I'd like to welcome you to our Wednesday night service if you'd like to find your place in 1 Kings chapter 17. 1 Kings chapter 17, the title of the message is The Darkest Hour. And this is a second message in the series of unnamed saints and servants in the Bible. Don't know exactly how long the Lord will allow me to pursue this series, but I am excited about this message and we're going to be looking at this unnamed widow that was used of the Lord and she's known as the widow of Zarephath. God has a plan and God has a purpose for each one of us if we'll simply just trust Him. and allow Him to have His perfect will and way in our lives. If we'll just make ourselves available and all our resources available to Him, God is willing and ready to use us for His honor and glory. And this is what we're gonna see in this chapter. In 1 Kings chapter 17, let's start reading in verse 1. And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And it shall be that thou shalt drink of the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. So he went and did according to the word of the Lord. For he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening. And he drank of the brook. And it came to pass after a while that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land. And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. So he arose and went to Zarephath, and when he came to the gate of the city, Behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks. And he called to her and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel that I may drink. And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand. And she said, As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but a handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruise. And behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat and die. 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. For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the crucible fail until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth. And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah, and she and he and her house did eat many days. And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruise of oil fail according to the word of the Lord, which he spake, by Elijah. And it came to pass after these things that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick. And his sickness was so sore that there was no breath left in him. And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? Art thou coming to me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son? He said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed. And he cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourned, by slaying her son? And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, I pray Thee, let this child's soul come into him again. And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah, and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother. And Elijah said, See, thy son liveth. And the woman said to Elijah now, By this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth." In verse 1 through 7 of this story here, this passage, Elijah had witnessed the miraculous provisions of God. For Elijah, he knew that the God before whom he stood was protecting him and sustaining him just as he had promised. But for this widow, this widow, she had no brook-cherith experience. She never saw the ravens bringing food to her table. For Elijah, it was not hard for him to believe that a widow in Zarephath could take care of him. He had just witnessed ravens bringing him bread and flesh in the morning and at night. Elijah knew that with God nothing was impossible. But for this widow woman, she had never been called of God, and she had never been nourished of God. She knew nothing of the mighty hand of God to save by little or by much. Elijah, he's operating on the Word of God, a Word that has never failed him, a God who has never left him. Elijah knew that where God guides, He always provides. Oh, but for this widow woman, oh, she had never heard, she had never seen God do for her like He did for Elijah. But she was about to experience the faithfulness of God. Remember, Elijah is in Zarephath at the Word of the Lord. Elijah arrives in Zarephath, not to a table that's spread with all kinds of goods and food and desserts, but he arrives in Zarephath in the darkest hour that this widow has ever experienced. She had already experienced a tremendous loss in this life. She had already went through the darkness of losing a spouse. Her hope and dreams had already been crushed. She had lost her best friend. She had lost her provider. And now she has lost all hope. to survive. Her son, he was in the darkest hour of his life, whether he was old enough to realize it or not. He had lost a father, but now he was about to take his last meal. Oh, what this widow did not know, as she had been struggling, as she had been sparing her groceries as she'd been picking up the last few sticks to make a fire and to cook her last meal. Oh, what she did not know was that the God of heaven had saw her need. Oh, what she did not know as she set out together those few sticks to cook their last meal was that God, the creator of all things, the mighty God, the everlasting God, the great provider and sustainer of life. He was about to show up in her darkest hour of her life. What this widow did not know was about to change. Her life. Oh, would you go back in time with me? And would you think about what you didn't know before you got saved? Hey, when you were walking in your darkest hour, when you were lost, when you were dead in your trespasses and sin, without hope of another day, without hope of eternal life, no hope beyond the day that you was living in, no assurance of a better tomorrow. And He gave you hope. And what did He tell you? He told you that there was hope beyond the darkest moment in your life. Oh, thank God for the day that someone brought the good news of the gospel to you. And by faith, you believed the Word of God. Oh, what did you hear? And what did you believe? Oh, you heard John 3.16. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Oh, you heard and you believed Romans 3.23. for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Oh, you heard and you believe, Romans 6, 23, for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Oh, you heard and you believe, Romans chapter 5 and verse 8, but God committeth His love toward us, and that while we were yet sinners, In our darkest hour, Christ died for us. You heard and you believe Romans chapter 10 and verse 9, that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture saith, whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed." That word ashamed, it means that you won't be disappointed in this world or the one to come. Why will you not be ashamed? It's because you exercise faith, which is the evidence of things not seen, the substance of things hoped for. And that faith pleases God. Simply put, you trusted In Jesus, in your darkest hour, you had no idea that there was a God in heaven that loved you so much that He sent His only begotten Son to die on an old rugged cross and bear your sin and His body on that cross. You had no idea that he would die and be buried and rose again for your justification. Oh, but when you heard the good news that Jesus saves, you simply took God at His word and you put your faith in Jesus and you passed from death unto life and you've been given new life and you've been living ever since in the provisions of God, not just for this life. but for the life to come as well. What this widow did not know, as she was in her darkest hour, gathering those few sticks to fix her and her son's last meal and then die, what she did not know in that hour, was there was a God in heaven that saw her condition and had already commanded something concerning her. Oh, keep your place here and turn to Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy chapter 10. Deuteronomy chapter 10. In her darkest hour, what this widow did not know about God was about to change her life. Don't miss this. Don't miss it. Deuteronomy 10, 17 says, For the Lord your God is a God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward. Oh, this verse here in Deuteronomy is written to Israel. Remember, Elijah, he had the Word of God. Elijah knew what God had told him. He knew who God was. But for this widow, she had no idea that the Lord of Elijah was the God of gods and the Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward. Oh, but she was about to be introduced to the God of gods and the Lord of lords. In her darkest hour, she was about to learn how much this God loved her. Her God, Obel, the God of fertility, He did not love her. He had failed her in any way. He had never sent a messenger to tell her that He cared for her and that He loved her and that He would sustain her. Oh, Elijah, he knew the God of gods. He knew the Lord of lords, that He was mighty to save, that He had all power. You see, Elijah was operating on the promises of God. He was operating on the faithfulness of this great God. Elijah had confidence to go to Zidon, knowing that God would always honor his word. This widow was about to be introduced to this same great God. Oh, keep looking at verse 18. Oh, this is where this gets really special right here. In Deuteronomy chapter 10 and verse 18, it's talking about this great God, this terrible God, this mighty God, this God of gods, and this Lord of lords. This is what He does. And don't miss this. He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless. Oh, God had took note that there was a little boy there in need. There was a little boy there that didn't have a daddy, but there was a God in heaven that wanted to be his father. He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless. And who? The widow. And then what? And loveth the stranger. And what's he gonna do for them? Oh, it says in giving him food and raiment. Love ye therefore the stranger for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. Oh, what will God do for the fatherless? What will God do for the widow? What will God do for the stranger? He'll give them food. And He won't just provide for them. It says that He'll love them too. Oh, let's go back to 1 Kings. 1 Kings chapter 17. Oh, what was the response of this widow? Oh, she became honest before God. She admitted her helpless estate. She admitted her inability to help herself and to save herself. Oh, read with me in verse 12 again. And she said, As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but a handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruise. And behold, I'm gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it. And she said, I'm as good as dead. My son is as good as dead. I'm unable to save myself. Oh my God, Baal, he can't help me. There's no man that'll give me bread. Oh, do you remember what Jesus said over in Luke chapter 4 and verse 4? And Jesus answered him saying, it is written, that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God." Oh, how did this mama find life? She found it not in bread, but she found it in believing the word of God. This widow simply believed the word that came from the God of Elijah. Let's keep reading there in verse 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 thee and for thy son, make for thee and for thy son." For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, the barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the crews of oil fail until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth. And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah, and she and he and her house did eat many days, and the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the