Video Transition: The Squirrel Story and the healing of our land.
Just because we see the problems does not mean we are the ones who have to fix or can fix the problems. Why because God is the one who ultimately is the problem solver – whether it’s the provision of food and water in a national famine or healing from a deadly sickness.
Series: Breakthrough 2020 - Elijah’s Story
Summary from Last week’s message – Elijah’s Story pt1
What do we need to know from last week’s message?
Answer 1: Swindoll states, “The quest continues. Our Lord is still searching for people who will make a difference. Christians dare not be mediocre. We dare not dissolve into the background or blend into the neutral scenery of this world.”
It’s time to stand up for truth in our nation and day!
In spite of the worlds pushing us to blend in and not make waves and to accept everything as normal. God is saying don’t listen to those lies stand out – stand up – stand in gap. Your time is now to be a part of what God is doing and will do! This is what we have been created today to do – yes - in this age of tolerance and compromise? Everything is not okay but with God it will be okay if we stand in the gap. So, what do you say?
Answer 2: Just because the brook dried up does not mean God has forsaken or left you!
Swindoll highlights: “But God says, in the midst of your dried-up brook, “You are written on the palms of My hands. You are continually before Me.” Then He uses that wonderful image of a young mother with her new baby . . . and He surprises us with a realistic reminder: “Can a woman forget her nursing child?” You wouldn’t think so, would you? But look at the stories in the news, and you know how many women do exactly that. Babies left in garbage dumpsters. Tiny babies abandoned—sometimes even abused or tortured or murdered. Yes, as unimaginable as it seems, even a mother can forget her nursing child. But here’s the clincher: Not God. Not God! He will never forget us. We are permanently inscribed on the palms of His hands. Stop and glance at the palms of your hand. Now, imagine they are God’s hands and that you are right there.” Swindoll, Charles R.. Elijah (Great Lives Series) (p. 32). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.
Why do we need to know this?
Answer 1: God needs you! Not someone else – you!
Swindoll, “God’s methods are often surprising. God did not raise up an army to destroy Ahab and Jezebel. Neither did He send some scintillating prince to argue His case or try to impress their royal majesties. Instead God did the unimaginable—He chose somebody like (you and I) . . . well, like Elijah. Are you thinking right now that somebody else is better qualified for that short-term mission assignment? For that leadership training group? For that community service? Are you a wife and homemaker who feels that your contribution to God’s service is not noteworthy? Do you see other people as special or called or talented? You may be missing a ministry opportunity that is right there in front of you. You may be in the very midst of a ministry and not even realize it.”
Answer 2: God has not left you because the brook has dried up!
Swindoll reminds us: “And when we end up beside a dry streambed, He never has to admit, “Oops, now how did he wind up there?” No. God says, “That’s right. That’s exactly where I want you. Yes. Perfect.” “But it hurts, Lord. I remember when times were so much easier . . . when I drank from this brook. I feel so displaced.” “I know it, but it’s where I want you. I see you there. I haven’t forgotten you. Trust me through this.” Swindoll, Charles R.. Elijah (Great Lives Series) (p. 32-33). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.
What should we do with the truth of this message?
Answer 1: We need to be the ones who stand in the gap for truth - we need to call sin - sin. We need to decide to make a difference even If we think we are nobodies – from nowhere – how could I make a difference – God’s word to you – “You can make a difference.” You can save babies lives, you can turn a culture back to my ways and truths. You can keep the world from destroying more children and teenagers by calling the lies out and speaking the truth.
Swindoll states,” We stand before God. When we’re standing alone in the gap, ultimately, we’re standing before God. When the call comes, will God find us ready and willing to stand for Him? Will He find in us hearts that are completely His? Will He be able to say, “Ah, yes, that one’s heart is completely Mine.”
Swindoll notes, “Yet Elijah came out of this insignificant place—out of nowhere—to make such a significant contribution to God’s plan for His people that he became one of Israel’s most famous heroes. He became a legend.”
What’s your goal in life – live safely and comfortable all the way to your death or change the world for the better!
Answer 2: We need to know if the brook dries up – then we need to hear from God and move on to where he leads us! Just like God said go to the brook and I will provide means when it dries up he will send us somewhere else and still provide!
