November 18-19, 2006, 1 Kings 17:1-16; Selected

PRICELESS!

GIVING – Our Responsibility for God!

*** Psalm 24:1 "The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him." [New Living Translation]
*** Psalm 89:11 "The heavens are yours, and the earth is yours; everything in the world is yours - you created it all." [NLT]

*** 1 Kings 17:1 "Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, "As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word." [NIV]

*** 1 Kings 16:30, 33 "Ahab did what was evil in the Lord's sight, even more than any of the kings before him. [33b] He did more to arouse the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than any of the other kings of Israel before him." [NLT]

*** 1 Kings 17:2-6 "Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah: [3] "Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. [4] You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there." [5] So he did what the Lord had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. [6] The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook." [NIV]

A. OBEDIENCE LEADS TO BLESSING!
*** Deut. 28:2 "All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God...." [NIV]
*** Psalm 119:2 "Happy are those who keep his rules, who try to obey him with their whole heart." [New Century Version]
*** Proverbs 22:9a "Generous people will be blessed..." [New Century Version]

B. GOD SOMETIMES BLESSES IN UNUSUAL WAYS!
*** 1 Kings 17:7:12 "Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. [8] Then the word of the Lord came to him: [9] "Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food." [10] So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, "Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?" [11] As she was going to get it, he called, "And bring me, please, a piece of bread." [12] "As surely as the Lord your God lives," she replied, "I don't have any bread--only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it--and die." [NIV]

A LITTLE JAR, A LITTLE JUG AND A FEW STICKS!

*** Luke 2:12 "This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." [NIV]

LITTLE THINGS GIVEN TO GOD BECOME GREAT THINGS!

*** Matthew 17:20 "[Jesus] replied, "...I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." [NIV]
*** 1 Kings 17:13-14 "Elijah said to her, "Don't be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. [14] For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 'The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord gives rain on the land.' " [NIV]

WHAT ARE THE TWO THINGS THAT KEEPS US FROM GIVING AS GOD DESIRES?

THE FIRST IS: FEAR! - "Don't be afraid"
*** Proverbs 3:25-26 "No need to panic over alarms or surprises, or predictions that doomsday's just around the corner, Because God will be right there with you; he’ll keep you safe and sound." [Message Bible]

AM I AFRAID TO GIVE A TITHE OR MORE TO GOD? ____ YES ____ NO

THE SECOND IS: SELFISHNESS! – "But first make a small...bread for me..."

The Answer for FEAR and SELFISHNESS is the same: FAITH!

*** Luke 6:38 "If you give, you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full measure, pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, and running over. Whatever measure you use in giving - large or small—it will be used to measure what is given back to you." [NLT]

DO I HAVE FAITH TO GIVE A TITHE OR MORE TO GOD? ____ YES ____ NO

*** 1 Kings 17:15-16 "She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. [16] For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah." [NIV]

BECAUSE SHE WAS FAITHFUL IN GIVING:
- GOD MET HER NEEDS!
- GOD MADE HER FAITH FLOURISH!
- GOD'S MINISTRY WAS ACCOMPLISHED!
-· GOD'S NAME WAS GLORIFIED!

"And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. ...But they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will." -- 2 Cor. 8:1-5 [NIV]