Celebrate The Mystery
Jon Bennett Preached on 7/12/20221 Kings 17:1
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Summary
Pastor Jon Bennett explores the story of Elijah to show how God uses mystery and specific, sometimes difficult instructions to build our faith. He challenges believers to pray audacious prayers and embrace the 'law of reciprocity' by being willing to go first in generosity and trust.
Key points
- •God often works through 'unauthorized nouns' and unexpected methods, such as using unclean ravens to feed Elijah or a destitute widow to sustain him.
- •Prayer is not just a religious ritual but a tool of a righteous person that is powerful enough to change the weather, the economy, and individual lives.
- •The New Testament pattern of guidance is that God 'does' guidance through daily steps rather than 'giving' a complete roadmap, requiring us to live in the tension of faith.
- •The Law of Reciprocity (sowing and reaping) often requires us to 'go first' in generosity, forgiveness, or kindness before we see the supernatural breakthrough.
Scripture
Faith
Prayer
Obedience
Purpose
Stewardship
Life application
Identify one area where you are waiting for God to move and choose to 'go first' this week by acting in bold, specific prayer or practicing sacrificial generosity.
Reflection questions
- Are your current prayers 'bold and audacious,' or have you shrunk them to match your own comfort level?
- In what areas of your life are you feeling 'tension,' and how might that tension be strengthening your faith?
- What is the 'but first' step God might be asking you to take today to demonstrate trust in His provision?
- How would your perspective on your current trials change if you truly believed God was pulling up a chair to tell you how much He loves and believes in you?
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Full transcript
0:01hey i'm just getting warmed up folks i'm
0:02just getting warmed up
0:04[Music]
0:08i want to talk to you for a few moments
0:09today out of the book of first kings
0:12chapter 17. we're going to work through
0:14a few verses together on a topic i've
0:17entitled celebrate
0:19the mystery
0:21celebrate the mystery
0:24when i was younger as a minister i would
0:26hear people say things like you know god
0:28always moves in mysterious ways and i
0:31would think well what's wrong with you
0:33god's
0:34god i know god and you know i preach on
0:36his behalf and i work on his behalf but
0:38after several decades have gone by i can
0:40tell you right now
0:42god does in fact move
0:44in mysterious ways and it's a and the
0:46question is not so much will he be god
0:49in providential in a sovereign way the
0:52question really is
0:54are you going to recognize and celebrate
0:57the mystery of god and his work in your
1:00life first kings chapter 17 i want to
1:02read the first verse and then pray and
1:05then we're going to celebrate we're
1:07going to learn how to celebrate the
1:09mystery of god
1:11in our lives
1:14verse 1 of first kings 17
1:17now elijah the tishbite from tishbe and
1:19gilead said to ahab
1:22ahab is one of the evilest kings in the
1:25history of israel
1:27he said to ahab as the lord
1:30the god of israel whom i serve that's
1:32important
1:33there will be neither do nor rain in the
1:36next few years except
1:39at my word
1:41let's pray together
1:43father thank you for this opportunity to
1:46be at this incredible place
1:48lord what makes it incredible is because
1:50these people are here and they've
1:51worshipped you and they've welcomed you
1:53and holy spirit we do recognize
1:56that you are
1:58the god
2:00who comes to anoint your word to take
2:02the word from the pages of scripture the
2:05pages of the bible and to take those
2:07words and make those words real to you
2:10and i
2:11and so father i pray today that you
2:13would take your word anoint your word
2:15anoint your servant lord today
2:18to be able to share in such a way that
2:20people would be encouraged
2:22to know you at a deeper level they would
2:24be encouraged to celebrate the mystery
2:27of who you really are
2:29and i thank you for that in jesus name
2:31and everybody said
2:33amen
2:37if you're a king
2:39and the prophet comes to see you
2:41you might want to buckle up
2:44prophets are not politically correct
2:47and they call out things that most
2:49people don't want to talk about
2:52god raises up prophets when there's a
2:54spiritual problem that he wants to solve
2:58in the context of chapter 17 the people
3:00are worshiping
3:02a god as i mentioned under the
3:04leadership of one of the most evil
3:05administrations in the nation's history
3:08the people are worshiping an idol
3:12an idol is an unauthorized noun you
3:15remember english class
3:17a peep a person a place or a thing an
3:20unauthorized noun because it was in the
3:22place of god and it was in place of what
3:26was best for their lives
3:29chapter 16 tells us they worship the god
3:32of baal a god who among other things was
3:35thought to have controlled
3:37the weather
3:39and in an agrarian society when they're
3:41so dependent on rain in the growing of
3:43crops
3:44the
3:45the uh the weather control the economy
3:49so god raises up a prophet who walks in
3:51and says these words ahab it's not gonna
3:54rain until i say so he drops the mic
3:57and he walks away so elijah shuts down
4:02the weather
4:04with a word
4:05elijah in time brings down the entire
4:08economy
4:10with a word elijah sets the world on the
4:12brink of disaster
4:14with a word and the book of james calls
4:17that conversation a prayer
4:21there's a lot of different kinds of
4:22prayers in the bible prayers of
4:23repentance prayers of grieving prayers
4:26of hope prayers of salvation prayers of
4:28celebration but there is a prayer that
4:31changes everything
4:34let me say that again just so we get
4:36that this morning there is a prayer
4:39that changes everything
4:41the book of james chapter 5 says it like
4:43this the prayer of a righteous person is
4:47powerful and effective
4:49how many righteous people we have in the
4:51house today
4:53okay about 60 percent i think i got some
4:55work to do how many righteous people in
4:58the house today
5:01the fact is you are righteous and
5:04simultaneously unrighteous
5:07we're unrighteous because we've all
5:08sinned and fall short of the glory of
5:10god we are righteous because of the free
5:12gift of god in christ jesus
5:15so when it says the prayer of a
5:17righteous person is powerful and
5:19effective you can be sure it's talking
5:22about you you can be sure that you can
5:24put your name in that place
5:26a prayer of a righteous person is
5:28powerful and effective verse 17 says
5:30elijah was a human being say human being
5:34elijah was a human being as we are and
5:37he prayed earnestly that it would not
5:38rain and it did not rain on the land for
5:41three and a half years he prayed again
5:43and the heavens gave rain and the earth
5:45produced its crops
5:47the point is
5:49that elijah is a human being a man just
5:53like you and i he puts his pants on like
5:55we do well maybe more like his robe than
5:57what we put on pants you know what i'm
5:59saying you know where i'm going with all
6:00that
6:02he puts his pants on like we do simply
6:04because he's a human being and the fact
6:07that he prayed a prayer that changed
6:10everything gives you and i a clue that
6:12we can pray a prayer and change
6:14everything as well
6:16now i just wonder i just wonder this
6:19morning how many people walked into this
6:21room
6:22having prayed a bold audacious prayer
6:25i know it's not everybody i know not
6:27everybody prays like that i know that
6:29everybody prays and believes that a
6:31prayer can change everything but i just
6:32kind of wonder of those who are in this
6:34room those may be watching online i kind
6:36of wonder
6:38how many people are praying right now
6:40bold
6:41audacious prayers
6:43in fact maybe
6:45they're so bold and audacious that you
6:48don't even tell your friend about it
6:49because you think you'll be mocked
6:50you'll think you'll be embarrassed
6:52but there's something inside of you that
6:54says i am going to start praying bold
6:57audacious prayers because i believe god
6:59hears me and i believe god answers
7:01prayer
7:03now my beautiful wife
7:06who i call her the spiritual librarian
7:08of our home i don't know how she does
7:10this
7:11she finds books and reads books and
7:13hands me books all the time she just
7:15finished
7:17an autobiography by viola davis called
7:19finding me
7:21yeah would you recommend the book
7:24i highly recommend okay we're just
7:26having a conversation excuse us for a
7:27moment highly recommend the book so
7:30here's the deal
7:31beth bennett and oprah recommend this
7:33book just to let you know
7:36viola davis and in the book it's
7:38interesting she was telling me the story
7:40so i went back and had to recount it and
7:41read it for myself but she said she was
7:44prior to being married she was having a
7:46conversation with a very dear friend
7:47named joseph
7:49and joseph was asking her about his her
7:52love life and about her significant
7:53other and about her husband and so on
7:55and she said well you know i'm thinking
7:56about it and that kind of thing he said
7:58well you need to pray about a husband
8:00he said yeah yeah i'll start praying
8:02about it he says no no no you need to
8:03start praying very specifically for a
8:06husband she goes oh i understand i know
8:08no no no you need to pray very detailed
8:11specific prayers
8:13for a husband
8:15don't get too excited now
8:19and
8:20she was like okay and and he said no no
8:23here's what you need to do you need to
8:24get on your knees in the morning
8:26and get on the knees in the evening
8:28before you go to bed when you get out of
8:29bed and you need to pray very
8:31specifically
8:32for a husband
8:35and so this is where the story picks up
8:38she says i don't pray at night at least
8:40up to that point i didn't i got in bed
8:43that night i remembered joseph's words i
8:45thought i'm not getting down on my knees
8:48but after 20 or 30 minutes of lying in
8:50bed i thought okay
8:52i got to get out of bed i got out of my
8:54knees and i clearly remembered how i
8:57opened my prayer
8:59god you haven't heard from me in a very
9:00long time
9:02i know you're surprised
9:04my name is viola davis
9:08i continued like this repeating my name
9:10since god and i haven't been equated for
9:12such a long time
9:14she said i'm viola davis i'm at the
9:17williamstown theater festival right now
9:19and a friend of mine told me to pray and
9:20ask you for what i want
9:23i believe you
9:25i believe you're going to give me what i
9:27ask for i believe you're i'm going to
9:29ask you for what i want
9:32so she said i brainstormed a list i told
9:34god the list here it is
9:36she said i wanted a big black man who
9:38was an ex-athlete preferably a football
9:41player
9:42because i love football players
9:46i really want him to be black but he
9:47doesn't have to be black god i mean at
9:49the end of the day i really really want
