Sermon in Rockford 09.10.2011

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Let us thank and pray.

Righteous God, dear Heavenly Father, we thank You for Sunday, the day of rest. We need it for our bodies, but more than that, we need it for our souls, for our faith life. Dear God, we thank You that You set aside a day every week when we can pause from the busyness of everyday life and use more time to study Your Word.

Dear God, we have gathered before Your holy face, which we cannot see. But we know that You see us. You know us better and deeper than we know ourselves. You know what we need. You know what we struggle with. You know our sinfulness and weakness. You know also our joys. Dear God, we humbly ask that You would serve us tonight. Give us those words that You know and see that we need. Bless our service through the presence of Your Holy Spirit. Amen.

As we heard this morning, the theme for this day is Jesus gives life. One of the Old Testament texts is from 1 Kings 17. I will read the whole chapter, chapter 17, in Jesus' name.

And 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 dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And it shall be, 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 is before Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening. And he drank of the brook.

And it came to pass, after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land. And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongs to Zidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.

So he arose, and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering sticks. And he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel that I may drink. 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.

And she said, As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but a handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse. And behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it and die.

And Elijah said unto her, Fear not, go, and do as thou hast said, but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, the barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth.

And she went, and did according to the saying of Elijah, and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah.

And it came to pass, after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, did seek. And his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him. And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? Art thou come unto me, to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son?

And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed. And he cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord, my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow, with whom I sojourned, by slaying her son?

And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord, my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again. And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah, and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived.

And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother. And Elijah said, See, thy son liveth. And the woman said to Elijah, Now, by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth. Amen.

Elijah was a prophet, a prophet of God. That means, at first, that he was a believing man. And he was chosen by God to serve Him. And God gave him the gifts and the power to serve Him as God saw fit.

There are many very interesting, even strange, stories of Elijah and his follower, successor, Elisha. Many interesting but also very difficult matters happened to them. They had to go through difficult times in their lifetime. It was not an easy lot for them from a human standpoint.

But on the other hand, they were able to witness many, in a human sense, very strange happenings. In a way, I would compare that to those happenings that we, whom God has chosen to serve in mission work, have witnessed and gone into, where God has shown His power and might.

The power is not and does not come from the missionaries. It's God's power. And those happenings that take place are very important and great happenings to those people who live there and who witness them, but also to the missionaries. And the difficulties are there.

This text speaks of a strange time when God sent this prophet to a very difficult task or trip. He went before the evil King Ahab and prophesied that there would not be rain nor even dew until God decided it to be so.

And that was a man who went to save. The Bible elsewhere says that Elijah was a weak and sinful man like any other believing man. But according to his words, the heavens were shut, and there was no rain nor dew until God allowed that to happen. The period of time was almost three years.

At that time, it meant hunger. It meant famine to many people. But Elijah didn't do it. He was just a messenger. He conveyed the word of God, like for instance, I'm doing now. That is a miracle of God happening all the time amongst us. God speaks through people. The Holy Spirit does not have a mouth, so it uses man's mouth according to the will of God, not according to the will of the speaker.

I cannot decide. Well, I can try to look for the text, but even that God has shown me that in fact I am not the one who chooses the text. Of course, there's a short step to, if we go in the wrong direction, that we become superstitious or we go wrong in that sense that our feet rise up from the ground.

With a prayerful heart, we choose the text. With a prayerful heart, we try to find the words. But the truth is that if God closes His words, I have nothing. I have nothing. So those of you who prayed to God to give words for the speaker, you did well. And when you pray to God that He would give words to the speaker, in fact, you are serving yourselves because if God gives you the words, you benefit from that.

God to the speaker, that God to the speaker, and I guess many of us have realized in our lifetime, I've experienced that we should pray to God for two things when we come to service. First, that God would open His words to the speaker. And secondly, that God would open my ears and heart to believe and to accept it. Both are needed.

And now God said to Elijah that after this prophecy or word that he should leave and go to the brook of Cherith. And there God promised to feed him. You remember, it was famine. It was a dry time. There was a severe drought for three years. God promised to take care of his needs.

God knows what our temporal needs are. God, I would say, even now allows a kind of drought to take place. There may be times when life is easier and then there are times when life is more difficult for us. And they both come from God. He decides. He knows what is good for us.

And in Proverbs, there's a prayer of a wise man. Proverbs 30, where this man prays to God not to give him too much riches nor too little. He wanted to have in moderation. He asked God, please, don't give me too much that I would become proud and forget You. Pride and forgetting God go hand in hand. So too much is not good.

God could spoil us with riches if He would want to. It wouldn't be difficult for Him. He could give us so much that we would be spoiled. But then He also asked God not to give him too little. And He said that that I would not steal and take Your name in vain in protecting Himself.

So I think it's a very wise prayer that God would not give us too much and that God would not give us too little. God would provide us with what we need.

Do you find it difficult to believe that God will give you tomorrow what you need tomorrow? For me, it would be easier to believe if God would give me today what I need tomorrow. I find it difficult to believe and trust that He will take care of me tomorrow. That I don't need to have it today that which I don't need today.

And in this story of Elijah, he didn't even get everything for one full day. But as the Bible tells, the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning and bread and flesh in the evening. So twice a day the ravens, the crows, flew and brought him a meal. Isn't that amazing?

That's what happened when there was drought, when people were struggling to find what they would need. The birds, according to the command of God, brought him his meal twice a day. And he drank from the brook. It was a pretty simple life. But he had all that he needed. He was not rich, not for sure. But he didn't need to suffer from hunger either. He had enough.

I thought in myself that I should make some kind of reminder to me and hang it on the wall where the message would be that if I have a little of something, I have a little contentment. That's what I find oftentimes that I miss most or lack most: contentment.

It is so easy to start looking for what I miss, what I don't have, and to forget how much I've been given. Contentment is the happiness of the whole.

And now it happened that the brook dried up. This story, a short story, is full of very abrupt quick turns. And I don't understand very much about this. But if we think this prophet living there, he got used to it. At first, I would say, he doubted if the birds would keep coming. But I would understand that he kind of got used to that. It felt natural.

First, it was amazing. Unbelievable that the ravens flew there twice a day, morning and evening, and brought meal. But then he started feeling, yeah, sure, why not? What's so strange in this? And then I guess one morning he woke up and he didn't hear the brook running. It had turned dry.

So now what? What am I going to do now? God never leaves us alone. God never forsakes us. The enemy is busy right there with his sermon. You know, the enemy always keeps the same sermon: You won't make it. You won't make it. You won't make it. Always the same sermon.

So we should be bold also to keep the same sermon all the time: You will. God will help you. Whatever is the situation. And I am saying it to my soul and to you, brother and sister. God knows exactly where you are, what your needs are, and how to help you.

God has no time. He is not limited to time. He is at the same time where He promises and He fulfills it. When He opens before you the trial, at the same time He opens an exit door from the trial.

We are bound to time. We can't jump there. We can't rewind or go fast forward. We tick by second. We are bound to this time. But God is not bound to time. God is in tomorrow already. He knows already what He is going to give us tomorrow. He knows our needs tomorrow and He takes care of them.

If we had more faith, life would be very easy for us, wouldn't it?

Now, when the brook dried, it says, and the word of the Lord came unto him again. God's word came unto him and asked him to go to the widow woman. This widow woman had one child and she had a little flour and very little oil.

Think what was her situation. There was drought. She didn't have means to support herself or her son. She was on her way to get her wood to prepare for the last meal. She even said that she was gathering two sticks. Two sticks is not very much. But why bother? She didn't need more. She decided that's enough because this is going to be our last meal.

