828 Church

Count me in on Friendship

“I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. John 15:9-10 NLT

If you love me, you will keep my commandments. John 14:15 ESV

This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. John 15:12-13 NLT

This is my command: Love each other. John 15:17 NLT

Jesus knows his way around sacrificial friendship, as evidenced on the cross. 

If anyone boasts, "I love God," and goes right on hating his brother or sister, thinking nothing of it, he is a liar. If he won't love the person he can see, how can he love the God he can't see? The command we have from Christ is blunt: Loving God includes loving people. You've got to love both. 1 John 4:20-21 MSG

Real friendship is one of God’s greatest gifts, and it doesn’t stop with God!

A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Proverbs 18:24 ESV

God wills for us to have and be real God following friends.

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, Built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone… Ephesians 2:19-20 ESV

In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
Ephesians 2:22 ESV

The kind of relationships God wills for us to have take effort and intentionality!

Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. Hebrews 10:24-25 NLT

All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. Act 2:42 NLT

We need each other for both encouragement and challenge on our journey with Jesus!

As Iron sharpens Iron, so a friend sharpens a friend. Proverbs 27:17 (NLT)

Bad company corrupts good character. 1 Corinthians 15:33 NLT

A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. Proverbs 17:17 ESV

Looking at friendship for what you can get rather than what you can give is not very Friendly or Godly!

There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. John 15:13 NLT

The kind of friendship we’re meant to have is Godly and it takes God to have it!

Closeness requires kindness, patience, persistence and a willingness to hear and obey God!

Until we value relationships and people more than possessions and personal comfort we will never experience true life giving friendship.

Pettiness is a manifestation of self-centeredness and is poison to friendship.

Pettiness corrodes even the strongest bonds like rust eating away at the structure of a bridge until one day the weight of everyday life will cause it to fail.

We will never be good together until we learn to be alone with God.

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. John 15:4 ESV

Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act. Psalms 37:5 ESV

Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established. Proverbs 16:3 ESV

Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:62 ESV

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. Matthew 16:24 NLT

Let your heart therefore be wholly true to the Lord our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandment. 1 Kings 8:61 ESV

Your lives must be totally obedient to God, our personal God, following the life path he has cleared, alert and attentive to everything he has made plain this day. 1 Kings 8:61 MSG

Choosing to go all in with God is a real calling in His Word and the key to living a Graced Life.

I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth! You say, I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. So I advise you to buy gold from me gold that has been purified by fire. Then you will be rich. Also buy white garments from me so you will not be shamed by your nakedness, and ointment for your eyes so you will be able to see. I correct and discipline everyone I love. Be diligent and turn from your indifference. Revelation 3:15-19 NLT

We were created for and called to Closeness!

And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Deuteronomy 6:5-6 NLT

We are made for an impactful, passionate, life altering relationship with our loving living God!

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
John 15:4-5 ESV

We often have to collect our heart from several places before we have it to give to God!


Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls; all your breakers and your waves have gone over me. By day the LORD commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life. Psalms 42:7-8 ESV

Open up before God, keep nothing back; he'll do whatever needs to be done. Psalms 37:5 MSG

Pharisee’s tried to trap him…

Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:37-40 NLT

He is not worthy of the honeycomb who shuns the hive because the bees have stings. Shakespeare

And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.
Luke 22:19-20 ESV

God is able to take down the walls that keep us from the life He wills for us.

Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy. Psalm 103:2-4 ESV

Though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 2 Corinthians 10:4 ESV

Action.

Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you. Joshua 1:3 ESV

So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them. Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing. Joshua 3:14-16 NIV

Surrender

When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” And he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, “What does my lord say to his servant?” Joshua 5:13-14 ESV

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. James 4:7-8 NIV

So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet yes to God and he'll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. James 4:7-8 MSG

Courage

Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous… Joshua 1:6-7a ESV

Courage is a byproduct of closeness and is critical to overcoming.

Determination

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:1-3 NIV

Community

Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall chase ten thousand, and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. Leviticus 26:8 ESV

For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them. Matthew 18:20 ESV

And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. 1 Thessalonians 5:14 ESV

Community is the matrix for a move of God.

