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A Sermon by Dr. Bob Griffin, Teaching Elder at Sovereign Grace Church
I. PROVING OF FAITH
A. FAITH THAT HEARS
1. CALL
I Kg 17:8 Then the word of YHWH came to him, (Is 40:31)
2. COMMAND
I Kg 17:9 “Arise, go to Tzarephath in Sidon, and live there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” (Obad 1:20; Jn 16:33; Job 14:1; Rom 1:17)
B. FAITH THAT HEEDS
1. COMPLY
I Kg 17:10a So he arose and went to Tzarephath. And when he neared the gate of the city, behold, the widow was there gathering wood.
2. CHALLENGE
I Kg 17:10b-11 He called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a cup to drink.” And as she was bringing it, he added, “Now, bring me a bit of bread in your hand.”
II. PROVISION OF FAITH
A. FAITH THAT HOPES
1. CRISIS
I Kg 17:12 She said, “As YHWH your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and then die.” (Heb 11:1; 12:1-2)
2. CONSENT
I Kg 17:13-14 And Elijah said to her, “Don’t fear; go and do as you planned. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son. For thus says YHWH, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the YHWH sends rain upon the land.'” (Gen 22:14)
B. FAITH THAT HONORS
1. COMMITMENT
I Kg 17:15 And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days.
2. COVENANT
I Kg 17:16 The jar of flour was never empty, nor did the oil run dry, according to the Word of YHWH. (Jn 6:5-13)
III. PROTECTION OF FAITH
A. FAITH THAT HURTS
1. CALAMITY
I Kg 17:17 After this the son of the woman became ill . . . so that he died. (Ps 37:5)
2. COMPLAINT
I Kg 17:18 And she said, “What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance and to cause the death of my son!”
B. FAITH THAT HEALS
1. COMFORT
I Kg 17:19-23 And he said to her, “Give me your son.”
And he took him from her arms and carried him up on the roof where he stayed, and laid him on his own bed.
And he cried to YHWH, “O YHWH my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by killing her son?”
Then he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried to YHWH, “O YHWH my God, let this child’s life return to him”
And YHWH honored the voice of Elijah. And the life of the child came into him again, and he revived.
And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the roof into the house and delivered him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son is alive.”(I Kg 17:19b-23; II Tim 1:7; Gal 6:2; Mt 21:22; 17:20; Jn 14:13; 16:23; 5:15-16)
2. CONCLUSION
I Kg 17:24 “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the Word of YHWH in your mouth is truth.”