Swindoll states, “The dried-up brook was only the beginning. God had plans for Elijah that would take him far beyond those quiet days of isolation and meditation, where life beside the brook, with birds faithfully catering his meals, was simple, uninterrupted, and fairly routine. Anyone who would be used of God as mightily as Elijah would be in the years ahead must first face the advanced training course. For Elijah, this was Zarephath.” Swindoll, Charles R.. Elijah (Great Lives Series) (p. 44). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.
How do I help them remember this message?
Current day movements high light the The Return 2020 – Franklin Grahams prayer day in Dc (100,000 people) – Sean’s “Worship with us” in Dc coming on Oct. 25th - Jonathan Chan’s message - did you listen to it – watch it – hear it?”
Scripture texts: 1 Kings 17
Key verses:
1 Kings 17:1-24: Elijah:
Elijah Fed by Ravens
1Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.” 2Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah: 3“Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. 4You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there.” 5So he did what the LORD had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. 6The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.
Elijah the Brook dries up the Lord sends him to the widow at Zarephath
7Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. 8Then the word of the LORD came to him: 9“Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food.” 10So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” 11As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.” 12“As surely as the LORD your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.” 13Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD gives rain on the land.’” 15She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. 16For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah.
Sermon: Elijah’s Story of Breakthrough pt 2
Thesis: Elijah was a prophet of God called out of obscurity to confront a wicked King and Queen of Israel. He became one of Israel’s most famous prophets and helped bring a breakthrough for the nation of Israel. His calling was to confront the leaders of the nation for their promotion of sin and to prove God is the true God to be worshipped. He also teaches us what it means to trust God and allow God to provide for us and lead us.
Note: The bulk of this sermon is gleamed and quoted from Chuck Swindoll’s book Swindoll, Charles R.. Elijah (Great Lives Series) Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. Thank you Chuck for such a great book!
T.S. - Elijah’s life and story reveals how God provides even in times of nationwide sin, political chaos and famine.
1. Elijah at the Brook Kerith Ravine.
a. Elijah’s faith and trust in God’s provision helped him to grow in his faith walk with God – learning to allow faith to overcome our fears starts with the strong relationship with Jesus.
i. The babbling Brook experience was a significant spiritual growth time for Elijah - He allows God to led him to a brook – do you allow God to lead you – or do you tell god where you are going and then ask Him to bless your plans – he gets there and he is fed by the birds!
1. He does as he is instructed by the Lord and God provides for him in the wilderness.
a. Would you have been willing to do this?
b. Go into hiding for the Lord and completely trust Him to provide for you?
c. You go were he leads you into the wilderness?
b. Elijah needed to learn about God’s providence and provision – have you learned this spiritual lesson?
i. My own story of God’s provision!
1. The concept of learning tithing and the truck payment.
2. Going and taking our first church in Grygla Mn.
3. Coming here to Christian Hills both times as associate pastor and lead pastor!
a. Have you put yourself in a position where you allow faith to lead you which overcomes the fear?
b. You become part of a miracle – maybe a daily miracle of God’s provision?
ii. For Elijah the ravens brought him no stockpile; he learned to live from one meal to the next but it was daily miracle.
1. I suspect he also learned the difference between necessity and desire. If he was comparing himself to the other false prophets - The prophets of Baal probably dined in higher style had the best of everything – way more than Elijah.
a. He could have kept comparing himself to the false prophets who at the time had the best of everything! But he did not!
2. But Elijah was fed as befits a servant of God, not in luxury but in necessity – in the spirit of humility not prideful and arrogant.
iii. Because of his obedience to the Word of the Lord - He is able to hear Gods voice of where to go next when the provision of water and food dry up.
1. Yes, The brook dries – they always do by the way – as the book runs dry as he said it would by the drought which he prophesied about – But God sends him a 100 miles away – which he has to go by foot in the middle of a drought to the coast to another place – this time with other people not in isolation.
c. Have you been in this place with the Lord – He leads you somewhere the brook runs strong but then it slows down and it starts drying up?
i. Swindoll notes, “He leads us to a place of solitude and spiritual boot camp but then the Brook dries up?”
ii. Swindoll says this about dried brook experiences:
1. “But we can’t always live by the bubbling brook. This is not Fantasyland, remember; this is hard-core boot camp. Times of extensive training and intense testing are required courses in God’s character-character-building curriculum. And it happened after a while, that the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land. 1 Kings 17:7 One morning Elijah noticed that the brook wasn’t gushing over the rocks or bubbling as freely as it had in days past…Does that boot camp experience sound familiar to any of you? At one time you knew the joy of a full bank account, a booming business, an exciting, ever-expanding career, a magnificent ministry. But . . . the brook has dried up.”
a. Swindoll, Charles R.. Elijah (Great Lives Series) (p. 29). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.