9:50them to be be like god
9:55and i love southern men
9:57i love country men god so i want them to
10:00be real country
10:02and i don't want any pressure to have
10:04children either so i want them to have
10:06had a wife before me and children
10:07already so that's settled and i want
10:10someone who trusts and loves you
10:15who trusts and love you god because then
10:17he'll be accountable to somebody
10:20he'll be accountable to you god and then
10:22she pontificates none of the men i've
10:24ever dated were accountable to anybody
10:26they just did what they said they wanted
10:28to do
10:29and they complete they were completely
10:31emotionally unavailable and that's what
10:34i said too i want to be i want him to be
10:37emotionally available and understand
10:39what i do as an actor
10:41as i was getting up off my knees before
10:43i climbed back into bed i said and i
10:46promise i'll start going to church
10:51i thought if you give me what i want the
10:52church may blow up when i walk in there
10:56but after my last bit of bargaining i
10:58said amen
11:01three and a half weeks later she met
11:04julius tennan
11:06from texas a country boy ex-football
11:09player had been married had raised his
11:12children on his own and was an actor
11:16and the first thing he did was invite
11:18her to church
11:22that's all right
11:24[Applause]
11:26i think the size of our prayers depends
11:29upon the size of our expectations
11:33when we expect things to happen
11:37it's amazing coincidentally how they
11:40happen
11:41but i don't think the issue so much this
11:43morning is do you believe god has the
11:45power
11:46and the ability and the strength to
11:48answer prayers on your behalf in fact
11:51jesus quantified it he said you can have
11:53faith the size of a mustard seed which
11:55is completely insignificant you could
11:57have faith that small and still move
12:00mountains so i don't think the question
12:02in this room this morning is do you
12:04believe god has the power i think the
12:06question is do you believe god cares
12:09enough about you and your situation
12:13god has the power but does he love me in
12:16my situation god has the power but does
12:19god understand what i've done in my
12:20reputation god has the power but does he
12:23really care about who i am
12:25i think a lot of times that's the
12:27question
12:28because when you solve the question does
12:30he really love you it's amazing how that
12:33changes your prayer life it's amazing
12:36how it changes the way you go before god
12:38with expectation when you know that he
12:40loves you despite all of your faults
12:43it's amazing what you believe he can do
12:48you know coach bill mccartney he was a
12:49coach of the colorado buffalo football
12:51team for many years
12:53he won a national championship back in
12:551990 he went on to start what is called
12:58promise keepers promise keepers as a
13:00men's movement went all over the nation
13:02this guy is an amazing christian and
13:04amazing leader and an amazing coach
13:06heard him speak one time he told a story
13:09about how he was
13:11about every four years when he was
13:13facing a must-win game on saturday as
13:16his college football team in the
13:17colorado buffaloes he was facing this
13:20incredibly tough game he would do this
13:22practice about every four years in a
13:24recruiting cycle he would call his men
13:26in about the 60 men that would be
13:28playing that saturday and he would set
13:30up three minute appointments with each
13:32one of them and he would get a small
13:35room and only two chairs he'd pull the
13:37kid in
13:39and he is the coach would look at him
13:40get real close to the kid and as a coach
13:43for the first 90 seconds of this three
13:45minutes he would look at him and just
13:47say here's what i believe about you
13:50here's why i recruited here he who
13:52recruited you here's why i think you're
13:53the best football player here's why i
13:55love you here's why i think you're a
13:57great teammate and for 90 seconds he
13:59would pour it out and encourage that kid
14:02and then he would stop
14:04and he'd ask the question
14:06now son
14:07what can i expect from you this saturday
14:11and with tears coming down their eyes
14:13they would always say the same thing
14:15coach i'm going to have the greatest
14:16game of my life i'm going to play and
14:18i'm going to be the greatest teammate
14:19you've ever imagined and we're going to
14:21play and we're going to win this game
14:22and without question every time he did
14:24that that next saturday the colorado
14:26buffalo's won that game
14:29i'll tell you why
14:32could you imagine for a moment
14:34this morning
14:35if god pulled this chair up close to you
14:38and he got a hold of your hands
14:40and just for a few minutes begin to
14:42breathe life into you and tell you how
14:44much he loves you and how much he
14:46believes in you and what he is expecting
14:49for you to do in your future and how he
14:51does he can't even remember your past
14:53and yes he doesn't remember mistakes but
14:55what he does is bless you with the favor
14:57and grace of god and forgiveness could
15:00you imagine for a moment if he pulled
15:02this chair up close to you and just
15:04began to talk to you like that how would
15:06you start to pray after that
15:11how would you start to believe after
15:13that if that's the way
15:15god began to talk to you
15:20then it's interesting to me the
15:23that god gives the prophet some
15:25instructions in verse 2.
