Oct. 19, 2025
1 Kings 17:7–16 (NLT) 7 But after a while the brook dried up, for there was no rainfall anywhere in the land. 8 Then the Lord said to Elijah, 9 “Go and live in the village of Zarephath, near the city of Sidon. I have instructed a widow there to feed you.” 10 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?” 11 As she was going to get it, he called to her, “Bring me a bite of bread, too.” 12 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.” 13 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. 14 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!” 15 So she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her family continued to eat for many days. 16 There was always enough flour and olive oil left in the containers, just as the Lord had promised through Elijah.
This passage shows us:
-That God is a God of “The More than Enough”.
-How God Provides all our needs when we Trust Him.
Material needs,
Emotional needs,
Spiritual needs,
Relational needs
-God’s Care and Concern about all our Worries and Fears.
It was in a time of Famine and Drought.
There was no rain for 3 ½ years.
It was a time when Israel was backslidden.
The people were in conflict:
Should we worship the True God or worship Baal?
God called Elijah to …
Awaken the Israelites of their Spiritual Rebellion and
Challenge them back to being Loyal to the True God.
Victory Outreach is called to Awaken and Challenge people to serve the True God.
Victory Outreach is called to reach The Treasures out of Darkness.
Ahab was the king of Israel during this time.
He was the most evil King Israel had ever had.
1 Kings 16:30 (NIV) Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him.
He was influenced by his wife Jezebel from Sidon.
Jezebel influenced King Ahab to lead the people to abandon the Worship of God and begin to worship Baal.
God sent Elijah to proclaim 3 ½ years of drought and famine because of their sin.
Elijah hides from King Ahab at the Kerith Brook, near the Jordan River.
1 Kings 17:1–4 (NLT) 1 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!” 2 Then the Lord said to Elijah, 3 “Go to the east and hide by Kerith Brook, near where it enters the Jordan River.
4 Drink from the brook and eat what the ravens bring you, for I have commanded them to bring you food.”
When the Brook dries up, God sends Elijah to Zarpharth near Sidon, to meet a poor widow.
1 Kings 17:7–9 (NLT) 7 But after a while the brook dried up, for there was no rainfall anywhere in the land. 8 Then the Lord said to Elijah,
9 “Go and live in the village of Zarephath, near the city of Sidon. I have instructed a widow there to feed you.”
In this passage,
God uses two people who are in Need.
God meets their needs in times of Drought.
-The Prophet Elijah:
Elijah was hiding from the King Ahab.
King Ahab hated Elijah and wanted to kill him.
-Poor Widow:
She was about to eat her last meal with her son then die.
God blessed them in times of Drought and Famine.
God provides for them even in time of drought.
You may be going through a personal Drought.
God wants to provide for you.
God is More than Enough!
How can God be “More than Enough” for you?
What did Elijah and the poor widow do?
1 Kings 17:8–10 (NLT) 8 Then the Lord said to Elijah, 9 “Go and live in the village of Zarephath, near the city of Sidon. I have instructed a widow there to feed you.” 10 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?”
Elijah …
Did not question God:
Did not make any excuses why he should not obey.
His Obedience was immediate.
When God spoke, Elijah moved.
There was no argument, no discussion.
The amazing thing about Elijah:
He was a man with the same Issues, Problems as anyone else.
James 5:17–18 (ESV) 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours (KJV: subject to like passions as we are, NIV: a human being, even as we are), and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.
The Poor Widow …
1 Kings 17:12–16 (NLT) 12 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.” 13 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. 14 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!” 15 So she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her family continued to eat for many days. 16 There was always enough flour and olive oil left in the containers, just as the Lord had promised through Elijah.
She Had been through hard times:
Her husband died.
She was a single mother
She had financial problems.
She must have heard and known the true God of Israel.
1 Kings 17:9 (NLT) “Go and live in the village of Zarephath, near the city of Sidon. I have instructed a widow there to feed you.”
Jesus spoke about her:
Luke 4:25–26 (NIV) 25 I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon.
She Obeyed the Word of the Lord.
She Obeyed to give her last meal away.
She was like the widow Jesus spoke about.
Mark 12:41–44 (NIV) 41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. 43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.
44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”
She did not let Fear Stop her.
13 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. 14 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!” 15 So she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her family continued to eat for many days.
16 There was always enough flour and olive oil left in the containers, just as the Lord had promised through Elijah.
Obedience to God Brings Peace.
Fear and anxiety affect the decisions we make.
We conquer Fear with Faith.
We Conquer Fear:
By Believing that God will work things out for you.
Elijah got the poor Widow to take her eyes off her situation and to look to God.
2 Corinthians 4:18 (NLT) So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen.
For the things we see now will soon be gone,
but the things we cannot see will last forever.
God blessed Elijah and the Poor Widow in times of Drought.
Elijah obeyed to go to Zerapath and ask a poor widow for food.
The Poor Widow obeyed by giving up her last meal.
Fear keeps you from obeying the Word of the Lord.
Obedience to the word of the Lord always leads to our own Good.
We must be Obedient to Give, even when it does not make sense.
Give Tithes, Offerings, Pledges
God Provides all our needs when we Trust Him.
Material needs,
Emotional needs,
Spiritual needs,
Relational needs