EMPTY BARREL GRADUATE SCHOOL 1 Kings 17:8-16

Introduction: Elijah grasps a confirmation from Dry Brook University. He has confided in God to deal with him even in the most frantic of circumstances. He confided in God to send the ravens to take care of him, and he believed God to supply his water utilizing the little stream Cherith. He looked as God addressed his issues all day every day. He likewise looked as God permitted his stream, the solitary wellspring of water he had, to evaporate before his eyes. Without a doubt, bearing this sort of preliminary would mean something! Most likely, things would improve for the prophet now!

However, when God addresses Elijah, it is to send him into another tough spot. The prophet's preparation isn't over at this time. God is making a godly man! Elijah might have moved on from Dry Brook University, yet presently he is going to select Empty Barrel Graduate School. At Cherith God broke the prophet's tissue: He encouraged Elijah to rely upon God. At Zarephath, God will break Elijah's pride. Here, he will discover that God, not Elijah makes major decisions of life. He will discover that things are never similar to they show up. He will discover that God can utilize the humblest of intends to prepare His youngsters fro His magnificence. Keep in mind, God means to utilize this man in a strong manner! At the point when we get to section 18, we will perceive any reason why God put the prophet through such thorough preparing. God is building a righteous man! Presently, in light of that, there are times when it appears to be that our preliminaries return to consecutive to back. That is, it appears to be that before one preliminary can end, another starts! At the point when these occasions come, we might be enticed to scrutinize the Lord with regards to what He is doing. Basically expressed, God is getting you in a position where He can utilize you in a more prominent manner. I will advise you that before He can shape us, He should initially dissolve us! All things considered, God's objective for each holy person of God is that we be made into the picture of the Lord Jesus Christ, "Till we as a whole come in the solidarity of the confidence, and of the information on the Son of God, unto an ideal man, unto the proportion of the height of the fulness of Christ:", Eph. 4:13. In this manner, we should join the prophet Elijah as he proceeds with his preparation at Empty Barrel Graduate School. There are exercises here that we can gather from too. These exercises will help us when we face our trying periods. I. V. 8-11 A FRESH PATH A. V. 8 The Call - As Elijah stayed there close to that evaporated stream, it probably felt like he had been deserted by God. Have you at any point had that impression? It is a horrible inclination! Nonetheless, God had not overlooked Elijah! God knew precisely where he was. God knew al regarding that dry stream and God had something different at the top of the priority list for the godly man! Allow me just to advise you that the dried streams of life are only those things which God uses to move us along in His will. He will utilize the evaporated creeks you face to show you new exercises of confidence and dutifulness. (Sick. There is an exercise here for us, and it is a hard one to swallow! That exercise is this: certified confidence trusts that God will uncover His arrangements. It will sit by an evaporated stream everlastingly, regardless of whether it implies demise, looking out for the desire of God to be uncovered. Companions, this is the place where we stumble into difficulty! We tend to run in front of God and assume control over issue. However, God's will is that we figure out how to look out for Him, in any event, when He doesn't continue on our timetable! In the event that your stream is dry toward the beginning of today, don't fear! God has not overlooked you. He knows exactly where you are and when all is good and well, you will hear His voice calling you to a new field of administration! "In any case, they that stand by upon the LORD will restore their solidarity; they will mount up with wings as hawks; they will run, and not be fatigued; and they will walk, and not weak.", Isa. 40:31. We are activity situated individuals, however some of the time God's order is that we simply be still and look out for Him, "And Moses said unto individuals, Fear ye not, stop, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye will see them again no more for ever." Exodus 14:13.) B. V. 9a The Command - when the Lord addresses Elijah, He orders him to go to Zarephath. This is a weird order considering the way that Zarephath is in a Gentile country. It is nation of Jezebel. It is a place where there is misguided worshipers. It is a mischievous spot loaded up with insidious individuals. However, that is actually where the Lord sends His prophet! To finish it off, to get to Zarephath from Cherith will drive Elijah to walk more than 100 miles through domain controlled over by ruler Ahab, who is searching for Elijah all over. It seems like this order of the Lord has neither rhyme nor reason! Obviously, one of the justification sending Elijah to Zarephath was to strikingly show the barrenness of Jezebel's anger and force! (Sick. Once more, there is an exercise for us in this stanza: Often, the existence of confidence will lead through troublesome pathways. People, God never guaranteed that this way would be a simple way. Indeed, the