15:27god says in verse 2 then the word of the
15:29lord came to elijah these are like
15:31insanely detailed instructions
15:34leave here turn eastward hide in a
15:36careth ravine east of the jordan and you
15:39would drink from the brook i have
15:40directed and i have directed the ravens
15:42to supply you with food there verse 5.
15:45so he did and the lord had told he did
15:48what the lord had told them he went to
15:49the careth ravine east of the jordan
15:51stayed there and the ravens brought him
15:53bread and meat in the morning bread and
15:54meat in the evening and he drank
15:56from
15:57the brook
15:59now depending on how long you've been
16:00reading the old testament or depending
16:01how long you've been around church when
16:03you read that kind of detailed
16:04instruction you're thinking to yourself
16:06of course that's what god does he gives
16:09prophets detailed instructions and it's
16:12like when i read that i think you know
16:13what that's got to be normal that
16:15happens every day to people who follow
16:17god
16:18like go out of here take a left go down
16:20to i-95 take a right go up and get the
16:22starbucks go over and talk to jojo then
16:25go to meatloaf's house you kind of think
16:27if you're following god
16:29he's going to give you those kinds of
16:30detailed instructions
16:33and to make matters even a little
16:35crazier god says go to this place and
16:37i'm going to have some ravens
16:39start to feed you there ravens not cute
16:42little doves that represent the holy
16:44spirit god calls ravens and
16:47in the book of leviticus god says ravens
16:49are actually unclean birds
16:52there you don't touch them don't mess
16:54with them don't eat them but god says
16:56here in the book of first kings 17 that
16:59he's going to bring these ravens in and
17:00they're going to feed him a sandwich
17:02twice a day bread and meat pretty much a
17:04sandwich right
17:06you think yeah that's normal that's
17:08exactly how it works god's gonna lay out
17:10every detail and speak to christians
17:13with that kind of clarity
17:15wouldn't that be nice
17:17wouldn't that be nice if god gave you an
17:19insight on bitcoin back in july of 2010
17:23when it was trading at eight cents a
17:24share
17:26and then maybe gave you another bit of
17:27invite detailed inspections and that is
17:30in november 21 when it was trading at 68
17:32000 a share to go ahead and sell it at
17:35that point because it was about the tank
17:38you wouldn't be sitting in church you'd
17:40be out in a yacht and somewhere in the
17:42caribbean right now
17:44if god gave us that kind of detailed
17:48instructions
17:49so the question is if god gives people
17:52in the old testament detailed
17:54instructions what does he do in the new
17:56testament because you and i are living
17:59in a new testament era right amen
18:01somebody
18:03we're living under the new covenant so
18:05what does it how does it work here and
18:07what i've learned is the more i study
18:10the new testament is that god is a man
18:12of few words in the new testament
18:15in acts chapter 8
18:17philip the evangelist
18:20god says go up and stand next to that
18:22chariot that's it
18:24go up stand next to the chariot
18:27he doesn't tell him there's an ethiopian
18:29eunuch in that chariot he doesn't tell
18:31him he's reading the book of isaiah he
18:33doesn't tell him the guy has questions
18:36about who the prophet is talking about
18:38there that he's talking about jesus he
18:40doesn't tell him that he's going to lead
18:42him to jesus he doesn't tell them
18:43they're going to go down the road
18:44they're going to see some water and
18:46they're going to be baptized he doesn't
18:48tell philip that after he baptizes the
18:50ethiopian eunuch he's going to get
18:52supernaturally lifted out of that water
18:55and taken miles away where he's walking
18:58down a road
18:59no
19:00god just says go up and stand next to
19:03that chariot
19:05that's all he does
19:06so you gotta ask the question why old
19:08testament lots of details new testament
19:11not so many details what is god trying
19:14to say to you and i
19:16why doesn't he give us that kind of
19:18clarity today why doesn't he help us
19:20through all these details
19:22and the reason is because you would not
19:25live by faith
19:27you wouldn't live by faith because
19:29living by faith requires tension
19:34listen
19:35listening to faith and living by faith
19:37on sunday is pretty sexy on monday
19:39morning it's a pain in the butt
19:44why because when i live by faith i don't
19:45know how it's going to work out when i
19:47live by faith i don't have that level of
19:49clarity when i live by faith i don't
19:51know what's going to happen but when i
19:53live by faith is exactly like a movie
19:57you got the hero
19:58and you got the villain
20:00and all of a sudden there's a clash
20:02there's a conflict there's attention and
20:04you don't know who's going to win is the
20:06hero going to win is the villain going
20:08to win you and i don't know until the
20:10end of that movie the last 90 seconds
20:13the hero pulls it out
20:15there's a tension in the story and
20:18that's exactly what's going on here
