The Command to Sustain - Pastor Stacey Shiflett
- Pastor Shiflett
- 3 days ago
- 6 min read
The Command to Sustain
1 Kings 17
Intro: There is worldwide drought according to James 5:17.
· Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.
In spite of the world-wide drought, God promised to lead and provide for His man.
And in spite of a world-wide drought, God’s man had no problem getting a word from God.
A. The Routing of God’s Man – vs. 3; 9
· 2 And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying,
· 3 Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.
Following orders from headquarters. That’s what missionaries do.
They don’t get to pick and choose where God sends them.
They don’t get to select the final destination of where they dwell.
If God says go dwell by the brook, that’s where they dwell.
B. The Response of God’s Man
I’m amazed at Elijah’s prompt obedience to go, knowing his food source.
· 5 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.
God had already commanded the ravens to feed him.
I’m sure he wondered what ravens were going to bring him.
He knew he was going to be living outdoors by a brook, and eating whatever the ravens brought him.
And he still obeyed. No argument. No delay. No negotiating – just obedience.
C. The Reliance of God’s Man
Many of God’s men do not have an alternate source of income.
Missionaries do not have the option of working a second job on the field.
Living by faith. It’s not just a song – it is a way of life.
They must rely totally upon God – by faith – to meet their everyday needs.
I’m always amazed at their obedience – in spite of all the unknowns.
D. The Redirecting of God’s Man
The brook dried up, so God redirected Elijah.
Notice a word that keeps showing up in these verses.
It’s the word “THERE.”
· 4 …and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.
· 9 Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there:
· 10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there.
Every place that God sends His servants, He has already established someone THERE to sustain them.
It is crucial that everybody be in their place. The GOER and the GIVER.
The furtherance of God’s plan depends on it!
I. The Mandate of the Sustaining – vs. 9
· 8 And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying,
· 9 Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.
There is not a person in this room that would be confused about what is supposed to happen.
The widow woman is commanded to sustain the man of God.
She is destitute, deprived, disadvantaged and distressed.
Yet her situation did not exempt her from doing something significant for the work of God.
· God doesn’t only ask people with money to sustain.
· God doesn’t only ask people with everything they need to sustain.
· God doesn’t only ask women with husbands.
· God doesn’t only ask men with families.
From the children, all the way up to the oldest widow, God wants everybody involved.
It will always start out with small sacrifices.
· 10 …and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.
· 11 And as she was going to fetch it,
In spite of the drought, she was willing to give him a “little water in a vessel.”
This was a sacrifice – without a doubt.
But she didn’t hesitate.
The real sacrifice hasn’t happened yet, but God always starts out with small requests.
Now the time for real sacrifice has arrived.
It’s time to test her faith.
God had already commanded her “to sustain him.”
DEFINITION: SUSTAIN (verb) means to support, to feed, to sustain, maintain, or keep something going over time; to provide what is needed for life; to supply the necessities that allow someone or something to continue living.
You can’t sustain anyone with a “little water in a vessel.”
· 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.
It’s time to test the extent of her obedience.
God’s about to push her faith to the limit.
God commanded her to sustain Elijah; let’s see how she responds to this command.
II. The Myth of the Sustaining
· 12 And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an 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.
The myth is the three words – “…I have not…”
In other words, I do not have a cake, but I have all the stuff to make one.
What she meant was, I have a cake, but I don’t have a cake for YOU!
She didn’t say, “…my four and no more…”
She literally said, “…us two and NOT YOU!”
Notice Elijah’s response to her hesitation to obey God’s mandate:
· 13 And Elijah said unto her, Fear not…
Fear is the human response to God’s commands – almost all the time.
Fear is our reaction to God’s mandate to sustain the work of God.
The command to sustain the ministry is often impeded by fear.
Notice closely what the Bible says – vs. 14 – “For thus saith the Lord God of Israel…”
Notice now what it says in verse 15 – “And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah…”
Whose promise was it? It was God’s promise!
But she didn’t hear it directly from God. She heard it from God’s man.
And she believed the word of Elijah, who believed the word of God.
This is what Paul was so excited about in 1 Thessalonians.
· 1 Thessalonians 2:13 For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.
Stop fearing the Word of God, just believe it and do it!!
III. The Miracle of the Sustaining
· 14 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.
· 15 And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.
· 16 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.
The miracle is this – when we obey God’s command to sustain His servants, He sustains us!
If she had not obeyed God, her and her son would have eaten that cake and died.
She could have blamed God for it, but she was dying when Elijah got there.
Elijah coming, and God’s command for her to sustain him IS WHAT KEPT HER ALIVE!
And not only did her son not die, but at the end of the chapter, when he DID die, he DIDN’T STAY DEAD!
The man that she sustained was used by God to sustain her son!
Conclusion: The question is – Who is doing the sustaining??
· God has commanded us to sustain the work of God.
· God has commanded us to sustain the servants of God.
· God has commanded us to sustain those evangelizing the world.
· God has commanded us to trust Him and obey him and give what we have.
· And in turn, God has promised to sustain us!
It’s strange to me – the ravens didn’t argue.
The ravens didn’t act shocked or offended or feel overwhelmed.
4 …and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.
Where are ravens supposed to get bread?
And if they are supposed to feed Elijah twice a day, who’s going to feed their baby ravens?
Luke 12
22 And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on.
23 The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment.
24 Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?
The question is – Who is doing the sustaining??
· Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.