Does God perform miracles today?
=Bible reports seen & unseen
-Miracle/Wonder/Sign (Bible Dict.) “An event that defies common expectations of behavior & subsequently is attributed to a superhuman agent; an occurrence that demonstrates God’s involvement in the course of human affairs.” = GOD SHOWED UP(Keener)
Miracle #1: Our God Provides in this Life
1 Kings 17:8-16 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.” 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 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.
Widow & son
Gentile – poor, suffering, decent people (evil vs lost “your God”) = LAST MEAL (hopeless)
- Model 1). Humility 2). Generosity 3). Hospitality (water in drought, last food)
- Middle East & Central Asian cultures – feed guest first, even if none for family
- Like manna 40 yrs
- Like little boy gave lunch to Jesus
Burden became blessing
- Man of God brought presence of God
- God met her in her kitchen
Lk 4:24-26,28 “no prophet is acceptable in his hometown.But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up 3 years & 6 months, & a great famine came…& Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in…Sidon, to a woman who was a widow…When they heard these things…[they] were filled with wrath.”
=Widow invited man of God into home/life. Have you invited God-man into ur home/life?
Elijah Eli = “strength of the Lord”; Jah = ”my God is Jehovah” SPIRIT-FILLED
1. CHERITH: Separation for preparation (Moses Midian Ex. 2-3; Joseph prison Ex. 39-41)
2. Brook dried up – God not punishing but sending
- “the Word of the LORD came to him”
- Travels 100 miles, rugged terrain, Most Wanted list
- HEART Asherah worship – last place Elijah would choose (FEARLESS)
- Zarephath = to melt/smelt – precious becomes pure = heat/pressure
1 Peter 1:6-7 you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
1.God’s not punishing you. 2. UR precious. 3. Ur faith priceless. 3. God’s preparing you!
Miracle #2: Our God Raises the Dead
1 Kings 17:17-24 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 and to cause the death of my son!” And he said to her, “Give me your son.” And he took him from her arms and carried him up into the upper chamber where he lodged, and 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.” 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.”
2 TRACKS (not seasons)
- Man of God, miracle, provision
- Widow – lost husband Death of a child
View of God
- Thinks God is punishing her for her sin
- Blames Elijah
Elijah & God
- Forgives, overlooks, does not take offense, lightning rod, grace on it
-Prov. 19:11 (GNT) If you are sensible, you will control your temper. When someone wrongs you, it is a great virtue to ignore it.
-1 Cor. 13:5 (TLB) [Love] is not irritable or touchy. It does not hold grudges & will hardly even notice when others do it wrong.
=Your test is for your testimony
1. God does not answer Elijah’s question. “cried to the LORD, “O LORD my God, have you brought calamity…upon the widow…by killing her son?”
2. God does answer Elijah’s prayer. “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.”
3. = Type of Jesus Jesus/Elijah – multiplied food (1 Ki 17:7-16; Lk 9:10-17); raise widows son (Nain Lk 7:11-17), after raising Elijah “man of God”, Jesus “a great prophet” (Lk 7:16)
???? Takes dead son upstairs, lays on him 3 times = unclean (Lev 21:1-17; Nu 19:13)
(Greater Elijah)– becomes unclean to heal us & spiritual life (2 Cor. 5:21)
Man: Women & children need a “Man of God”
Miracle: This far Bible – no record of person raised from dead 1st
=Dying/Rising widows only & beloved son foreshadows Jesus Christ Son of God
=GOOD FRIDAY. EASTER (Baptisms)
FAMILY REUNION – PRAY & SEE? OR Grandpa George, Miscarriage, Ella
Does God still perform miracles today?
James 5:17 [NLT] “Elijah was as human as we are, and…he prayed earnestly…”
-Government – run by evil for 5 generations.
-Culture – against faith, Bible based education, parents. For rebellion, gender confusion, sex.
-Church – Compromise. Cowardice.
-Elijah 1). Be a true believer & part of the remnant 2). Hear the Word of the Lord
3). Follow God’s leading 4). Look ministry opp’s in front of you
5). Find the thin space (prayer/worship)
Thy Kingdom Come, thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven…