Giving Trusting

1 King 17:7-16

We move on to the third week speaking about Stewardship.

Let me start with an illustration:

A story is told about a vendor who sold bagels for 50 cents each at a street corner food stand. A jogger ran past and threw a couple of quarters into the bucket but didn’t take a bagel. He did the same thing every day for months. One day, as the jogger was passing by, the vendor stopped him. The jogger asked, “You probably want to know why I always put money in but never take a bagel, don’t you?” “No,” said the vendor. “I just wanted to tell you that the bagels have gone up to 60 cents.”¹

Too many time we treat God in this way, as if God owes us something.

God does not owe us anything. He is loving God who sends his son so he saves us from eternal damnation. God does not owe us anything, yet he gives everything to us. Therefore, do we rob God?

Do we neglect God? Do we give our left over to God?

I want to share with you the story of Elijah. We read in 1^st King 17 that there was drought. God directs Elijah to this house for feeding. You can imagine how Elijah felt when he arrived to this house and when the women said: “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."(1 Kings 17:12)

Now you can imagine how Elijah felt. Maybe he was confused, “Lord where did you send me?” I mean this women should be his source during drought.

What did he say to her? Maybe I will say, “fine, let us pray our last prayer for our last meal.” No he did not say this.

Elijah said “Go bake and bring first to me God’s share and then take rest of it to your family.”

In todays economy this does not make sense. First your own need then to God, if anything was left. In this story first to God.

We have difficulty in trusting God. Elijah was man of God. He received the message from God. You need to trust God at the beginning. You need to trust God when there is drought. I mean the situation was not very good. They learned to give to God when there was drought. Bothers and sisters how about us when we are not in drought.

What was God’s promise:

“For 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.' " She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. For 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.” (1 Kings 17:14-16)

Can you trust God? Stop bargaining with Him. Act, trust, and give your life.

We will continue in English.

^{1- http://www.rbc.org/odb/odb-01-22-07.shtml}