the Brook

1 Kings 17:4 (AMP) You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to sustain you there [with food]."

• The brook was not a placed that flourish with water but a dry place
• This verse let's us know God is control of supplying our needs-Psalms 23 tells us

Psalm 23:1 (AMP) The Lord is my Shepherd [to feed, to guide and to shield me], I shall not want.

Psalms 37:25 (AMP) I have been young and now I am old, Yet I have not seen the righteous (those in right standing with God) abandoned Or his descendants pleading for bread.

Philippians 4:19 (AMP) And my God will liberally supply (fill until full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

• Why does God use animals on mission? Because they don't talk back, they just obey
• God just gives people a chance to be apart of the process, by which we get blessed

1 Kings 17:5-6 (AMP) So he went and did in accordance with the word of the Lord; he went and lived by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he would drink from the brook.

• Now wait a second here, I can understand how the ravens can bring meat, but did they get bread
• Where did the bread come from?

John 6:31-34 (AMP) Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written [in Scripture], 'He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.'" Then Jesus said to them, "I assure you and most solemnly say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. For the Bread of God is He who comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world." Then they said to Him, "Lord, always give us this bread."

Sent to the Widow at Zarephath

1 Kings 17:7-9 (AMP) It happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land. Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, "Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you."

• Did God know she was a widow? yes
• Did God know that she was in a bad situation? yes
• Why did God do this? Luke 4
• God has help where we least expect it
• He provides for us in ways that go beyond our narrow definitions or expectations
• Why would God send the Prophet who had needs to a woman who has needs

Luke 4:25-26 (AMP) But in truth I say to you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was closed up for three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land; and yet Elijah was not sent [by the Lord] to a single one of them, but only to Zarephath in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.

The First Request: Water

1 Kings 17:10 (AMP) So he set out and went to Zarephath, and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks [for firewood]. He called out to her and said, "Please bring me a little water in a jar, so that I may drink."

• God knew her need and He knew her solution
• So, God's plan for her breakthrough was locked up in her obedience
• The first blessing was accessed
• The love of God is unconditional, but the blessings of God are based on conditions

Matthew 10:42 (NLT) And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded."

The Second Request: Bread

1 Kings 17:11-12 (AMP) As she was going to get it, he called to her and said, "Please bring me a piece of bread in your hand." But she said, "As the Lord your God lives, I have no bread, only a handful of flour in the bowl and a little oil in the jar. See, I am gathering a few sticks so that I may go in and bake it for me and my son, that we may eat it [as our last meal] and die."

• I want to ask you this question again, why would God send Elijah to broke widow
• Did the widow need to give the cake more than she needed to eat the cake?
• I'm challenging your thinking, why would God send him to here?
• Let's ask this question, what was the widow lacking? Bread or Food
• God was trying to break her cycle? She had to do something different to get something different
• What did she lack? She lacked food, so what did she need to sow to receive a harvest of food?
• I have to ask you the question, what are you giving God to work?

Isaiah 55:8-11(MSG) "I don't think the way you think. The way you work isn't the way I work." God's Decree. "For as the sky soars high above earth, so the way I work surpasses the way you work, and the way I think is beyond the way you think. Just as rain and snow descend from the skies and don't go back until they've watered the earth, Doing their work of making things grow and blossom, producing seed for farmers and food for the hungry, So will the words that come out of my mouth not come back empty-handed. They'll do the work I sent them to do, they'll complete the assignment I gave them.

• She was down the nothing, not knowing God was up to something

Do Not Fear: Make Me a Cake First

1 Kings 17:13 (AMP) Elijah said to her, "Do not fear; go and do as you have said. Just make me a little bread from it first and bring it out to me, and afterward you may make one for yourself and for your son.

• Fear, fear of lack

2 Timothy 1:7 (NLT) For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

Access of the 2nd blessing

Ezekiel 44:30 (AMP) The first of all the first fruits of every kind, and every contribution and offering of every kind, from all your contributions and offerings, shall belong to the priests. You shall also give to the priest the first of your coarse meal and bread dough, so that a blessing may rest on your house.

