Scripture: 1 Kings 17

Elijah Proclaims a Drought

17 And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the LORD God
of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except
at my word.”
2 Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 3 “Get away from here and turn eastward,

and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. 4 And it will be that you
shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”
5 So he went and did according to the word of the LORD, for he went and stayed by the

Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. 6 The ravens brought him bread and meat
in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the
brook. 7 And it happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there had been
no rain in the land.

Elijah and the Widow

8 Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 9 “Arise, go to Zarephath,
which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to
provide for you.” 10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate
of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said,
“Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink.” 11 And as she was going to
get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.”
12 So she said, “As the LORD your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in

a bin, and a little oil in a [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.”
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. 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.’ ”
15 So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her

household ate for many days. 16 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.

Elijah Revives the Widow’s Son

17 Now it happened after these things that the son of the woman who owned the house

became sick. And his sickness was so [b]serious that [c]there was no breath left in him. 18 So
she said to Elijah, “What have I to do with you, O man of God? Have you come to me to
bring my sin to remembrance, and to kill my son?”
19 And he said to her, “Give me your son.” So he took him out of her arms and carried him

to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed. 20 Then he cried out
to the LORD and said, “O LORD my God, have You also brought tragedy on the widow with
whom I lodge, by killing her son?” 21 And he stretched himself out on the child three times,
and cried out to the LORD and said, “O LORD my God, I pray, let this child’s soul come
back to him.” 22 Then the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child
came back to him, and he revived.
23 And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper room into the house, and

gave him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives!”
24 Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now by this I know that you are a man of

God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is the truth.”

Title:
God Bless You!
How can our Heavenly Father bless His children?

Introduction:
When we hear blessings, we are so happy about it, right? But blessings comes in so many
kinds, and we often ignore the blessing, because we are focus on the “material blessings”.

Hebrew word: ‫ ָה ְּכרְּב‬Bᵉrâkâh, ber-aw-kaw'; benediction; by implication prosperity:—

present.

Searching from the google dictionary, it says…

Blessing – noun: God's favor and protection; a beneficial thing for which one is grateful;
something that brings well-being.

So blessing isn’t just material prosperity. It is a beneficial thing for which one is grateful,
it is God’s favor; it is a present.

In order for you to see the BLESSINGS, there should be STRUGGLES.

Here’s some example. There is a typhoon, you are affected by it, but even though there
are some fallen trees, you are safe. That’s a blessing! That is God’s favor and protection.
You should be grateful.

If the blessings can be seen through struggles, do you know what blinds us from blessings?
It’s, say it with me, UN-GRATE-FUL-NESS

But many people nowadays, though God is supplying their needs, they are not grateful.
The BLESSING becomes a BURDEN.

Here’s another example. It happen to me.

We are having trouble financially, and we don’t have enough money to buy a bread. I
have 5 pesos, and the cost of a loaf of bread is 6pesos, so in order for me to buy one, I
need 1 peso. And I prayed to God to provide me 1 peso, and God answered my prayer.
We saw 5 peso coin. I became happy, but then I was still looking… for what? For 2 peso
more, so I could buy 2 loaf of bread. The supposedly blessing, I looked at it as a burden,
because I still need 2 peso. I was thinking “It still isn’t enough”.
But God then reminded me that I should be grateful. He gave me more than what I asked
for.

“BINIGYAN KA NA NG SOBRA, NAGHAHANAP KA PA?”

Struggle is real. So is the blessing of the Lord!

Now if you are struggling right now, this is how God can bless you, so listen very carefully.
Let those who have ears, let them hear!

Now this message about blessing, is about how God blesses Elijah in the midst of a great
drought in the Land of Israel.

Background of the story: Prophet Elijah, which means “The Lord is God”, was sent by
God to confront Baalism and to declare to Israel that the Lord was God and there was no
other! And by the word of the Lord through Elijah, he proclaim that there will be no dew
nor rain. The Lord had threatened to withhold rain from their land, if His people will serve
and worship other god, and that’s what they do. They turn to Baal. So prophet Elijah
prayed for the drought, and God answered him. It lasted three (3) years and six (6)
months (James 5:17). There was a great drought in the Land of Israel. That drought
proved that Baal, the god of the rain and fertility, was impotent before the Lord.

And here is where the struggle of Elijah come in. He was affected by the drought because
he live there! And let’s see how God bless Elijah on his trouble, in his struggle.

How can God bless prophet Elijah? How can God bless you? Let’s see…

I. God can use ANYTHING to bless you.

1 Kings 17:1-7
17 And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to
Ahab, “As the LORD God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be
dew nor rain these years, except at my word.”
2 Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 3 “Get away from here and turn

eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. 4 And it
will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded
the ravens to feed you there.”
5 So he went and did according to the word of the LORD, for he went and stayed

by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. 6 The ravens brought him
bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and
 he drank from the brook. 7 And it happened after a while that the brook dried
up, because there had been no rain in the land.

**This is what happened to us before, and I believe I already testified about it…
we don’t have enough money to buy rice and “ulam”, but I kept saying “meron
yan”. And as I was looking for “ulam”, I saw moringa or what they call
“Malunggay”. It was never an accident that there were leaves in it, we believe
and praise God because it was a blessing to us. I made a moringa patties. Praise
God!