Obedience

Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
Joshua 1:7-8 ESV

Obedient choices direct our lives to the place of God’s provision, favor and blessing.

Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? Romans 6:16 ESV

Following God’s instruction is absolutely critical to overcoming!

Faith

By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days.
Hebrews 11:30 ESV

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. Ephesians 6:10 ESV

Even the rain that isn’t God’s will, can’t stop the power of God‘s plan.

The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. John 8:3-8 ESV

But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” John 8:9-11 ESV

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king.
Matthew 1:1-6 ESV

Every abominable thing that the Lord hates they have done for their gods, for they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods. Deuteronomy 12:31 ESV

Joshua son of Nun secretly sent out two men as spies: "Go. Look over the land. Check out Jericho." They left and arrived at the house of a harlot named Rahab and stayed there. Joshua 2:1 MSG

Before the spies were down for the night, the woman came up to them on the roof and said, "I know that God has given you the land. We're all afraid. Everyone in the country feels hopeless. We heard how God dried up the waters of the Red Sea before you when you left Egypt, and what he did to the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you put under a holy curse and destroyed. We heard it and our hearts sank. We all had the wind knocked out of us. And all because of you, you and God, your God, God of the heavens above and God of the earth below. Now promise me by God. I showed you mercy; now show my family mercy. And give me some tangible proof, a guarantee of life for my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, everyone connected with my family. Save our souls from death!” "Our lives for yours!" said the men. "But don't tell anyone our business. When God turns this land over to us, we'll do right by you in loyal mercy.” Joshua 2:8-14 MSG

God is faithful to find those who’s hearts are looking for Him.

Jesus found Rahab the Canaanite Prostitute because she was looking for Him!

“Shout!, God has given you the city! The city and everything in it is under a holy curse and offered up to God. "Except for Rahab the harlot she is to live, she and everyone in her house with her, because she hid the agents we sent. Joshua 6:16b-17 MSG

So Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute and her relatives who were with her in the house, because she had hidden the spies Joshua sent to Jericho. And she lives among the Israelites to this day. Joshua 6:25 NLT

Faith is at it’s best when life is at it’s worst!

By an act of faith, Rahab, the Jericho harlot, welcomed the spies and escaped the destruction that came on those who refused to trust God. Hebrews 11:31 MSG

Real faith always results in action, even if the action is simply standing.

Is it not evident that a person is made right with God not by a barren faith but by faith fruitful in works? The same with Rahab, the Jericho harlot. Wasn't her action in hiding God's spies and helping them escape, that seamless unity of believing and doing, what counted with God?
James 2:24-25 MSG

Nahshon had Salmon, Salmon had Boaz (his mother was Rahab), Boaz had Obed (Ruth was the mother), Obed had Jesse, Jesse had David, and David became king. Matthew 1:4b-6 MSG

Lesson 3 - The redemptive work of God is amazing, Like flowers that bloom after the rain!

Now Jericho was shut up inside and outside because of the people of Israel. None went out, and none came in. And the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and mighty men of valor. You shall march around the city, all the men of war going around the city once. Thus shall you do for six days. Seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark. On the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. And when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, when you hear the sound of the trumpet, then all the people shall shout with a great shout, and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and the people shall go up, everyone straight before him. Joshua 6:1-5 ESV

Jacob and Isaac! - Jacob had trouble listening and Isaac was sneaky…

If you love me, you will keep my commandments. John 14:15 ESV - (What His Word says)

Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? Luke 6:46 ESV - (Voice / Conviction)

Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? Romans 6:16 ESV - (His Heart)

Like a good teacher, God cares enough to give homework.

Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
Joshua 1:7-8 ESV

TA: Obedience like a muscle, must be consistently exercised and stretched to work well under stress or strain.

TA: Obedient is what you are, not just what you do… James 1:22

TA: Obedience is an attitude of the heart that results in God graced or empowered living.

On the seventh day they rose early, at the dawn of day, and marched around the city in the same manner seven times. It was only on that day that they marched around the city seven times. Joshua 6:15 ESV

A lot of us never make it to the 7th day!

Impatience has been the point of defeat for way to many of God’s best plans and promises.