Nehemiah 13:31 (AMP) and I provided for the wood offering at appointed times and for the first fruits. O my God, [please] remember me for good [and imprint me on Your heart].

Romans 11:16 (AMP) If the first portion [of dough offered as the first fruits] is holy, so is the whole batch; and if the root (Abraham, the patriarchs) is holy, so are the branches (the Israelites).

When every God prompts us to give something, it doesn't take long for the enemy to come behind and try to steal the opportunity from you

To change your harvest you must change your seed

The Promise

1 Kings 17:14 (AMP) For this is what the Lord God of Israel says: 'The bowl of flour shall not be exhausted nor shall the jar of oil be empty until the day that the Lord sends rain [again] on the face of the earth.'"

The crazy part is that she was a foreigner but heard about this Lord God

SEEDS CHANGE SEASON, AND SEED BREAK CYCLES

James 5:17 (AMP) Elijah was a man with a nature like ours [with the same physical, mental, and spiritual limitations and shortcomings], and he prayed intensely for it not to rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months.

• So, a small piece of cake will bring her 3 1⁄2 years of endless cake and oil
• Now, if she only knew that upfront there would be no hesitation
• But, we know the whole story and yet we don't trust God to come through

The Result of Obedience

1 Kings 17:15 (AMP) She went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days.

• Once she realized that taking care of Elijah obligated God to take care of her
• If you can make what's important to God, important to you, God will make what's important to you, important to Him

2 Chronicles 20:20 (AMP) So they got up early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Hear me, O Judah, and you inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe and trust in the LORD your God and you will be established (secure). Believe and trust in His prophets and succeed."

Hebrews 11:6 (AMP) But without faith it is impossible to [walk with God and] please Him, for whoever comes [near] to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He rewards those who [earnestly and diligently] seek Him.

The Miracle Continues

1 Kings 17:16 (AMP) The bowl of flour was not exhausted nor did the jar of oil become empty, in accordance with the word of the Lord which He spoke through Elijah.

• Outside of obedience will never know all the things God has in store for us
• He declares that her season of lack is over
• Question, what has God asked you to do that you have not responded to yet?
• God knows everyone of your needs
• Prior to needs being met, seeds must be set

Luke 6:38 (AMP) Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over [with no space left for more]. For with the standard of measurement you use [when you do good to others], it will be measured to you in return."

2 Corinthians 9:10-11 (AMP) Now He who provides seed for the sower and bread for food will provide and multiply your seed for sowing [that is, your resources] and increase the harvest of your righteousness [which shows itself in active goodness, kindness, and love]. You will be enriched in every way so that you may be generous, and this [generosity, administered] through us is producing thanksgiving to God [from those who benefit].

THINGS TO REMEMBER

• Giving the prophet water
• She placed something in his hand
• Obedience to the voice of the prophet

Discussion Questions

1. The message asks, "How much of your success or failure has passed through your hands?" Reflect on what opportunities or resources God has placed in your hands that you may have mismanaged.
2. The widow was asked to give from her lack, not her abundance. When has God asked you to give or obey when it didn't make practical sense? How did you respond?
3. Why do you think God sent Elijah, who had needs, to a widow who also had needs? What does this teach us about how God orchestrates His provision?
4. The widow had to do something different to get something different. What cycles in your life might God be asking you to break through obedience and generosity?
5. The passage states, "The love of God is unconditional, but the blessings of God are based on conditions." How do you understand the difference between God's love and God's blessings?
6. Elijah asked for the cake "first," representing firstfruits. What does it look like practically to give God the "first" in your finances, time, or talents rather than the leftovers?
7. The message emphasizes that "to change your harvest you must change your seed." What kind of "seed" are you currently sowing in your life, and what harvest might you expect from it?
8. The widow was preparing to eat her last meal and die, yet she obeyed. What does this level of faith and obedience look like in our modern context?
9. The small illustration shows that saving $4 a day can result in over $136,000 in 30 years. How does this principle apply to spiritual investments and kingdom work?
10. The widow's obedience resulted in provision for "her household" and "many days"—not just herself. How might your obedience to God impact not just you, but your family and community?

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