exact inverse is valid! God has guaranteed us that life will be loaded up with preliminaries and inconveniences, Job 14:1; Job 5:7; John 16:33. However, that is the way of confidence! However, in any event, when the order of God has neither rhyme nor reason, confidence essentially submits to God without respect for the outcomes, v. 10! You can see this fact showed all through the Bible. •Noah and the ark - Gen. 6 •Abraham and Isaac - Gen. 22 •Daniel and the 3 Hebrews - Dan. 1 There are times when the orders of God appears to be brutal and abnormal. Be that as it may, confidence perceives the voice of the Good Shepherd and follows loyally any place He might lead!) C. V. 9b The Challenge - Notice that again Elijah is advised to "stay there". He is to go to Zarephath and remain there until he gets new directions from the mouth of the Lord. Frequently, God's difficult periods don't accompany a period limit connected! He just sends unto it and leaves us there until His work in us is done! Nonetheless, the genuine test is in what God told the prophet next, "see, I have instructed a widow lady there to support you." That more likely than not been a genuine hit to the pride of the prophet. Back then, widows were the least fortunate of poor people! In the midst of dry season and need, the widows were the principal gathering to cease to exist. Rather than God telling Elijah, "I have a widow around there in Zarephath and I need you to go deal with her." God says, "Elijah, I am sending you to somewhere else of testing where you should seek me for all you get, each day." For Elijah, Zarephath was a spot that would satisfy its name. The name Zarephath signifies "purifying heater, or refining". It alludes to the heater into which metal is set so it very well may be warmed up and have any pollutants taken out. Cherith was where Elijah had been chopped off and chopped down. Zarephath would be where he would be refined. It would be here that the last remnants of Elijah's pride and confidence would be stripped away. (Sick. We are an independent group right? We generally need to accept that we can "handle it" ourselves. We might want to believe that we are in charge of our lives and that we are making major decisions. Be that as it may, when the Lord starts to work in your life to uncover Himself in you all the more plainly, He will send you to a Zarephath where you need to rely upon only Him. At the point when you have been brought to where you can incline toward only God, He has carried you to the best of spots that life can manage. For it is in that place that you will realize Who is in charge. That is the test we as a whole face in our confidence life. We as a whole face the test of arriving at where we are confiding in God and Him alone for every one of the necessities we have throughout everyday life! That is the place where He needs every one of us, "The fair will go about daily life with conviction.", Rom. 1:17.) D. V. 10-11 The Comfort - When Elijah gets this order, he doesn't spare a moment, he simply gets up and goes where God advises him to go. At the point when he shows up at Zarephath, he sees "the" widow getting sticks. Clearly, the Lord tells him that this is the vessel He has decided to support Elijah. At the point when he sees her, he calls to her to bring him a beverage of water. It more likely than not been a solace to his hear to see her chance to bring his beverage! It probably seemed like God had things arranged for the prophet. (Sick. There is an exercise here also. Our God is a God Who chips away at the two stopping points. Allow me to represent. At the point when Jacob and his children required food, God gave a Joseph in Egypt. At the point when the offspring of Israel sent their covert agents to Jericho, God gave them a Rahab. At the point when the Jews confronted a Haman, God raised them up an Esther. At the point when an Ethiopian Eunuch required salvation, God sent him a Philip. The fact is this: When your period of scarcity emerges, have confidence that your Father has as of now gone on to spread the table of arrangement for your benefit, Phil. 4:19.) I. A Fresh Path II. V. 12-15a A FANTASTIC PROMISE A. V. 12 A Doubt - When Elijah requests the widow for a cake from bread, her dread is brought to the surface. God had effectively told her to really focus on His prophet, v. 9, yet she is caught is the dread of shiftiness. She has her eyes on the conditions and not on the God Who controls the conditions! (Sick This is where many individuals are experiencing earlier today! At the point when we take a gander at our issues and our requirements, we feel like we are caught in a sad circumstance. We are at legitimate fault for taking a gander at the issue and not at the Provider! However much Elijah was shipped off Zarephath for his advantage, he was additionally sent to help this widow. She expected to gain proficiency with the worth of confidence in God. My companion, would you say you are caught in question toward the beginning of today? Does it give the idea that your circumstance is sad and that you are powerless to do anything about it? The appropriate response lies in looking past your concern and getting your eyes on the Provider, Heb. 12:1-2! In the event that you are saved, you are in the group of God. God is your Father and He has vowed to deal with you, Matt. 6:25-34. In this manner, when you question, you are saying that God can't do what He has guarantee