The salient point of this episode revolves around the profound truth that provision is intrinsically tied to divine instruction rather than personal emotion or preference. In our exploration of Elijah’s experience, we confront the reality that God may lead us into circumstances that appear devoid of resources, yet He remains the God of abundance. This narrative emphasizes the necessity of obedience to God’s directives, as it is through such compliance that we align ourselves with His provision. We shall delve into the implications of relying on seemingly unclean channels, such as ravens, for our sustenance, thereby challenging our preconceived notions of how blessings should manifest. Ultimately, this episode serves as a clarion call to recognize that true prosperity in the Kingdom economy is predicated upon unwavering faithfulness to God’s word amidst adversity. The discourse centers on the profound narrative of Elijah as depicted in 1 Kings 17, wherein the prophet is commanded to retreat to a seemingly barren land, the Brook Cherith. This biblical account unfolds amidst a backdrop of societal compromise and idolatry in Israel, led by King Ahab and Queen Jezebel. The speaker elucidates that God's provision may often manifest in unexpected forms—symbolized by the ravens, unclean creatures tasked with delivering sustenance to Elijah. The underlying principle articulated is that divine provision is contingent upon obedience rather than emotional inclination. This profound lesson serves as a stark reminder that faith is not merely vocalized in proclamations but is substantiated through action, particularly in obscured circumstances. The notion that God can utilize unconventional channels to deliver blessings is emphasized, urging the audience to embrace humility and gratitude, regardless of the means through which divine assistance arrives. Thus, the narrative intricately weaves themes of faith, obedience, and the divine economy, culminating in a call for introspection regarding one's own trust in God amidst life's uncertainties.

Takeaways:

1. Obedience is paramount in the Kingdom economy, as provision is contingent upon following God's directives rather than adhering to personal preferences.
2. The story of Elijah exemplifies that God can utilize unconventional means of provision, challenging our expectations and preconceived notions about how blessings should manifest.
3. In times of apparent lack, it is crucial to remember that true prosperity stems from faithfulness to God's commands, not from reliance on worldly systems or idols.
4. A drought season serves as a vital training ground for believers, encouraging them to trust in God's guidance and to remain steadfast even when circumstances appear dire.

Links referenced in this episode:

1. 1 Kings 17:4
2. 1 Kings 17:2,6
3. 1 Kings 17:7
4. 1 Kings 17:9
5. Philippians 4:19
6. Matthew 6:24

Brothers and sisters, we are stepping into a series that is going to confront fear, expose idols, and awaken faith.

Because we are going to be talking about Elijah and the kingdom economy.

We are living in days where people are anxious, pressured, compromising, doing anything to survive.

But hear me, God's people were never designed to live by panic.

We were designed to live by promise.

Now, in this series, we're going to walk through Elijah's life, where God feeds a prophet with ravens, sustains a household with a jar that won't run dry and calls down fire to prove once and for all the Lord is God.

And after the fire comes the rain.

If you've been in financial drought, if you've been tempted to mix God with the world's ways, if you want biblical prosperity without counterfeit compromise, this is for you.

Get your Bible, bring your faith, and let's rebuild the altar.

Because where God is truly Lord, provision is never the final problem.

And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.

1 Kings 17:4.

Have you ever been in a season where you knew God told you to move, but the place he sent you didn't look like provision?

You expected a door, God gave you a desert.

You expected applause, God gave you a hidden place, you expected increase, God gave you instructions.

And this is where many believers fail.

Not because God is unfaithful.

No, because the kingdom economy does not respond to your preferences, it responds to your obedience.

We have a generation that wants blessing without burning, provision without process, harvest without holiness.

But Elijah's story opens with a hard reality.

God can lead you into a place that looks like lack, and you still be the God of overflow.

Because the proof of your faith is not what you shout in church.

The proof of your faith is what you obey when nobody is watching.

And the first miracle in Elijah's drought season is not fire.

It's not rain, it's not revival.

