Title: Salvation in Suffering (1 Kings 17:8-15)
Content 1. Elijah receiving the guidance of the Word (8-9)
.. The brook dried up. (7) The environment became difficult and the visible reality worsened, but the word of God was still with Elijah. It also guides us through changes in the environment. Because the world's last hope, the water, has dried up, he has given up hope for the brook of Cherit and went somewhere else.
Because the water is dry, you realize the preciousness and appreciation of water. There is an English proverb that only those who have been deprived of health know the heart of health. Everyday sunlight, resounding air When you enter the water, you realize how blessed it is to breathe freely when you breathe with an oxygen mask on. Those with liver cancer know how blessed it is to excrete urine.
Only those who have lived in the desert know how blessed they are to have a land where plants can grow wherever they sow seeds.
When we take away the blessings we enjoy for a while, we come to know the agony we have enjoyed so far.
2. Immediate obedience comes when you are in a corner.(10)
He got up and went to Zarephath, and obeyed the word of the Lord and stayed by the brook Cherith, and at the command of the Lord he went on a rough road to the far north. He guides us to obey Ahab during the famine of the famine and chase of Ahab.
How zealous were the workers during the war and Ghana, obediently working hard on the industrial front. But now that they have freedom and abundance, they have become more arrogant and disobedient.
3. Training to depend only on God (9-10)
At first he had the crow help him, but this time he made him live in the house of a poor widow. They are being trained to make their environment depend solely on God. It was also sent to the Gentile woman and to those who had no hope of dying on their last bite.
There's no limit to complaining. But thanks anyway. I've had the help of an abomination before, but now I'm still a human, so I'm grateful. If he had lived in a famous person or a rich man's house, it would have been good for a while, but Elijah's whereabouts of Elijah would have been known, and King Ahab would have killed him. God sent Elijah to a poor widow who had no one to come because no one cared.
4. It is a great opportunity to experience miracles when you are in hardship and Cana. (14-16 ) When Israel was in trouble, they saw the miracle of the Red Sea parting, and because they lived in the desert, they stayed in the miraculous manna and drank living water from the rock. I could. When it's flat, it's comfortable, but you can't see a miracle.
5. The blessing of those who seek the kingdom of God first ((11-13)
Severe ordeal came to the woman of Zarephath who believed in God but did not have good faith. The Prophet's request to drink water from Kamie The request of the Lord's servant who is very weak because he can't eat it The request of the cruel and straight-haired servant of the Lord Demands the bread of his only son to eat and die The Prophet's unscrupulous behavior in the first place Where is the saint who will not be tempted?
But first, beautiful faith and obedience to think of the kingdom of God saved everyone.
God's amazing reward - You did what Elijah said, but you did what God said. It is easy to obey God's words, but it is difficult to obey God's words that come out of human mouths. However, this woman's little girl the size of Geza was blessed with more than 6,000 times of faith and obedience.
The characteristic of God's kingdom is God's work through the rich, but most of it is maintained by offerings and loyalty that go beyond the power of the poor.
If I receive guidance according to the Word, even though it is a difficult environment, it is the best for me. Training not to depend on people or the environment, but only on God Training to pray.