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Hopeless

Hopeless

Jan 13, 2019

Passage:1 Kings 17:8-24

Preacher: John Welborn

Series: The End: A Great Pace to Start

Detail:

January 13, 2019                                                                                                 Pastor John Welborn

The End: A Great Place to Start

Hopeless

1 Kings 17:8-24 

“Elijah was sent to turn the nation and its leaders back to the Lord through his prophetic message and miracles.” Walter A. Elwell

“Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, ‘As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.’” 1 Kings 17:1

Main Idea: When I am hopeless, God comes 

Three Types of Hopelessness in 1 Kings 17:8-24…

I. Hopeless with Hunger

“So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, ‘Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.’ And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, ‘Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.’ And she said, ‘As the LORD your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.’ And Elijah said to her, ‘Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son. For thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the LORD sends rain upon the earth.’’ And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her house- hold ate for many days. The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by Elijah.” 1 Kings 17:10-16

 “What she didn’t know was that God had chosen to shine the light of glorious life on her. God had already chosen for her to be part of something more wonderful than anything her broken heart could have ever imagined.” Paul Tripp

“And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by Elijah.” 1 Kings 17:15-16

II. Hopeless Facing Death

“After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill. And his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. And she said to Elijah, ‘What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance & to cause the death of my son!’ And he said to her, ‘Give me your son.’ And he took him from her arms & carried him up into the upper chamber where he lodged, & laid him on his own bed. And he cried to the LORD, ‘O LORD my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by killing her son?’ Then he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried to the LORD, ‘O LORD my God, let this child’s life come into him again.’’ And the LORD listened to the voice of Elijah. And the life of the child came into him again, and he revived. And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house and delivered him to his mother. And Elijah said, ‘See, your son lives.’”  1 King 17:17-23

People Misunderstanding Pain & Death:

  • Job’s Friends – Blamed him

“But you are doing away with the fear of God & hindering meditation before God.” Job 15:4

  • Jesus’ Disciples – Thought a blind man was somehow paying for sin

“As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ Jesus answered, ‘It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.” John 9:1-3

  • Modern People – What have I done to deserve this? Where was God?

“For he makes his sun rise on the evil & on the good, & sends rain on the just & the unjust.” Matthew 5:45b

“The Bible does not assume an inevitable cause-and-effect connection between sin and suffering (or between righteousness and blessing), but leaves room for suffering which is undeserved and, from the human point of view, unexplained.” D.A. Cars

III. Hopeless, But God…

“Then the word of the LORD came to him, ‘Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.’ --- “And the woman said to Elijah, ‘Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is truth.’” 1 Kings 17:8-9, 24

Some of us are Elijah (Hopeful in God) and some of us are the Widow (Hopeless apart from God), but all of us need Jesus!

To the Hungry: “Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.’”  John 6:35

To those Facing Death: “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection & the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.” John 11:25

The End: A Great Place to Start….Because Jesus offers Hope to the Hopeless!

Sources and Further Reading Opportunities:

  • Strong’s Concordance – James Strong (1890)
  • Tony Evans Book of Illustrations – Tony Evans (2009)
  • Swindoll’s Ultimate Book of Illustrations & Quotes – Charles Swindoll (1998)
  • Bible Exposition Commentary – Warren Wiersbe (1996)
  • Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the Old Testament – Warren Wiersbe (1993)
  • New Bible Commentary – Carson, France, Motyer & Wenham (1994)
  • Bible Knowledge Commentary – Walvoord & Zuck, (1985)
  • New American Commentary – 1, 2 Kings – Paul R. House (2000)
  • Tyndale Bible Dictionary – Comfort & Elwell (2001)
  • The Widow’s Gift of Everything – Paul Tripp (2017)
  • ussnautilus.org/blog- Loss of the USS S-4 (SS109) (2013)