It's bread carried by ravens, unclean birds, unlikely messengers, strange myths.

And that's the message.

When God is your source, he can use anything he wants.

And this is the first message in the series Elijah and the Kingdom Economy.

And our message is titled Ravens Bringing Provision Now.

Why Elijah?

Why drought?

Why now?

Elijah shows up in 1 Kings 17 like a thunder lightning bolt.

Israel is in compromise under King Ahab, and Jezebel has weaponized idolatry.

BAAL worship is not just spiritual adultery, it's an economic system.

BAAL was considered the storm God tied to rain, crops, fertility, and national prosperity.

So Elijah stands and declares, as the Lord God of Israel lives, there shall not be dew for rain these years except my word.

You know what God is doing?

He is exposing a lie.

Prosperity does not come from baal.

Provision does not come from idols.

Rain does not come from systems.

It comes from the living God.

And then immediately God hides Elijah because before God confronts a nation, he trains a man.

Before God sends you into visible victory, he matures you in invisible obedience.

Our first main point for the message is that provision is tied to instruction, not emotion.

1 Kings 17:2,6 God speaks to Elijah, get away from here and hide by the brook, cherith, and it will be that you shall drink from the brook.

Then God says something surgical.

I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.

1 Kings 17:4.

Underline that word there, not anywhere, but not where you like, not where you feel safe, not where you can control outcomes.

There many believers are crying for provision while living in abundance and disobedience.

Let me say it plainly.

God funds what he orders.

He does not sponsor rebellion.

We pray, Lord, bless me, but God is asking, will you obey me?

We fast for open doors, but ignore closed instructions.

We went to the God of miracles, but we avoid the God of commandments.

Now Jesus said, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Notice the order.

Kingdom first, righteousness first, then addition.

Some of us want addition without skipping, without skipping first.

But Elijah teaches us something.

When you are where God told you to be, you can't be in a drought and still be fed, because drought does not cancel covenant.

A recession does not intimidate heaven.

A famine cannot starve a man standing in obedience.

Obedience is a location, and provision follows location.

If you're out of position, you may be out of provision.

Here's a real life application of this point.

Some of you are not broke because God failed.

You're broke because you're refusing the there God gave you.

Some of you are stressing because you're chasing options, not following instruction.

Some of you keep asking God for a new season, but you haven't mastered the last instruction.

Our second main point for the message is that God can use unclean channels to deliver clean provision.

1 Kings 17:6 the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.

Ravens, not doves.

Ravens.

In Israel's understanding, ravens were unclean birds.

Just see Leviticus 11 that lists unclean animals.

And yet God chooses ravens to deliver Elijah's provision.

This is where Religious pride gets exposed because some of you have holy expectation of how God must bless you.

You say, God must bless me through the church.

God says I can bless you through a contract.

You say, God must bless me through my salary.

God says I can bless you through a side skill.

You say, God must bless me through people I respect.

And God says I'll send it through someone you didn't even notice.

Because if God only blessed you through clean channels, you start worshiping the channel.

If God uses ravens to teach, God uses ravens to teach Elijah, I am the source.

The raven is just the courier.

Philippians says, and my God shall supply all your need according to his riches and glory by Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:19 not according to the economy, not according to your boss, not according to your degree, according to his riches.

So let me ask you are you grateful when God provides or only when God provides in a way that flatters your pride?

Some people miss miracles because they don't like the wrapping paper God might provide through a client.

You didn't expect a friend.

You didn't.

You underestimated a door.

You didn't plan a seizing.

You didn't want a a raven you would never choose.

But if God sent it, don't insult it.

Don't reject God's provision because it came wearing work clothes.

So how can we apply this point?

Stop despising small beginnings.

God often starts provisioning portions.

Stop romanticizing one method.

God is not a one stream God.

Stop demanding God to bless you in a way that keeps you comfortable.

God will bless you in a way that keeps you dependent on him.

To be clear, the third main point is the hidden season is a financial training ground.

Then the text says, but it happened after a while, that the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land.

