THE FAITH FACTOR

1 Kings 17:7-16

Divine blessing is a major theme in the Bible next to salvation. Whenever it is used, the root idea refers to God’s generous favors and gifts. Today, most people would prefer the idea of luck because they are not responsible to a benefactor since all things happen by chance. However, for us who study the Bible, it is quite clear that God bestows blessings.

In order for God to bless, there are two things which are necessary:

1. You must ask God for it:

Jacob had always desired for God’s blessings. As he was going back to live in Canaan after years of hiding from his brother Esau, the Lord in human form wrestled with him in order to break his very strong will. During this match, Jacob desperately sought God blessings.

2. You must live a life worthy of it:

Blessing can come to us as a reward of our obedient walk with God.

I’m sure these two ideas are not something new for many of us. We all know the value of prayer and obedience, but why is it that we often miss out? I believe the one thing that we often ignore is the faith factor. You see, the Bible reveals that we often take God for granted because we fail to really believe in His ability to give appropriate rewards.

Our main text this morning is a perfect illustration regarding our need of faith. Remember, God wants to bless us so we can be instruments of His blessings. However, we are not receiving much of His blessings, because we are not sharing our blessings due to our lack of faith. Let’s examine our text and learn some eternal principles about faith and God’s blessings:

I    GOD COMMANDS US TO GIVE DESPITE OUR NEEDS: (v. 9)

In order to fully understand the weight of the command, we need to be familiar of the background of the passage. Here are some of the facts:

• God has decided to punish His people because of their idolatry by withholding the rain resulting in a great famine.
• In order to provide for his servant, God sent Elijah to a widow in Zarephath, a small town in Phoenicia.
• Widows during these times were usually poor people, and with the present famine, their condition would be worst.

In all these circumstances, why would God command a widow to share what she has? The answer is simple – this is God’s way of sufficiently providing for her and her son. God was literally putting this widow to a test of faith. If she passes, she and her son will survive the famine.

We all can find excuses for not sharing or giving, but it is always to our disadvantage when we fail to obey God’s commands. The command for us to give is very clear, but don’t miss the promise connected with the command:

The promise of God does not change. Look at what God says near the end of the verse, “test me in this”. In other words, God is saying, “try this out and see what happens”. God promises that if you give your 10% that He will open the floodgates of heaven and pour out blessing that you will not be able to handle. That is definitely not bad for just 10%

• When you do not tithe you are really saying two things:
  1. God is not worthy of my trust
  2. God cannot supply my needs

II    GOD CLAIMS BEING THE FIRST PRIORITY:

Part of the test to the widow came for the words of Elijah, “"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.”

Now, put yourself on the shoes of the widow, if a guest came to you and ask you to give him first your last meal, would you do it?

By nature, it would be impossible for us to put someone else before ourselves. But in our text, Elijah was a representation of God. God always demands being the first.

God does not just saying seek the kingdom. He is saying “seek first the kingdom.” We often leave out the word “FIRST,” and miss out on God’s abundant blessings. Some people say, “I can’t afford to give my tithe.” That may be true, but only because they have committed all their income to some other debts or wants. This problem is one of priorities. We often settle in giving God leftovers.

Leftovers

Leftovers are such humble things,
We would not serve them to a guest,
And yet we serve them to our Lord
Who deserves the very best.
We give to Him leftover time,
Stray minutes here and there,
Leftover cash we give to Him,
Such few coins as we can spare.
We give our youth unto the world,
To hatred, lust and strife;
Then in declining years we give
To Him the remnant of our life.

III   GOD CARES ABOUT HIS PROMISES: (vs. 14-16)

What motivated the widow to do what Elijah had asked her to do? I believe it was the Lord’s promise. When you examine God’s promises to the widow, there are several things which you can see:

A. It is stated clearly:

There is no vagueness in God’s promises. The widow and her son will know exactly if God has fulfilled the promise or not.

B. It is related to what they exactly need:

God will not shortchange the widow by giving her what she doesn’t need. She received exactly what she needed to survive.

C. It stands while she obeyed perpetually:

As she provided for Elijah everyday, she had sufficiently received her needs until the end of the famine.

God never lies. He will always be faithful with all his promises. And one of the precious passages with a clear promise is found in Proverbs 3: 9-10.

As God fulfilled His promise to the widow, He will surely fulfill this promise in Proverbs to all those who obey it. Faith is really necessary in order for us to experience God’s abundant blessings. May God’s faithfulness today motivate us to keep trusting in Him tomorrow.