And then we saw our cat having a bangus, he took it from the neighbor. Just
kidding.

God can use ANYTHING to bless you, from the trees, through your phones, your
clothes, your pockets. Yes! Anything!

And in the case of Prophet Elijah, it was the RAVENS that God used to bless him.
God commanded these birds to bring food to Elijah in times of great drought.

Isn’t that an extraordinary blessing?!

Our God will not be called Almighty God if He can’t do such impossible act. That
is the God of Israel, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. That is our God! Your
God! Amen! He can do ANYTHING, He can perform EVERYTHING.

II. God can use ANYONE to bless you.

1 Kings 17:8-16
8Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 9 “Arise, go to Zarephath,
which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow
there to provide for you.” 10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he
came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he
called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may
drink.” 11 And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring
me a morsel of bread in your hand.”
12 So she said, “As the LORD your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful
of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a [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.”
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. 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.’ ”
 So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and
15

her household ate for many days. 16 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.

**not only God used the ravens to feed Elijah, He also prepared someone to help
the Prophet in that calamity. God commanded Elijah to go to Zarepath, where he
will meet a widow, and there he should stay with her and her son.

But the problem is that, aside from the great drought, there was lack of food.
The widow only had enough food for her and her son.

And as I have told you, God can use ANYONE to bless you. God can use the widow
to bless Elijah. Though there was not enough flour and oil, God demonstrated His
power by making it unlimited. The flour was never used up. The jar of oil never
runs dry! Imagine that! The drought lasted more three (3) years, and yet they
never get hungry! They have an endless supply from the Lord!

Have you also notice how God blessed Elijah? Whom did God used? He used the
widow to bless Elijah right? Yes, where God’s children is, there He will bless also
those people that surround His children! God will bless your company where you
are. God will bless your school, your neighbor, your boss, your customers, all the
people that God intended to use to bless you!

So don’t get envy when other people prosper, you might not know, God will use
them in your times of trouble.

Indeed, God can use ANYONE to bless you!

III. God can use YOU to bless others.

1 Kings 17:17-24
17 Now it happened after these things that the son of the woman who owned the
house became sick. And his sickness was so [b]serious that [c]there was no breath
left in him. 18 So she said to Elijah, “What have I to do with you, O man of God?
Have you come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to kill my son?”
19 And he said to her, “Give me your son.” So he took him out of her arms and

carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his own
bed. 20 Then he cried out to the LORD and said, “O LORD my God, have You also
brought tragedy on the widow with whom I lodge, by killing her son?” 21 And he
stretched himself out on the child three times, and cried out to the LORD and said,
 “O LORD my God, I pray, let this child’s soul come back to him.” 22 Then
the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came back to
him, and he revived.
23 And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper room into the

house, and gave him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives!”
24 Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now by this I know that you are a man of

God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is the truth.”

**After all what happen, after God used the ravens to feed Elijah, after staying
with the widow and her son for some time, we can see that the prophet always
is getting blessed right? But on that moment, God used Elijah to bless the widow!

You might say “I don’t possess anything to bless others”.

Yes, that can be true. But that is just like Prophet Elijah. He doesn’t have anything
with him, he even asked the widow to give him food.

What happened next is amazing.

The widow’s son died. That’s not the amazing part.
Here it is. Remember Prophet Elijah doesn’t have anything, and then the widow’s
son died. What could the prophet possibly do? How can God use Elijah to be a
blessing to the widow?
God uses Elijah to bless the widow by resurrecting her son! Elijah doesn’t have
anything but God! And because he have God with him, God used him to perform
miracle to bless the widow on her trouble. Wow! Isn’t that AMAZING!

Do you think you don’t have anything right now? You really might do. But
remember Elijah, and remember this…

Even you don’t have ANYTHING, you have EVERYTHING if you have GOD.

You have everything that the world cannot offer!

Because you have GOD in you!

Conclusion:
Three (3) miracles that God performed through Prophet Elijah
1. Miracle of Provision through ravens
2. Miracle of Infinite Supplication through the widow
3. Miracle of Resurrection through Prophet Elijah
All of these extraordinary, miraculous blessings cannot be done if you do not have this…
Remember this, it was written in the scripture itself, it was written before all of the blessing
to Elijah was revealed…
2 Then the word of the LORD came to him…

For us to experience all these provision, all these blessings, we should acknowledge God!
We should know His Word! You should hear His Word! You should read His Word. You
should follow His Word. You should be in His Word!

The story of Elijah in 1 King chapter 17 was so amazing, because it started with “the word
of the Lord” and then the blessings, miracles even, came, and notice how it ended…

24 Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now by this I know that you are a man of
God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is the truth.”

It ends with the widow glorifying God, being grateful, and proclaiming that the word of
the Lord is the TRUTH!

They say “count your blessings”. Amen! But we should also count our struggles. Why??

Every time we count our Blessings,

our LOVE for God grows BIGGER.
Every time we count our Struggles,
our FAITH in God grows STRONGER.

Because in order for us to see the BLESSINGS, there should be STRUGGLES.