Summary: EVEN SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF PROMISE KNOW LEAN TIMES. What are we going to do when everything seems wrong? Study Hagar and Elijah.

CRY BABY, CRY BABY, CRY BABY, CRY...

WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO WHEN OUR PROVISIONS GO DRY?

By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com

In 1945 a young man and his girlfriend decided to get married...

The two had enough money for a simple wedding and they purchased two

train tickets to go to a resort hotel...

Upon arrival the two when to a the motel to find it had been closed for

some time...

The newly weds THUMBED a ride to a local grocery store... and purchased a

few things to eat...

The owner of the store had a little room over the store and offered them to stay

there one night.

The next day the lady from the store heard the man praying gospel songs on

a slide trombone... he was good...

The lady liked them so much that she talked to a friend and allowed them to

stay the rest of the week in her home.

Several days later the home owner invited the newly weds to a YOUTH

REVIVAL WHERE A NEW EVANGELIST WAS SPEAKING...

WHEN THEY GOT TO THE REVIVAL THEY HEARD THE SONG LEADER WAS VERY

SICK AND HIS THROAT WAS VERY SORE AND HE COULD NOT TALK...

Some asked if there was a song leader in the crowd...

The lady raised her hand and said: THIS YOUNG MAN PLAYS GOSPEL MUSIC

ON A SLIDE TROMBONE... HE CAN LEAD THE SINGING...

GOD HAD BIGGER PLANS THAN THE YOUNG COUPLE EVER DREAMED...

THE YOUNG EVANGELIST WAS BILLY GRAHAM, THE TROMBONE PLAYER WAS

A MAN NAMED CLIFF BARROWS...

THE TWO MADE UP A TEAM FOR A LIFE TIME OF WORLD TRAVELS AND

MILLIONS OF SOULS SAVED...

WAS THIS AN ACCIDENT? DIVINE PROVISION?

I. OH, NO, WE HAVE SOWN BAD SEED?

THERE ARE TIMES OUR OWN BEHAVIOR AND BAD ATTITUDES BRING FORTH

BAD FRUIT...

A. Many people feel great sorrow for Hagar...

B. Hagar and her son Ismael became a GREAT THREAT TO THE PROMISE OF GOD...

C. THE TROUBLE IN THE MIDDLE EAST TODAY WAS BIRTHED WHEN SARAH

TOOK GOD'S PROMISE TO THE FLESH...

Genesis 21:8 And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the

same day that Isaac was weaned.

9 And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking.

10 Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son

of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.

11 And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight because of his son.

12 And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and

because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice;

for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.

13 And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed.

14 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave

it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed,

and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.

15 And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.

16 And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot: for

she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her

voice, and wept.

17 And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and

said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where

he is.

18 Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation.

19 And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle

with water, and gave the lad drink.

20 And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.

D. WHY CAN'T WE JUST OPEN OUR EYES...

Did God just POOF MAKE THE WELL...

E. The well was there all the time...

THE VISION AND EMOTIONS CONTROLED THE NEGATIVE...

THE SEED WAS BRINGING FORTH NEGATIVE...

F. YOU CAN NOT BE BITTER, FULL OF HATE AND SEE GOD'S PROVISIONS...

II. YOUR OWN HANDS BRING FORTH NEGATIVE TRASH...

GROUCH LAND...

A. I HAVE A GROUCH FROM SEMSEME STREET...

Grouch lives in a GARBAGE CAN.... and his live is nothing but complaining and

trouble...

Genesis 16:12 And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's

hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.

B. WE ARE NO MORE THAN A PRODUCT OF OUR OWN CHOICES...

Sure we tend to blame others... THAT IS PART OF BEING A GROUCH....

C. HAGAR BECOMES HER OWN MESS...

Genesis 16:4 And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had

conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.

5 And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom;

and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge

between me and thee.

Genesis 21:9 And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto

Abraham, mocking.

F. TO THIS DAY... HAGAR AND ISHMAEL ARE A THREAT TO THE PROMISE...

THE SPIRIT MAN...

III. THERE ARE TIMES THAT THE FATHER'S PROVISIONS SEEM TO BE LACKING...

A. Abraham promised to provide for the son...

Genesis 21:15 And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the

shrubs.

Genesis 21:13 And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is

thy seed.

B. THEY DEVELOPED NO PLAN, EMOTIONS ARE HIGH, WE WILL JUST WANDER

AROUND AND AROUND...

Genesis 21:14 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of

water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away:

and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.

C. IN THE FLESH SEEMS THE FATHER'S BLESSINGS AND PROVISON WAS NOT

ENOUGH...

Genesis 21:15 And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of

the shrubs.

IV. GOD DID NOT LISTEN TO THE MOTHER IN HER ANGER AND BITTERNESS

RELEASED THE PROMISE...

A. QUIT CRYING AND GET UP...

Genesis 21:17 And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar

out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard

the voice of the lad where he is.

B. ARISE... MY SON... ARISE...

18 Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation.

C. ARISE PRODIGAL SON...

Luke 15:18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned

against heaven, and before thee,

D. WE MUST ARISE ABOVE:

1. FEARS 3. NEGATIVE WORDS

2. EMOTIONS 4. FEELINGS AND CIRCUMSTANCES

E. WHY DO WE FAIL TO SEE THE DIVINE PROVIONS?

V. I HEARD A TV PREACHER SAY ELIJAH PROPHESIED HIS OWN BROOK DRY...

I SAY: GOD NEVER INTENDED ELIJAH TO LIVE THE REST OF HIS LIVE SITTING

BY A BROOK...

A. ELIJAH HAD DIVINE PROVISONS, BUT THEY WERE NOT FOREVER...

GO AND OBEY...

1 Kings 17:1 And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab,

As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these

years, but according to my word.

2 And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying,

3 Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is

before Jordan.

4 And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to

feed thee there.

B. THE BROOK GOES DRY...

IT IS TIME TO GET UP AND MOVE ON...

1 Kings 17:7 (KJV)

1Ki 17:7 And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been

no rain in the land.

C. GO TO THE WIDOW WOMAN...

1 Kings 17:8-And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying,

9 Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have

commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.

D. THIS DIVINE PROVISION SHALL PASS... THIS TOO SHALL PASS...

1 Kings 17:14 For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste,

neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth.

CONCLUSION:

My friend, if you could hear Jesus Christ praying for you would in the other room,

would you be worried at all?

Remember the call of the Revolutionary War:

TRUST GOD, BUT KEEP YOUR POWDER DRY...

LET US PREPARE... WE HAVE TO FLY TO CALIFORNIA...

We hear a new airline is in business, it has great prices, you can fly for $25.00...

You get to the airport and see a rusty, dirty old airplane... a 1944 B-17, army surplus.

You met the pilot, he is 16 years old, he has never flown before...

You ask about the food: THEY SAY: We get our food out of the garbage cans

of the other airlines!

We are in such a hurry jump in the plane and hang on...

Did you check the fuel and the engines? NO TIME FOR THAT?

THE PILOT PUTS ON A PARACHUTE AND SAYS:

What do you expect for $25.00?

MY FRIEND, WOULD YOU GET ON THIS AIRLINE?

WE BETTER BE READY AND PREPARED...

God has a plan... this plan is but temporary...

STAY UNTIL... THEN ARISE...

His servant. Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com

Help me? Pass it on?