20:20there's a tension that god wants to
20:22build in your life why because the more
20:24tension the stronger you get
20:28come on somebody the more tension the
20:30stronger you become in your faith and
20:33expectation
20:34not of who you are but of who he is
20:37when you begin to see him clearly all of
20:39a sudden you begin to think to yourself
20:41that god and the way he loves me that
20:44god and the way he believes in me that
20:46god and the power he has there is
20:48nothing that's impossible to me today
20:51when you live by faith and you live in
20:53that tension there is nothing you cannot
20:56do
20:58but i'll tell you further why we don't
20:59have that kind of clarity because we
21:02want that kind of clarity from god
21:03listen to this
21:05because we want to make life so certain
21:09that i don't need anything from anybody
21:12including god
21:14oh you missed a great time to say amen i
21:16worked hard on that statement right
21:17there i was
21:19give me a minute
21:22help me jesus i need a breath
21:26we want god to make life so certain
21:28because we really don't want anything
21:31from anybody including god himself
21:37ladies and gentlemen that's called the
21:39american dream
21:42never confuse the american dream from
21:44god's dream for your life
21:46you say man i'm going through it right
21:48now
21:49i don't know what's going on i'm going
21:51through it right now i tell you right
21:53now i feel the pressure i feel the
21:54tension well congratulations you're
21:56walking by faith
21:59congratulations you're exactly where
22:01you're supposed to be
22:02congratulations god's got you on a path
22:05that if you weren't on that path you'd
22:06be in a path of destruction
22:08congratulations the grace of god is with
22:10you
22:13so the pattern in the new testament is
22:15simply this
22:17guidance is something god does
22:21not something god
22:23gives
22:25let me say it again for you guidance is
22:27something god does more than something
22:31god
22:32gives
22:34what that means is if god is guiding you
22:36every day guiding your life and guiding
22:39you through what that simply means is
22:41that he is giving you an opportunity to
22:44notice
22:45the work of god in and through your life
22:48he's giving you an opportunity to notice
22:50the nuances of how the holy spirit may
22:52work he's giving you and i an
22:53opportunity to notice the divine
22:55appointments that he's setting up he's
22:57giving you an opportunity to really
22:59notice how he's working but the
23:01important issue is that we are simply
23:04paying attention to what goes on why
23:08because
23:09random things lead to significant things
23:13let me say that again
23:16random things
23:17lead to significant things
23:25you guys know that little uh
23:27deal that gizmo
23:28that little doorbell that has a camera
23:30on it you put on your front door
23:32you know i'm talking about that thing
23:33you can buy to amazon buy it anywhere
23:35you want
23:37it's called a ring
23:40and you can see all the people who steal
23:41your packages from amazon you know the
23:43thing i'm talking about
23:48there's this guy he's working in his
23:50garage
23:51he keeps getting deliveries at his front
23:53door
23:54so he goes to the store and he's like i
23:56need some kind of camera gizmo that
23:58connects with my phone
24:00and he's looking and he can't find it
24:02so he's an inventor so he goes back to
24:04his garage and he invents what he calls
24:07the doorbot
24:10stupid name
24:11the doorbot
24:13and he invents this thing and he just
24:15puts it out there because he he has to
24:16know if there's any kind of you know
24:18things coming to his front door
24:20and so a friend comes over and sees this
24:22thing and he goes what is that uh i call
24:24it the doorbot it's just kind of a
24:26camera phone thing he goes that thing is
24:29cool he says i need one of those
24:31he said in fact that thing will sell
24:33and the guy said you think so he says
24:35yeah i think there's a business i think
24:36there's a market for that so he began to
24:38create this thing and pretty soon began
24:41to sell it
24:42and then he got invited on shark tank
24:45anybody a shark tank fan here
24:47okay about three of you okay that's good
24:49i'll talk to you guys
24:52i love shark tank i love that show
24:55he goes on and he pitches it to shark
24:57the doorbot
24:59pitches this thing to the sharks and
25:02no sharks invest in this doorbot nobody
25:06and what was interesting though
25:09was that the
25:10episode aired in november of that year
25:13and even though the sharks did invest in
25:15it everybody saw this doorbot and they
25:18thought man that thing's cool
25:20and so they ran out and they bought the
25:22thing
25:23and it started getting orders thousands
25:25and then tens of thousands then hundreds
25:27of thousands of orders and so a few
25:30years later
25:31this man after changing the name from
25:33doorbot to ring
25:35sold his company to amazon anybody want
25:38to guess how much he sold his company
25:40for
25:43yeah this is the participation part of
25:45the service anybody want to guess
25:50are you ready for this
25:52what there you go that's right 1 billion
25:56dollars