So you see how God allowed this poor widow's life to go to a situation where it seemed that this is a dead end. The way, the road ends here. There is nothing else that I can do. And then God approached.

When our life situation is the worst or the most difficult, then we should remember God is now the closest. When the situation is almost unbearable, almost impossible, the more difficult the situation is, the closer God is.

Why? First, because He knows everything. He knows your life. And secondly, because He's good. He will not give up on you. He will not forget you. He has a plan for you. He knows what you need.

And sometimes He allows our life to go into the position of this widow. She has something but she didn't have a lot. But everything beyond that seemed to go black. She had no future.

How is it with us? Isn't the enemy of the souls asking you, How about tomorrow? How about next week? How about next month? Next year? Next decade? How about your retirement? How about this and that? Which is so far that you can't reach it?

The enemy wants us to live 30 years with the strength of this day. God gives means and strength for one day only, or as He gave to Elijah, for the morning only and the evening only. And the enemy of the souls makes us look 30 years or 50 years with the strength of one day. It's impossible and he knows it.

And that's why he puts us into that kind of situation. God provides for one day and the enemy demands for 30 years.

So this widow woman went to gather those two sticks to fix the last meal. And then she said that we may eat it and die. She had the perfect plan. She knew how things would go.

Does it sound familiar? We also often times know how things will go and they never go that way. She thought that she knew. All that she could see was what was available. She forgot in the misery that there is God.

And that's what happens to us. That's what happens to me all the time. Oh, how often times when I've been sitting in a pew and listened to the brother speak, when God has warmed up my heart with His good promises, I have decided that I quit doubting and I started believing.

And that's good. Let's make those decisions. Let's plan to believe more and doubt less. And may God help us in that.

My life's short experience has shown the more difficult the situation is or seems to be to me, the brighter shines God's power, majesty, and strength. It is amazing what He can do in a split second. How He can turn everything.

Maybe temporal, physical, spiritual, mental, whatever struggles we have, He can change everything in such a short period of time. He knows and He can. And He knows our needs and He wants to help and He can.

Now this widow was about to start preparing her last meal. That was her situation. And now comes a prophet and says, fetch me a little water. Oh, that was easy. She had water. Water was for free.

And she almost turned to start fetching the water. She didn't say, oh no, I'm so tired. This is the last day of my life or one of the last days. I'm going to die very soon. I don't have strength. She was obedient and she turned to go fetch the water.

And then when she was almost leaving, the prophet said again, go and fetch me a meal, something to eat. And then this widow poured out her heart. I would say with cheerful eyes she said that I would love to but I don't have.

And now think what this prophet said: Fear not. That was the first message. Do not fear. Second, go and do as thou hast said but make me thereof a little cake first and bring it unto me.

Does it make any sense to you? I guess no. If she can just bake a small cake, maybe not even enough or two, and share it with her son, and that was all that she had.

Now this prophet, this holy man, comes and says, give it to me. How does it sound to you? Does it make sense?

One brother said last week in Kukedo, think how you build this church at the time of recession. God's ways are different from our ways.

May God, I say this to my own soul and to you, may God teach us that we would not ever become too wise, that we would not forget that there is another reality than the one that we can see.

May God help that we would not forget that God also has needs. That God's kingdom has its needs. Who supports the work of God's kingdom if believers stop supporting it?

If we think in a very temporal mindset that I don't have enough, I'll quit, I'll take another route, and maybe if the times turn better, and for sure if the times turn better, then I can do something.

May God help us to remember that there is another reality, the reality that we tend to forget, and that is that there are no limits for God. And God has said in His word that He loves a cheerful giver.

Dear youth, the enemy may say unto you, and well, I don't even say may say, but it will say unto you, that may those support the work of the kingdom who have more than I have so little that I can't, so I'll just forget it.

Of course, even now, if we take a step to the wrong direction, we are demanding, we become dry, overly watchful, but may God help us that we wouldn't go to either ditch but that we would believe like this widow woman did.

She believed against her own understanding, against her instincts, all temporal understanding showed that you shouldn't go that way. It's insanity. This is your last meal. And now this prophet comes and asks to get it.

That it shouldn't be that way. He should give to you. What's happened?

The prophet continued, and after make for thee and for thy son. For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, the barrel of meal shall not waste, shall not run empty, neither shall the cruse of oil fail until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth.

So the prophet promised this woman that if you serve me with that little what you have, God will bless you. Not only spiritually but temporally. Against all expectations, against all human logic, God will take care of you.

And he says very simply, and she went and did according to the saying of Elijah, and she and he and her house did eat many days. And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of the oil fail, according to the word of the Lord which he spake by Elijah.

God spoke through Elijah. And she, this poor widow, was faithful. She believed. She put her trust in God. And God took care of her. God was faithful and fulfilled everything that the prophets promised.

Did it happen again? Like it happened to Elijah at the brook of Cherith, that they got used to this? Again, everything went against human logic. There was hardly any flour. And always when she went there, there was more flour. Just a little bit, not much. Never much. But always enough.

Did they get used to that? Did it become a new reality or did it just start feeling natural? Of course, the miracles happen. Well, they shouldn't happen, shouldn't they? But we still get used to those.

So again, a new turn of the road. This son of the widow woman became sick. And he was the future of this woman. He was the one who was to take care of her when she became old and couldn't work. That was her future. That was her retirement.

And now he became sick. And after some time of sickness, he died. And this question of this widow woman is very interesting: What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? Art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance and to slay my son?

This woman, as we all, carried the wounds of her youth. Oh, how clear I understand what David means when he said in one of the Psalms, Do not remember the sins of my youth. Do not remember the sins of my youth.

We are lucky people that we have been forgiven the sins of our youth. But they still hurt us. As the old believers used to say, the scars are there and they hurt. And so did this woman feel.

You know, we always tend to, or I would say, we have a tendency of trying to find the reason why. And oftentimes we don't understand why God tries us, why God gives us trials.

And sometimes it feels that the amount of trials piles up. There is so much that we start making foolish questions to God: Why this and why that? Isn't this enough? Wasn't it enough already? Why did you add some more?

May God help us to remember that when the trials are at their peak and it feels that this is more than I can bear, may God remind us that He is closest then. And He will very carefully take care of us.

He, as the old speaker brothers used to speak of, how God purifies the gold of faith. How the goldsmith purifies the gold, it's with heat. But the goldsmith does not want to burn the gold to destroy it. But he heats it so hot that all impurities burn away.

And then it is pure. All the impurities have burned away when the goldsmith can see the reflection of his own face in the gold. And then he takes it away from the heat. He doesn't want to burn it.

God does not want to give up your hope or faith because of the trials that He gives. Be humble. Be obedient. Pray and hope and trust God that He will take care of you.

And the Bible says be happy when God tries you because He punishes those that He loves. That's a sign of God's love that He tries us. It's His way to teach us and to keep us humble.

And we shouldn't ask why and what is the reason for this and what have I done. But we see how God helped and answered the prayers and the son got revived.

God still gives life. It is God's essence. It's what God is. He helps us every time in our need. He helps. May God help us to believe it and to trust Him.

Brothers and sisters, you who are experiencing many kinds of trials, most of them being hidden, that you struggle with in your own life, in your own homes, and so on, may God give you strength to believe and fight against the bitterness that the enemy is suggesting all the time.

Fight against it. Don't become bitter. And you will see how God helps you. Uplift your hearts and believe all sins, doubts, and crumblings forgiven in Jesus' name and precious blood. And be of good cheer.

And I need the same. Can I believe my sins forgiven? I want to believe together with you. Amen.

Let us pray. The Lord bless us and keep us. The Lord make His face shine upon us and be gracious unto us. The Lord lift up His countenance upon us and give us peace in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Amen.