THEME: CONTACT WITH THE MIRACULOUS
MEMORISE:
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. Psalm 23:1
READ: 1 Kings 17:12-16
12 - And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.
13 - And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.
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.
15 - And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.
16 - And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which He spake by Elijah.
MESSAGE:
Since creation, God has continually been working on His creatures to achieve His purpose. Rather than create other men and women after Adam and Eve, Genesis 1:28 says God empowered the first family to multiply. God likes to use what He has created to meet the subsequent needs of His creatures.
In 1 Kings 17, God sent Elijah to the household of a widow who was preparing to eat her last meal, then die. There are a few lessons from this incident. First, her house was available for God to use as a point of contact for her household and the prophet. Your house will be a point of contact for the miraculous, in the mighty name of Jesus. One way of making your house a point of contact for the miraculous is by surrendering it for use as a House Fellowship centre. Peter did the same when Jesus asked him to surrender his boat for a preaching engagement (Luke 5:3). The boat later became a point of contact for the miraculous catch of a multitude of fish.
Secondly, God said “… I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.” The widow obeyed God’s command despite the fact that it appeared difficult. This was why she became a point of contact for the miraculous. Thirdly, she gave up the last handful of meal and little oil she had and they became a point of contact through which she got her miracle. She was a sincere woman of faith. She seemed to be saying to herself, like David did in Psalm 23:1 “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want (even though I surrendered my last meal to Him)”. She exposed her last meal to the wonder-working God to work with and it became a point of contact. This was the exact thing the lad in John 6:5-13 did and he had a remnant of twelve basketsful on the loaves he lent Jesus Christ. I pray that the Lord will feed you abundantly even in times of famine, in the mighty name of Jesus.
Beloved, your first point of contact is your relationship with Jesus. How is it at the moment? He wants to have an intimate relationship with you in holiness. If you are still living in sin, accept Jesus as your Saviour, if you are His child already, stay connected and you too will experience miracles.
ACTION POINT:
Determine to lend to God by giving sacrificially to His work this year. You will experience God’s glory in its fullness.
HYMNAL: WHAT A FRIEND WE HAVE IN JESUS,
1. What a friend we have in Jesus,
all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
everything to God in prayer!
2. O what peace we often forfeit,
o what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
everything to God in prayer!
3. Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged;
take it to the Lord in prayer!
4. Can we find a friend so faithful
who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness;
take it to the Lord in prayer!
5. Are we weak and heavy laden,
cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Saviour, still our refuge-
take it to the Lord in prayer!
6. Do thy friends despise, forsake you?
Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In His arms He’ll take and shield you;
You will find a solace there.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Matthew 25-26
AUTHOR: PASTOR E.A ADEBOYE
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