25:59listen
26:00a random thing can turn into a
26:02significant thing
26:04but the problem is you ain't paying
26:06attention
26:08look at your neighbor say you better
26:09start paying attention
26:23so finally
26:25the prophet
26:27in verse eight
26:29after the brook had dried up
26:31says the word of the lord came to him
26:33again
26:34go at once to zeropath in the region of
26:36sidone and stay there i have directed a
26:39widow to supply you with food
26:42so he went to zarepath and when he came
26:44to the town gate a widow was there
26:45gathering sticks
26:47he called her and he asked would you
26:49bring me a little water in a jar so they
26:51might have a drink
26:53verse 11 as she was going to get it he
26:55called and
26:57bring me please a piece of bread
27:00she was good up till then
27:02i can find some water
27:04but we've been in a famine for the last
27:06few years and there ain't no bread left
27:10so she swears in verse 11. i don't think
27:12she cusses them out she just swears by
27:14god as surely as the lord our god lives
27:17i just wanted that was supposed to be a
27:18joke apparently one very funny as surely
27:21as the lord god lives she replied i
27:23don't have any bread only a handful of
27:26flour in a jar and a little olive oil i
27:29and i'm gathering a few sticks to take
27:31it home to make a meal for myself and my
27:33son that we may eat it and die
27:37elijah said don't be afraid go home and
27:39do as you have said but first everybody
27:41say but first
27:43but first i said again but first
27:46make me a small loaf of bread
27:49from what you have and bring it to me
27:51then make something for yourself and
27:54your son for this is what the lord god
27:56says our lord god of israel says the jar
27:59of flour will not be used up the jug of
28:01oil will not run dry until the day the
28:04lord sends rain
28:06on the land
28:09this is amazing to me because here's the
28:11prophet making another bold audacious
28:13act this time not from the rich and
28:15powerful this time from a person who is
28:18hopeless and destitute and at the end of
28:21themselves
28:23but it's interesting to me that a random
28:25encounter here with a widow is actually
28:28a significant encounter because even
28:31jesus himself calls this widow out in
28:33luke chapter four and he says there were
28:36many widows
28:37in the days of the famine in israel in
28:40elijah's time but he only went to the
28:43one widow of xeropath
28:45so this random encounter leads to
28:47something significant here and the
28:49significant thing
28:50is that this
28:52prophet gets before her and says i want
28:55to teach you something
28:57i have just been supernaturally provided
28:59for so i'm going to be a lid lifter in
29:01your life i want to teach you something
29:03now i need you to give me some water oh
29:06yeah and by the way a little cake
29:08and she said i can't do it and he said
29:11if you would bring me a cake first
29:14if you would honor me
29:16first
29:17if you would do this one thing first
29:20i promise you it will never run out
29:23it's the mystery of the law of
29:26reciprocity it's the mystery of this law
29:29that says i can be generous first and
29:31then it'll it'll start coming back on me
29:34it says i can extend forgiveness first
29:37and then love will come back to me it
29:40says i can be merciful first i can be
29:42kind first and it will eventually come
29:44back to me
29:46it's a mystery but it's a law it's a
29:49mystery because of the way god does it
29:52but it's a law because as you follow him
29:55he begins to work in your life
29:58god begins to do something that you
30:00cannot do for yourself
30:02i saw this yesterday i'm in the atlanta
30:04airport it's packed
30:07it's raining outside there's storms
30:09and i got the dreaded over pa over thing
30:12the guy comes out and says well we're
30:15running a little bit behind
30:17and oh yeah by the way because of the
30:18labor shortage we don't have enough
30:20flight attendants and everybody this
30:22this plane is going to be packed and
30:24everybody starts groaning you know that
30:26you know the airport growing you can't
30:27say it very loud because otherwise you
30:29look like a dummy everybody's just kind
30:30of uh remember late delta remember
30:33everybody's just grumbling you know and
30:36all of a sudden a flight attendant comes
30:37we all start cheering i remember i never
30:39knew you could cheer for a flight
30:40attendant but we did yesterday he comes
30:42running out he just got back from
30:44indianapolis he goes running on the
30:46plane we all get on that jet bridge
30:48thing you know the jet bridge is in
30:50florida you call that an oven that's
30:52what you call it in florida
30:55we're all on the jet bridge
30:57and we're standing there and the flight
31:00leader gets i've never heard a guy i've
31:03been traveling for years i have never
31:05heard a funnier flight leader in my life
31:08he got up there hey everybody you know
31:10he just starts going on he's working for
31:13delta it didn't matter he was getting us
31:15to laugh
31:16he was cutting up everybody you would
31:18give me some of that sucker there he was
31:19just messing with everybody as they get