2. But just because the brook dries up – does not mean you are done or out of God’s will and or that you are out of God’s blessings or that God does not have something over the horizon for you!
a. Are you with me?
i. Have you experienced the dry brook times in life?
ii. Done what God wants you to do but the Brook dries up – you stand looking at the waterless stream and you say – God we have a problem – you forgot to feed the brook water!
b. Swindoll notes this story: “That’s what happened to John Bunyan back in the seventeenth century in England. He preached against the godlessness of his day, and the authorities shoved him into prison. His brook of opportunity and freedom dried up. But because Bunyan firmly believed God was still alive and working, he turned that prison into a place of praise, service and creativity as he began to write Pilgrim’s Progress, the most famous allegory in the history of the English language. Dried-up brooks in no way cancel out God’s providential plan. Often, they cause it to emerge.”
i. Swindoll, Charles R.. Elijah (Great Lives Series) (p. 30). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.
2. Elijah at Zarephath with the widow
a. Elijah leaves the dried up brook and is led by God to the next divine appointment and place to be. The discovery of the widow in the midst of drought and famine a 100 miles away is the new mission and place to be for God.
i. Living with the widow was totally different experience than the Brook experience!
1. He hitches up with the widow and provides for her, her son and him – really all of them!
a. God did the miraculous – daily not just one time here – but a daily miracle – Elijah is not just experiencing a miracle for himself one day at a time but now for others! The widow and her son!
b. The first encounter with the widow sheds light on her position with God – we see she had some faith in the God of Israel – Yeshua – Elohim!
i. Elijah see’s and she is gathering sticks to have their last meal – sad really when you think of her situation – but God sends in the midst of famine a prophet to her house to claim that if she feeds the prophet – gives him some water first then God will provide for her and her son.
a. Yes, Elijah asks her for water and bread – feed me first – a stranger asking a widow to share her last meal with him and feed him first – are you kidding me – I don’t know you and I am going to give you our last meal?
2. The following thoughts gleamed and taken from http://storage.cloversites.com/praisechapel/documents/L2%20The%20Widow%20of%20Zeraphath.pdf
a. Her response to Elijah was, “As surely as the Lord your God lives, she replied, “I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, 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.” 1 Kings 17:12
i. She is speaking the truth of her situation!
ii. But she acknowledges in her realistic life observation that Elijah’s God is living and real one – is she a believer? – is this why Elijah was sent to her? God heard her pray for provision – so God dries up Elijah’s brook and sends him 100 miles to help this widow out? She is not Jewish by the way!
iii. But she is a realist as she states the obvious about her predicament and shortage of food – we will eat our last meal and then die from starvation.
1. I have no food – this is our last meal – we will die after this from starvation – and you are asking for some of my last food?
2. So, Elijah presses her to first let him have water and a cake of bread – did he not just say this is her last meal – did he not hear me right maybe she thinks?
a. What would have gone through your mind?
b. But Elijah lead by the Lord wants to get her to step out in faith – to overcome her fear of starving to death – and give him something to drink and eat so God could bless her with food and water in the midst of famine.
c. The Biblical point here is this – “When God asks us you to give sacrificially, He always gives us a promise that He will bless us in return with more than we could ever give!”
i. Elijah continued with a promise from Scripture, Vs.13 And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son.”
1. He was saying, “Don’t worry about running out of food and starving to death. Trust God and make me some bread first and there will still be enough bread left for you and your son.”
a. And guess what there was! Miracle – God’s provision for being obedient to giving to God and His people and their mission!
b. God says through our prophet - Vs. 14 “For thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth.’”
2. God said in essence, “Take Me at my Word. You give your last cake and I promise you that you will not run out of food until this famine is over.”
a. God is saying the same thing to many of you today – let you faith supersede you fear – give to me and I will never let you run out of what you need!
b. I know this works friends – it happened in Grygla – at camp and for every church I have pastored!
d. Biblical point to hear: “You will always receive much more in return that you give to God – you cannot out give God!”
i. The story of Milton Hershey: Share some of his story – hand out Hershey bar.
