“God’s Advanced Training Through People” - 1 Kings 17:7-16

1. Purifying us.

• “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” (v.9)

• Cherith – ‘Isolate’, ‘Cut off’

• Zarephath – ‘Refining’

• Ravens vs. Widow in Sidon

2. Stretching our knowledge of God.

• “And Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” (Luke 4:26-27)

• Don’t stick to “your story”
  “Most of us have personal narratives about defining moments that taught us important lessons. Consciously or not, we allow our stories, and the images of ourselves that they paint, to guide us in new situations.  But the stories can become outdated as we grow, so sometimes it’s necessary to alter them dramatically or even to throw them out and start from scratch.” (Herminia Ibarra, The Authenticity Paradox, Harvard Business Review)

3. Making us to realize there is more than life. 

•  “bring it to me” (v.13)

• “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.’” (v.14)

• “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.” (v.15-16)

• “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 and to cause the death of my son!’” (v.18)

• “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.’” (v.24)