So the people shouted, and the trumpets were blown. As soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they captured the city. Joshua 6:20 ESV

Never underestimate the power of obedience.

Obedience is success

There can't be a crisis next week. My schedule is already full. - Henry Kissinger

Never let a good crisis go to waste. - Winston Churchill

I walked a mile with pleasure and she chatted me all the way
but i was none the wiser for all she had to say
I walked a mile with sorrow and ne’er a word said she
but oh the things I learned from her when sorrow walked with me.

TA: Some of life’s most important lessons can only be learned in the crucible of crisis.

God’s presence is often more obvious in the face of great problems.

When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” And he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, “What does my lord say to his servant?” And the commander of the Lord's army said to Joshua, “Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.
Joshua 5:13-15 ESV

When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. Psalm 34:17-19 ESV

Your presets get reset during crisis.

While the people of Israel were encamped at Gilgal, they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening on the plains of Jericho. And the day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. And the manna ceased the day after they ate of the produce of the land. And there was no longer manna for the people of Israel, but they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year. Joshua 5:10-12 ESV


True Humility isn’t thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less… Unknown

Now Jericho was shut up inside and outside because of the people of Israel. None went out, and none came in. And the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and mighty men of valor. You shall march around the city, all the men of war going around the city once. Thus shall you do for six days. Seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark. On the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. And when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, when you hear the sound of the trumpet, then all the people shall shout with a great shout, and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and the people shall go up, everyone straight before him.” Joshua 6:1-5 ESV

Humility is needed for both getting and giving help.

Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. … Philippians 2:3-11 ESV
It’s okay to fly under the radar as long as I get to hit real targets.

Grace becomes even more real and obvious…

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV

After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' assistant, “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. Joshua 1:1-2 ESV

Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory. Joshua 1:3-4 ESV

TT: Living in the promises of God requires less attitude and more action.

No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. Joshua 1:5-6 ESV

What is your Jericho?

Joshua had a lot to believe and every reason to believe it!

A trust relationship is the only real relationship you can have with GOD.

Triumph never happens without trust.

The key to victory over Jericho wasn’t numbers, weapons, or strategy, it was TRUST!

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Proverbs 3:4-5 NLT

TRUST in the Lord.

Trust in the LORD

Peter had trouble letting God lead. So do we!

Let go and let God be God! - Army, learning to repel…

The sooner we learn to trust God, the sooner we walk into His promised provision.
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Trust Him in TROUBLE

I will not leave you or forsake you. Joshua 1:5b ESV

“Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. This is my command be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:6-9 NLT

Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins. Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions. For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.” Mark 12:41-44 NLT

Jesus also taught: “Beware of these teachers of religious law! For they like to parade around in flowing robes and receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces. And how they love the seats of honor in the synagogues and the head table at banquets. Yet they shamelessly cheat widows out of their property and then pretend to be pious by making long prayers in public. Because of this, they will be more severely punished.” Mark 12: 38-40 NLT

We are made in the image of the most generous being in the universe.

Every resource we have is His.

A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. John 3:27 ESV

Every faculty you have, your power of thinking or of moving your limbs from moment to moment, is given you by God. If you devoted every moment of your whole life exclusively to His service, you could not give Him anything that was not in a sense His own already. – C. S. Lewis

Stewardship is the surrender of ourselves and our possessions to God’s service, recognizing that we don’t have the right of control over either.

Owners have Rights, Stewards have Responsibilities.

Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ. Colossians 3:24 NLT

God led and directed generosity is key to living meaningful joy filled life.

Don’t devalue the impact of your input!

Envy is the enemy of generosity and self-centeredness kryptonite to the spirit of giving.

Selflessness is a consistent and critical characteristic of the generous life.

And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ But God said to him, Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” Luke 12:16-21 ESV

The genius of generosity is realized in the worry it dispels, the purpose it releases, and the grace it unlocks in your life.

We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. 2 Corinthians 8:1-5 ESV

True generosity is motivated by love and anchored in trust.

The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.
2 Corinthians 9:6-8 ESV

He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.
2 Corinthians 9:10-11 ESV

Redemption Story Video -

https://vimeo.com/286974627

Stories week 3 - Recipe for Redemption - Recipe’s are made up ingredients.