1. Milton Hershey (1857-1945) was a philanthropist and visionary who found the courage to make his greatest dreams come true. A modest man of principle, he was committed to the highest standards of honesty, fairness and integrity. Those who worked with him were inspired by his imagination and drive, his perseverance and his care and concern for others. His generosity was as sweet as the “the great American chocolate bar” he created. In 1918 at the age of 61, Hershey gave his entire personal fortune to a school for orphans that he and his wife Catherine established. A statue of Milton at The Hershey School includes these words: “His deeds are his monument. His life is our inspiration.” From https://www.jonsprout.com/cms/index.php/my-heroes/42-milton-hershey - the following quotes are from the same website!
a. “Give them quality. That's the best kind of advertising.” -- Milton Hershey
b. "If I ever become rich, I am going to use my money to build schools to give every boy and girl an opportunity to get an education." (reportedly spoken by a young Milton Hershey)
c. When once asked what his religion was, Milton Hershey is said to have replied, "The Golden Rule."
d. "God speaks through men to speak the truth, our hands to do His work here below, voices and clean hands to make liberty and love prevail over injustice and hate." -- Milton Hershey
e. "Without faith; in our work and in ourselves we cannot succeed in a long measure in life's undertaking. Without faith we cannot know our God and Creator." -- Milton Hershey
f. "I am a Christian in the only sense that Christ wished anyone to be, sincerely attached to his doctrine in preference to all others. I became a Mennonite when I went to church with my mother, and I am still a Mennonite." -- Milton Hershey
g. Mr. Hershey maintained that hard luck and misfortune are good for you; that they test your nettle, strength and character.
h. "We should deal with one another not as classes but as persons, as brothers. The more closely we work together, the more effectively can we contribute to the better health of all mankind; this should be our common objective and its achievement would make the world a happier place in which to live." -- Milton Hershey
i. "The value of our good is not measured by what it does, but by the amount of good it does to the one concerned." -- Milton Hershey
j. "It isn't what you leave your children but how you leave them." -- Milton Hershey
k. "No education, therefore, is complete or indeed sufficient which does not inspire the student with a sense of responsibility; so to live that he shall, by act or by word, install or enforce in the hearts, the minds, the souls, the conscience of men, those eternal varieties of human life without which civilization would perish--to worship one common God, to maintain civic and personal morality, to love our neighbor as ourselves and to govern our conduct accordingly." -- Milton Hershey
l. "If the-wrong people or organization get control, they can spend or give away more money in a short time than I have made in my life, to build monuments unto themselves, for their own financial gains, ego and recognition-- whose heads would swell and hearts would shrink, who would give to those who had plenty and take away from those who had little or none." -- Milton Hershey
m. "In this blooming civilization, with its economic setup, relatively few men can afford tailor-made suits or shoes built according to their own lasts. But, there is not a man who can't tailor the garments of his own soul; to get an excellent fit in principles; wearing his philosophy in comfort and pride." -- Milton Hershey
2. In summary: He began with so little, learned from numerous failures, and finally succeeded in becoming a very wealthy man. He was the rarest of men. He had the genius to develop his chocolate business in the right place at the right time. But Hershey was more than a chocolatier. He built a trade school for orphan boys in 1909, and continued building even through the Depression. Milton Hershey was not only focused on creating his chocolate empire, but also a great community for his employees to live in during the Great Depression when money was scarce. He lived the Golden Rule and was a great Christian hero of the faith.
ii. Lk. 6:38 Jesus says, Give, and you will receive. You will be given much. It will be poured into your hands—more than you can hold. You will be given so much that it will spill into your lap. The way you give to others is the way God will give to you.” International Children’s Bible New Century Ver.
1. If you give it away, it will not just come back to you, but it will be given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity.”TMSG
2. In Malachi 3:10 Bring your full tithe to the … treasury so there will be ample provisions…. Test me in this and see if I don’t open up heaven itself to you and pour out blessings beyond your wildest dreams. TMSG
3. Jesus said in Mark 10:29-30 that whatever you give up for His sake and for the Gospel will be returned to you 100 times as much in this life. So Jesus answered and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time (in this life)—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands,…”
iii. Key lesson here - Elijah took what little bit of food she had and God gave her 3 years of food back. God wants you to understand that whatever you give because of Him you are not giving it away, but that it will be multiplied back to you. You are making an investment with promised gain in this life, so you can then give more.
