As I've said before, from time to time I will post full-length sermon outlines from sermons that I've preached. This sermon is one that I had the opportunity to preach while I was out of town last weekend.

“Being In God’s Will”
I Kings 17:1-16

Introduction
A couple of years ago, I had the opportunity to meet a youth pastor who ministers at a church not far from mine. We met up at a place called Frankie’s for some good Italian food J, and then we came over to the church so I could give him a tour. Afterwards, we were just standing around talking for a while, and he started talking about how the Lord had blessed him since he stepped out in faith and submitted to God’s will in his life. As we talked on that subject, a “little voice” inside my head said, “You know, that would be a good sermon topic.” I didn’t think anything of it at the time.

After he left, I went back up to my office to get some work done. Again, I heard that “little voice” say, “You know, that would be a good sermon topic.” I paid closer attention this time, for I had a feeling that the Lord was giving me a message. He led me to I Kings 17, where we find the familiar story of God taking care of Elijah after he told King Ahab that God was going to send a famine throughout all of Israel.

As I began to read and study, I found something that I had really never thought much about: this chapter is the first time that anything about Elijah is mentioned in Scripture. God gives us a glimpse of Elijah as a “young” (or newly-called) prophet. And Elijah is one of those characters who personifies what I define as “being in God’s will”- he obeyed God completely. When God said “Go”, Elijah went. When God said “Do”, Elijah did. And because of Elijah’s obedience to God’s will, God was able to teach him some things that were building blocks of his faith. I want to take a look at the 3 lessons that Elijah learned- and we can learn- by being in the will of God.

I. You won’t always have what you want, but you will always have what you need. (vs. 1-6)

A. In verse 1, we find Elijah standing before King Ahab delivering God’s message about the coming famine.

B. God knew that Elijah now needed 2 things:
1. protection from an angry King Ahab
2. provision for the coming famine

C. So, God met those needs by sending Elijah to the brook Cherith and commanding ravens to feed him.

D. Notice what Scripture says in Philippians 4:19- “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” This was the first principle that God taught Elijah- that his needs would be supplied. And he gave that same promise to us.

E. However, we sometimes complain when God doesn’t provide all of our wants. We confuse wants and needs. God does graciously provides some of our wants, but He never promised to provide all of them. I’m sure that there were several things that Elijah wanted during his time by the brook, but we don’t see any evidence of him complaining. He trusted God to know his needs and to meet them.

II. Things may not seem to get better, but you will get stronger. (vs. 7-9)

A. Scripture says in verse 7 that, “after a while”, the brook dried up. It doesn’t give a specific time, but it couldn’t have been too long. The entire famine only lasted about 3 years.

B. I can imagine that Elijah, like any normal human being, probably began to wonder about things a little bit here. He had obeyed God and predicted the famine to Ahab, and now he was in hiding by a brook while being fed by ravens twice a day. At least he had food, but now the brook was drying up. He’s done nothing but obey God so far, but his situation seems to be getting worse.

C. Don’t miss the key here: HE KEPT OBEYING GOD IN FAITH. In Philippians 4:13, Paul writes, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” It is the exercising of our faith that builds its strength.

D. God was in the process of building Elijah’s faith so that he could handle the ministry that God had called him to perform. And Elijah was smart enough to keep obeying, and God used that obedience to build a great man of faith.

E. Don’t forget the things that God has done in the past. They are the building blocks to your faith in what He will do in the future.

III. You start out as a student, but God will use you to teach others. (vs. 10-16)

A. God now tells Elijah to go to the city of Zarephath. God says that a widow there will take care of him.

B. Again, Elijah obeys. And with this act of obedience, “the student becomes the teacher”. God used him to teach the widow about faith.
1. He asked her for some bread and water. She responded by saying that she
only has enough for a small last meal for her and her son before they die.
2. He told her to make him a little cake first- before herself or her son- and the
Lord would take care of her and her son during the famine.
3. Elijah must have spoken with the conviction, confidence, and power that only
comes when a person has learned and experienced what true faith in God can
do. Why else would a mother put a stranger before her own child? The widow
obeyed him, and God kept his promise to her.

C. God has built Elijah’s faith through Elijah’s obedience. Now He’s using Elijah to start the faith-building process in someone else’s life through their obedience.

D. Here we have illustrated the principle that Scripture teaches in Proverbs 27:17- “Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.” When we walk in the will of the Lord, our lives are an example that helps others to do the same.

Conclusion
God is constantly working to build the faith of those who are walking in His will. However, our faith will only get stronger as we exercise it. That’s why God starts out with small things and works His way towards bigger things. However, some Christians refuse to learn from the small things. Don’t miss out on the blessings that come from the lessons learned in God’s will. They may not be pleasant while you’re learning them, but the end result makes walking in God’s will worth every mile of the trip.

thanks Bro. Chad for the sermon, and thanks for the reminder that some of these trials in our lives may not be very easy at the time but they help to build our faith in our LORD.
I thank GOD FOR you and your work in His MINISTRY and HIS WORLD!!!

PRAISING GOD FOR YOU
PQ

Thanks, Chad. I needed that.