Now Elijah, who was from Tishbe in Gilead, told King Ahab, “As surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives—the God I serve—there will be no dew or rain during the next few years until I give the word!” 1 Kings 17:1 NLT

Elijah the protagonist in our story was from the rocky hill country of Gilead where rough, tough, rugged, and perhaps somewhat solemn and stern people lived. His name actually means My God is Yahweh. What an entrance onto the scene. Ch. 16 tells us our, Antagonist King Ahab (also known from extra-biblical history) was the most evil and disobedient King to date in Israel. And to top it off, he actually married Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal King of the very pagan Sidonians in Phoenicia.

A first ingredient in the recipe for redemption is the need for redemption.
(Elijah was dealing with heart ache, hurt, and the failure of a nation to follow God!)

Then the Lord said to Elijah, “Go to the east and hide by Kerith Brook, near where it enters the Jordan River. Drink from the brook and eat what the ravens bring you, for I have commanded them to bring you food.” So Elijah did as the Lord told him and camped beside Kerith Brook, east of the Jordan. The ravens brought him bread and meat each morning and evening, and he drank from the brook. But after a while the brook dried up, for there was no rainfall anywhere in the land. 1 Kings 17:2-6 NLT (Elijah didn’t complain, He knew something we need to remember.)

Neither the brook nor the ravens were Elijah’s source, they were God’s provision for the season.

PTR: Never equate the provision with the source.

Then the Lord said to Elijah, “Go and live in the village of Zarephath, near the city of Sidon. I have instructed a widow there to feed you.” 1 Kings 17:8-9 NLT

It was 80-100 miles across Israel to Sidon!? Out of the Frying pan and into the fire. And, A WIDOW?

So he went to Zarephath. As he arrived at the gates of the village, he saw a widow gathering sticks, and he asked her, “Would you please bring me a little water in a cup?” As she was going to get it, he called to her, “Bring me a bite of bread, too.” But she said, “I swear by the Lord your God that I don’t have a single piece of bread in the house. And I have only a handful of flour left in the jar and a little cooking oil in the bottom of the jug. I was just gathering a few sticks to cook this last meal, and then my son and I will die.” 1 Kings 17:10-12 NLT (Not exactly the faith-filled follower Elijah may have hoped)

THT: Negativity has the capacity to keep you from the redemption God wills for you…

I believe this lady had heard from God, but refused to believe Him or even consider Him her God!

He calls to us too, in our brokenness, our disobedience, and running. He persists and pursues…

But Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid! Go ahead and do just what you’ve said, but make a little bread for me first. Then use what’s left to prepare a meal for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers until the time when the Lord sends rain and the crops grow again!” 1 Kings 17:13-14 NLT

A second ingredient in the recipe for redemption is faith.

Faith to believe that God’s grace is bigger than your life’s grief or your goofs / gaffs.

So she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her family continued to eat for many days. There was always enough flour and olive oil left in the containers, just as the Lord had promised through Elijah. 1 Kings 17:15-16 NLT

The great German composer Felix Mendelssohn once visited the cathedral at Fribourg, having heard of the great organ thunderer as it was known but was almost refused from playing it…

A third ingredient in the recipe for redemption is surrender.

This widowed lady from Phoenicia lived fully provided for through out the drought. Wow!

Obedient surrender leads to God’s miraculous and redemptive provision.

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Romans 8:28 NLT

Eddie video

Some time later the woman’s son became sick. He grew worse and worse, and finally he died. Then she said to Elijah, “O man of God, what have you done to me? Have you come here to point out my sins and kill my son?” 1 Kings 17:17-18 NLT

V. 19-22 / Elijah takes the boy and intercedes 3 times and He’s healed…

Elijah picked the boy up, carried him downstairs from the loft, and gave him to his mother. "Here's your son," said Elijah, “alive!" The woman said to Elijah, "I see it all now you are a holy man. When you speak, God speaks a true word!” 1 Kings 17:23-24 MSG

God, I see it all now. You really are a God of hope, relentless love and miraculous redemption!

The final and most critical ingredient in the recipe for redemption is God’s amazing Grace!