1. 1 Kings 17:15-16 So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days. The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke by Elijah.
a. This widow gave one meal away, and she received in return over 1,000 days of meals. That was a thousand fold return. Giving to God is not to hurt you, but to help you. Giving is for your benefit.
b. Giving is an act of faith. God’s grace is extended to you all the time, but He still wants you to trust him. Every day she had to trust God. Every day she went . . . and did according to the word.
c. Giving is like planting seed. God gives a great increase. The miracle of increase is activated when the seeds are planted. 2 Corinthians 9:6-11:
i. This widow, her son and Elijah were all provided for because they went and did. They trusted God and acted upon that trust. Provisions received were more than food. 1 Kings 17:17-24
ii. Her faith over fear was tested. A life of faith does not prevent affliction and death. The prophet was sent to the widow to encourage her faith.
iii. He meets the widow and God provides supernaturally – now Elijah is not just trusting for himself – he is now trusting God to take care of him and others! God does another miracle everyday for three years – the oil and the floor never run dry for the three of them!
e. Tragedy strikes the family of God - Tragedy often makes us forget and overlook all of God’s benefits and distorts our view of God. Notice what she says to Elijah “17Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing. 18She said to Elijah, “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?”
i. Wow do you hear the grief and pain of losing her one and only son?
1. The question is not really “Where is God when it hurts because we are told in Scripture He is right there with us.” But the question we must answer is, “How will I respond?”
2. Listen to these Scripture Texts:
a. James 1:2-5: 2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
b. 1 Peter 1:6-7: 6In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
c. 1 Peter 4:12, 13: 12Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. 13But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.
i. The Bible texts which we just read do not point to “Is God to blame for my tragedy?” but they teach us that the important question is, “How will I respond to this crisis, trauma, or loss?” These verses do not answer the question about why something happens but they do answer the question about how we should respond to the crisis? The how I will respond? Really becomes the most important question that needs to be answered in the journey of grief. This answer determines how we will recover.
ii. So to help us respond appropriately to the grief let’s answer another common question: God is always closer than we think and we need to learn see Him daily.John Ortberg stated, “The central promise in the Bible is not ‘I will forgive you.’ The most frequent promise is ‘I will be with you.’” (God Is Closer Than You Think, page 15).
1. The promise was made to Adam and Eve, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Samuel, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Amos, Mary, Paul, Peter, John and a host of others from the beginning of time until the climax of his return the promise goes on – verbalized by God to the one’s He loves over and over again.
a. Even Jesus name was Immanuel – “God with Us!” Reiterates this promise from the Father.
b. So where is God? He is right here with us! Even at this very moment God’s presence is in this church service. He is here with us – at times he may be quiet but He is still there! The truth is God is with us everyday and every night and most of the time we ignore Him and never speak to Him nor acknowledge Him. But He is still there.
c. It becomes important to understand that we need to start recognizing that
d. ]esus is with us and incorporate Him into our everyday lives. Why? Because when tragedy strikes you see Him quicker and recognize His presence faster.
e. Sometimes pain is the element that turns us towards His face. The truth is many of us have a tendency to forget to face God each day when things are going good. We seem to forget about Him in the busy ordinary day of life. Yet God is still there whether you acknowledge Him or not.
iii. But tragedy strikes her son dies!
1. I Kings 17:17-24
a. 17After 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. 18And 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!”
19And 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. 20And 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?” 21Then 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.” 22And the Lord listened to the voice of Elijah. And the life of the child came into him again, and he revived. 23And 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.” 24And 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. Elijah calls to God and God heals her son – brings him back to life!
3. She acknowledges that he is a prophet of truth not a person filled with lies – why because her son’s life is given back to her.
4. She acknowledges that His God is the real deal – He is a prophet of truth.
a. “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is the truth.”
Conclusion:
What do we need to know from this sermon?
Answer: God is the one who can provide through drought and famine and He is the one that promises that if we give sacrificially to His Kingdom we will not be able to out give Him.
Why do we need to know this?
Answer: If we understand that God is the provider for our lives and that it is not all on us then we learn to trust God to do what we cannot do on our own. But that provision usually comes from us being obedient to do what He has asked us to do first.
What do we need to do?
Answer: We need to allow faith to superseded out fears and do what God has called us to do because when we do - He will take care of us even in national famine.
Why do we need to do this?
Answer: Growing our faith increases our faith and trust in God and enables us to trust him for our personal needs and for the needs of others.
