The Abundance of God
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October 01, 2017 |
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 Senior Pastor Dr. Jaerock Lee
"But she said, 'As the LORD your God lives, I have no bread, only a handful of flour in the bowl and a little oil in the jar; and behold, I am gathering a few sticks that I may go in and prepare for me and my son, that we may eat it and die.' Then Elijah said to her, 'Do not fear; go, do as you have said, but make me a little bread cake from it first and bring it out to me, and afterward you may make one for yourself and for your son. For thus says the LORD God of Israel, "The bowl of flour shall not be exhausted, nor shall the jar of oil be empty, until the day that the LORD sends rain on the face of the earth."' So she went and did according to the word of Elijah, and she and he and her household ate for many days. The bowl of flour was not exhausted nor did the jar of oil become empty, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke through Elijah" (1 Kings 17:12-16).
God is full of grace and love. He takes delight in giving good things to His children. If we sow anything with faith, He gives us a measure that is at least 'pressed down, shaken together, and running over' in return. Moreover, He can even give us 30, 60, 100 times more, or even more than that.
1. A woman in Zarephath received abundant blessing during a severe drought.
According to the record of 1 Kings 17, a Gentile woman lived in a place called Zarephath of Sidon. One day, she was gathering firewood near the city gate. At that time the prophet of God, Elijah, had just reached the place and asked for water.
As she was going to get some water, Elijah asked for bread too. So, she explained her difficult situation in 1 Kings 17:12, "As the LORD your God lives, I have no bread, only a handful of flour in the bowl and a little oil in the jar; and behold, I am gathering a few sticks that I may go in and prepare for me and my son, that we may eat it and die."
But Elijah did not seem to care. He asked once again to make some bread for him. He taught her that, if she acted accordingly, God would bless her so that the bowl of flour and the jar of oil would not become exhausted until the land would have rain again.
If this woman gave an excuse for not obeying and disobeyed, the miracle wouldn't have happened. Fortunately, the woman obeyed in faith without fear. She served Elijah with her last bit of food. Then truly, the miracle took place. The bowl of flour and the jar of oil in her house did not become exhausted until the land had rain again.
2. The reasons the woman received the abundant blessing
First, the widow obeyed the word of Elijah the prophet.
Obeying Elijah and giving up the last of her food meant that she and her son would die even sooner. The woman came up with 'Amen' in this tense situation. It was not that she would take a chance thinking, "Why don't I just believe him once since we are going to die anyway!" It was true obedience coming from faith. That is why God gave her the abundant blessing.
Read Deuteronomy chapter 28 once again. The ways to receive blessings are so clearly explained. Malachi 3:10 says when you give a whole tithe God will pour out for you a blessing until it overflows. If you still disobey this clear Word of God, the blessings will be delayed until you obey.
Obedience is also the shortcut to receiving answers to your prayers and God's protection. Many people were healed of chronic diseases when they obeyed the word, kept the commandments of God, cast off evil, and were faithful to God. If they had kept on giving excuses, they would not have received any answers!
Second, the widow of Zarephath held the man of God in high esteem.
This woman was a Gentile woman. She was not the Israelite who served God. It was her first encounter with Elijah at that time. Nevertheless, she could recognize that Elijah was a man of God. It's because she had goodness in her heart.
Say you meet a person for the first time today, and he is asking you to give him the very last bit of food you have left. Asking to give up such food is not morally acceptable nor even understandable. But the woman did not judge or condemn Elijah thinking, "He is shameless. How can he ask for food of a poor widow?" This woman had the humbleness not to carelessly judge others and she also had eyes that could see the faithfulness of others. Such ability comes from goodness stored in heart.
It also applies to sanctification. Seeing that I am clinging to God so much for the salvation and sanctification of the believers, many of you said that your trust and love for me have increased. Those of you who follow my lead with trust and love are receiving great strength to ride on the flow of spirit to accomplish spirit and whole spirit.
The secret to answers and blessings is now not far from you. They will be given to you when you respect and trust the pastor of power who was set and guaranteed by God Himself. If a pastor performs signs, wonders, and powerful works, it shows that he is loved by God and God walks with him.
Third, the widow of Zarephath had no greed.
When Elijah asked for her last bit of food, if she had said, "I can never give this to you. I don't even have enough for me and my son," and had not given up the food but held onto what she had, then she would have never received any blessing. Suppose she obeyed and received blessings, but complained saying, "Why is there so little flour and oil coming out?" or if, showing her greed she said, "I need many more things than just this food." What would have happened? The blessing that she was receiving would have been cut off.
Some people actually have such greed but do not realize it. For example, they become envious or even discouraged when they hear that other believers have received a lot of blessings and are able to help many other people. This kind of thinking comes across their mind due to their greed because they forget the blessings they have received.
If you have greed, you are not content and you lose your thankfulness. If the spring of giving thanks becomes dry, there will be no more water of blessing. Being content and giving thanks are like the priming water for a pump. Priming water is about a bowl of water that you have to pour in to get water from a well. By pouring this little bit of water, you can fully get the water from the well. Those who used to be poor but now have received financial blessings have something in common. They are satisfied with whatever they have, and they always give thanks. They are not stingy. They have the desire to use the financial blessings they receive for the kingdom of God and other brothers and sisters, rather than themselves.
You cannot draw blessings with your greed. Abundant blessings can come when you are satisfied with just a little piece of bread or the water that you can drink. It is when you give thanks and share with others. When such deeds of goodness are piled up, God will give you blessings. I hope by achieving the heart void of greed you will meet the God of abundance and experience miracles.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we looked into how the widow in Zarephath could receive God's abundant blessings although she was a Gentile woman. I urge you to realize that the God of abundance takes delight most in the aroma of the good and beautiful heart. I pray in the name of the Lord that thereby you will practice goodness only with faith and thanksgiving and receive God's blessings.
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