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Message given at the TFWC Women's Ministry Luncheon.

Don’t Loose Hope (Sermon Notes)

1 Kings 17:2 –16
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 that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to fee 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 belongeth 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 of 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 he, 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 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.
“I have commanded” in verses 4 and 9 taken from the greek word “tsavah” which means to set in order.

The provision is already there. God has gone before him to arrange it.

Hebrews 11:6 says that “God is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him”.
When someone offers a reward for lost items or persons, an account with the funds must be established first before an offer can be posted. Our blessings, the answers to our prayers, await us according to God’s perfect will.

“Therefore I say unto you, what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” Mark 11:24
In each case the word of the Lord was given to Elijah that his needs would be met. But he had to first believe in faith that the word was true and then had to respond in obedience with expectation before he could receive the promise.

The widow’s situation did not diminish his faith. His actions revealed that he was still hoping in God’s promise.

Faith – believing, trusting

Hope – to expect with confidence; await

“Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.” Hebrews 10:35-36

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1
Hope is what will keep our faith alive as we await our promise.

“…hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast and which entereth into that within the veil.” Hebrews 6:19
The soul is our mind, will, and emotions. Expecting God’s promise will keep our thoughts and feelings stable.

“within the veil” is the Holy of Holies where His very presence and glory dwells. Our hope and expectation brings us into God’s presence.