1 King's 17:7 wait.

Elijah is in God's will.

Elijah is obeying God, Elijah is being fed, and still the brook dries up.

Here's a Obedience does not mean you will never face pressure.

It means pressure will never destroy you.

God lets the brook dry for a reason.

So Elijah doesn't worship the brook.

So Elijah doesn't become addicted to a method.

So Elijah learns to move when God speaks.

Some of you are praying for the brook to return when God is saying, move forward.

Because the kingdom economy is not static, it is guided.

That's why Isaiah says, whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, this is the way.

Walk in it.

The voice speaks for direction.

And when the brook dries, God says, arise.

Go to Zarephath.

I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.

1 Kings 17:9.

Notice again there.

So God moves Elijah from raven.

Provision unusual supply to widow.

Provision impossible supply because God is escaping Elijah's faith.

God trains you in private so you can stand in public.

God disciplines your appetite so you don't become a slave to money.

God breaks your need for predictability so you can walk by faith.

If your faith only works when the brook is flowing, it's not faith, it's convenience.

Here are some applicable lessons across the board for believers, ministry, work and family.

1.

Stop confusing comfort with calling.

Sometimes God will send you to a place that doesn't look impressive but is loaded with purpose.

2.

Learn the difference between source and stream.

Your job is a stream, your business is a stream.

Your clients are the stream, but God is the source.

If a stream dries up, your Source is still alive.

3.

Obedience is the currency of the kingdom economy.

You can shout increase all day, but if you ignore instructions, you're praying against yourself.

4.

God can feed you daily without making you lazy.

Elijah still had to stay positioned.

Daily provision doesn't mean irresponsible living.

It means consistent dependence.

5.

Drought seasons reveal idols.

When pressure hits you, find out what you truly trust.

Here are some encouragements, and let me talk to you like a prophet for a moment.

Some of you are praying for prosperity while entertaining idolatry.

You're mixing God with mammon.

Jesus didn't stutter.

You cannot serve both God and money.

He told us in Matthew 6:24.

He did not say you shouldn't, he said you cannot.

Because mammon is not money.

It's a spirit that demands trust and money.

And Elijah's entire ministry is anti mammon.

God is showing Israel BAAL isn't feeding you.

I am.

So here's the warning.

If money can move you more than God's voice, money is your God.

If fear controls your decisions, fear is your God.

If your lifestyle is built on compromise, you're building on sand.

But here's the good news, brothers and sisters.

If God can command ravens, he can command your provision.

If God can sustain Elijah in drought, he can sustain you in uncertainty.

Here are some questions for reflection.

What is your there right now?

What instruction has God given you that you keep negotiating?

2.

Are you more loyal to comfort or to calling?

3.

Have you despised a raven?

An unexpected channel God used because it didn't match your preferred image?

4.

What Brook has dried up in your life.

And is God actually calling you to move to a new season?

And five, if your finances exposed your worship, would they reveal trust in God or trust in control?

Elijah didn't start with fire.

He started with obedience.

And that is where biblical prosperity begins.

Not hype, not manipulation.

Not in name it and claim it games, but in a man who hears God moves when God says move, stays when God says stay.

And trust God when the land is dry.

Because the kingdom economy is not based on rain, it's based on the word.

And if God said it, he will fund it.

Let us pray.

Father, in the name of Jesus, I repent for every way I have tried to control outcomes, manipulate, provision, or demand my own method.

Teach me obedience like Elijah.

Quick obedience, humble obedience, complete obedience.

Deliver me from fear and the worship of money.

I declare today you are my source.

Not my job, not my business, not my connections, not my savings.

You are my provider.

Lord, position me in my there.

Give me clarity to hear you and courage to follow you.

And I ask you for supernatural provision.

Ravens, brooks, doors, ideas, contracts, favor whatever it is that you choose.

Let my life become a testimony that the righteous are sustained even in drought.

I receive your peace, your guidance and your supply.

In Jesus name, amen.