31:21on the plane my wife and i were early on
31:23the plane and she always bugs me about
31:25that but i want to be first time first
31:27off but anyways we're in these little
31:28two little seats there
31:30and i'm watching this guy every single
31:33person that came on the plane they were
31:34in a bad mood but until they met
31:36whitaker and whit started lighting them
31:39up wit had a wit you know what i'm
31:40saying come on somebody help me preach
31:42now
31:43when had a wet man and he was going for
31:46it and everybody that came in that plane
31:48started laughing and laughing and
31:51laughing we went from a bad mood to a
31:54good mood come on some mama needs to
31:55start cheering me now because your
31:57three-year-old is giving you an attitude
31:59right now
32:00a bad move to a good mood
32:03why
32:04because he understood the law of
32:06reciprocity
32:08you sow some positive attitudes you sow
32:11some laughter you sow some kindness
32:13you're generous with your life it's
32:15amazing how it can change an entire
32:19environment
32:22but you got to go first
32:24say but first
32:26say it again but first
32:28you have to go
32:32first
32:34my wife and i uh planted a church
32:37several years ago
32:38north atlanta
32:40we were planning we started off in a
32:42middle school and then we moved into
32:46a leased building
32:48and uh the church was growing things
32:50were going pretty well
32:52but if you know anything about the early
32:53starts of a business the early starts of
32:55an organization the early starting
32:57period of a church it's like it's
33:00growing but the income is always well
33:02behind it
33:04so we got a lot of expenses we're
33:06growing but we don't have the income to
33:08match it and i remember talking to god
33:11one day about this i'm like god you know
33:13you called us to plant this church you
33:15know you're gonna have to provide for us
33:16here we're dying here man you've got to
33:18provide for us and i'm starting to
33:20remind god of everything he said in his
33:22word i'm starting to pray all those
33:23scriptures you know i'm starting to talk
33:25to god and finally i ran out of breath
33:28and i got quiet
33:30you have been there
33:33and god says i need you to do something
33:35for me first
33:38i'm like okay
33:41he said i need you to give
33:43an entire sunday morning offering away
33:48and i said god you must be confusing me
33:51with the guy down the street with the
33:53big church
33:55okay mine's a puny little adolescent
33:57church that's kind of ugly with zits
34:00that guy's got the beautiful supermodel
34:02church down there
34:04you must be confusing me he said no i'm
34:06not confused at all
34:08i need you to give an entire sunday
34:10morning offering away and i need you to
34:12do it this weekend
34:14thank you for the heads up
34:17so i had two other guys my little
34:19financial accountability board and i
34:21called those guys up thinking for sure
34:23they would talk me out of this for sure
34:26call them up i'm going hey i know we're
34:28behind i know we need money but i just
34:30feel like god's telling me to give a
34:31whole sunday morning offering away and
34:33they go oh yeah that's a great idea
34:39i'm like help a brother out or something
34:42man
34:44so i go all right so we do this so we
34:46got up that sunday and i kid you now i
34:48still remember you know we had the
34:50worship thing and then i got up to get
34:51the take the offering and i told the
34:53church the story the whole story i told
34:55it to them
34:56and they'll go that's a great idea and
34:59they're like all excited about it so i
35:00said let's take the offering on this
35:02back in the day we had to pass buckets
35:03you know you don't can't do that anymore
35:05a covid
35:06you know because we have all that stuff
35:07but anyways we're passing the bucket
35:08people are throwing cash everything got
35:10car keys they're throwing children in
35:13the bucket they're throwing everything
35:14they got
35:17now back in that day
35:19if we got ten thousand dollars in an
35:22offering that was like a really big day
35:25so i'm like god if you if you really
35:27want you got to give us ten thousand
35:29dollars i never forget a tuesday morning
35:31when i walk in the bookkeeper says hey
35:33ten thousand and four dollars came in
35:36ten thousand and four god wanted to make
35:38sure i knew that he this was
35:41there was gonna be four extra dollars in
35:42that
35:45so i gave that money away and i don't
35:47know about you but when i go first the
35:49very first thing that happens to me is
35:52i have less
35:57shake your head like you know what i'm
35:58talking about make me feel good right
36:00now start to feel insecure shake your
36:02head
36:04you know when i go first i have less
36:11now in this church plant we had been
36:13given a piece of property that we had
36:15done some research on
36:16and we knew we couldn't build a building
36:18on it we just where it was located that
36:19kind of thing
36:21so we were asset rich but we were cash
36:24poor
36:25and about two weeks after we gave that
36:27offering away i get a call from a
36:28builder and says i want to buy that
36:30piece of property your church owns and i
36:32said it's not for sale and he said well
36:35i'll pay you this much money for it and
36:36i said when would you like to close
36:41i didn't need to pray about that one i'm
36:43like okay i got that one that's good
36:46he said well there's a creek that runs
36:48through it we got to get the
36:49environmental protection agency involved
36:51and it's going to take some time and
36:52lawyers and all this kind of stuff so we
36:54worked it through negotiated signed the
36:56contract and i sat and i waited
36:59and we kept ministering we kept having
37:01services we kept trying to grow the
37:03church good things were going on but all
37:05of a sudden i'm beginning to realize the
37:07clock is ticking we have a contract but
37:09we do not have enough money
37:12several months into this
37:14my bookkeeper walks in
37:16i still remember the day he walked in
37:18the door and said i got to tell you
37:20something
37:20john he said we have tapped out our line
37:23of credit we have no more line of credit
37:25even to dig into
37:27we have no money in the savings we have
37:29we don't have enough money to make it
37:31this month he said be quite honest with
37:33you we're about a month away from going
37:35out of business
37:37i thought man
37:39i hugged my head again
37:41i thought god did you call me to die in
37:43the wilderness i mean i didn't know what
37:45to do
37:46a week later a phone call comes real
37:48estate agent said hey the builder
37:50doesn't have his approval from the
37:51environmental protection agency but he
37:53wants to close anyway here's the date
37:56and i was like really he doesn't even
37:58have his approval yet how could he close
38:01so i was a preacher at that time i guess
38:03i'm still preaching right now that's
38:04what i'm trying to do right now but
38:05anyways
38:06i was i was sort of like a you know like
38:08a preacher trying to be a big shot
38:10preacher kind of guy you know
38:12so i never walked around with entourages
38:14but on this closing i thought i'm
38:15bringing an entourage you know so i got
38:17like mookie and you know jojo and
38:20i got some guy who worked for me i
38:21wasn't even sure what he did here come
38:22on come on come on with me
38:25and we went to the closing
38:27and they signed all those papers and
38:28they did all this stuff and i remember
38:30the attorney goes okay we paid off your
38:32line of credit so the church is
38:33debt-free and he slid an envelope across
38:36the table to me
38:37and i thanked everybody shook their hand
38:39i walked out of there
38:41and i opened up the envelope knowing
38:42that the church was now debt-free and i
38:44opened up and looked at the check and it
38:46was for
38:471.1 million dollars
38:50[Applause]
38:52hey if you do some quick math 10 000
38:54times 100 is how much
38:56a million dollars isn't that amazing
39:00i had to go first
39:02i had to go first
39:04i had to go first
39:06i wonder what you have to go first on
39:09today
39:10i wonder what god may be leading you to
39:12do first today i wonder where god is
39:15going to lead you as he guides you
39:16because he does guidance he doesn't give
39:19guidance but he does guidance i wonder
39:20where he's going to lead you today and
39:22just say and prompt you and say it's
39:24time for you to go first
39:26and lead by example
39:30let's pray together today
39:35if you would stand to your feet
39:41all over this place
39:45as we close
39:48you've been such a gracious hope thank
39:50you thank you for just being a gracious
39:52hope and welcoming me and my family in
39:55i really appreciate that
39:59very thankful very thankful for you
40:02but i just pray god
40:05as we have
40:06heard your word today
40:09understanding that god your ways
40:11are higher than our ways would you just
40:14say that to god right now your ways are
40:17higher than my ways
40:18and father we choose to celebrate the
40:21mystery today
40:22we choose to celebrate that you are a
40:25god or providential in our lives
40:28but we also choose to celebrate that god
40:30you are good
40:32that you are good and you want to
40:34convince us yet again today how good you
40:37are and how much you love us
40:41and today if you're here and you're
40:43struggling with that very thing
40:46kind of wondering
40:47deep on the inside what does god really
40:49believe about me
40:51if you just take your hand and put it
40:53over your heart just for a moment
40:55i'm putting my hand over my heart
40:58and father i pray in just
41:00these moments we have left
41:02that you would be gracious enough
41:06to slide your chair up close to us
41:09and to remind us
41:11of who we really are remind us again how
41:14much you love us
41:16remind us again how your grace is
41:18sufficient
41:19remind us again if we're facing pressure
41:21that you're the god of all possibilities
41:24that nothing is impossible for you
41:27remind us again that you reconcile
41:29relationships you put marriages together
41:31remind us to get again that we don't
41:34have to be lonely you bring spouses to
41:36us
41:38remind us again how gracious and good
41:40you are
41:41and we thank you for that now
41:44in jesus name
41:45amen amen
41:52[Music]