crews of oil fail according to the word of the Lord, which is fake. By Elijah. Boy, we see these first few words that he gave her. He said, fear not. Oh, that's some good words right there. When you find yourself in the darkest hour, where there is no hope in sight, when nothing is working out just like you had dreamed, when you've come to the end of yourself, when your religion and your good works have brought you nothing. Oh, it's good to know that there's a God in heaven This says, fear not. He's saying, fear not, little widow. Fear not, little boy. The God of gods and the Lord of lords, I've seen your condition. I've already commanded concerning you. Not only that, but I've already promised in my word. that I'll love the stranger and I'll give food to the widow. I'll give food to the fatherless. Oh, I care for you, little widow. I care for you, little boy. Oh, I know that you've come to the end of yourself, but I'm here. I'm here to sustain you. I remember when we were church planters in Canada, we went by the place. I went by the place that morning to go run some errands and I noticed that where we rented our building, there was a moving truck there. We rented a conference room from this place, and this person had several rooms that he rented out for people to live in. And I thought maybe it was the owner that needed some help maybe there. I was just gonna go and offer my services and say, hey, can I help you there? And maybe he's moving something. But when I got there, the owner says, no, I'm not moving. I'm not going anywhere. But one of the people that rent from me, they're moving. And he said, you know what? She could really use some help. So I went up and I introduced myself. And I said, look, I know you don't know me. I know that the Lord has put on my heart to come over here and I was going to offer my help to whoever was moving here. And as I went there and I introduced myself, this lady gladly took my help. And for about three hours there, I helped load the truck. As I watched this woman, she was weeping. You can tell that she was in desperation. You could tell that she didn't have much hope. And after three hours, it was right there at lunchtime. I stopped there and I said, hey, can we just stop for a minute? Hey, let's sit down. Let's just have a little talk here. I said, let me tell you something. God in heaven sent me by. He wanted me to stop here and not just help you move, but He wanted me to tell you about Him and tell you how much He loves you, how much He cares for you, and how that He gave His Son to die on the cross for you. And there for a few minutes I shared the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ with this lady. She sat there at the table and she wept. She said, no one's ever helped me like this. No one, she said. No one. Even the church is right across the street. But that Catholic priest, He didn't come over to help me. No one came to help me, but you came. And you said you're following what God had put in your heart to do, to come and help me. Oh, I begin again to give her the gospel. I left her with two gospel tracts. I said, do me a favor. I'm going to go home and grab a bite to eat, but I want you to read these two tracts. And when I get back, we can talk about it if you'd like. I said, I'm going to come back and help you in just a little bit. When I got back, She was there at the back of the truck just weeping. And I said, hey, I see you're still crying. I said, did you read those tracts? She said, I did. But now I'm not crying because I'm in desperation. I'm not crying because I didn't really have no hope. I'm crying because I've trusted Jesus as my Savior and I've put my faith in Him and I believe in Him. Oh, these words, fear not. Fear not. God loves you. He sees your condition. Oh, and He sent a messenger by just to tell you He loves you and that He wants to save you. Oh, this little widow, she needed to hear those words. Fear not. In verse 14, read it with me. It says, For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruise of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth." Elijah knew that the meal and the oil would not run dry. Why? How did he know that? because God had already told him that the widow and Zarephath would take care of him. Oh, at the brook chairth and at the widow's table, God provided for Elijah. Elijah had no choice in what he was served, but he accepted the provisions of God that they were sufficient for him. You see, Elijah's hope was not in the bread. It was not in a little cake, but it was in the God who provided the bread. There are many who think that if they don't just have every little thing they want, that God has failed them. Oh, what God was teaching Elijah, what God was teaching this little widow, it was a lesson in faith and contentment in him. Elijah This unnamed widow and her unnamed son, they survived. Not because of anything they did, but through the power of the God of gods and Lord of lords. Oh, in verse 17, we see this widow's son is going to die. Here again, this widow was faced with another darkest hour. She'd already lost her husband. Now she's lost her son. She's helpless again to remedy her condition. Oh, but this time she's not without hope. But this time she's already witnessed a God that can provide, a God that's the sustainer of life. And she turns to Elijah. Oh, Elijah could not feed himself. Elijah could not deliver this widow's son. But he knew who had the power to raise the dead. Let's go to verse 22. And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah, and the soul of the child came unto him again, and he revived. And Elijah took the child and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother. And Elijah said, See, thy son liveth. And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know, I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth His truth. Oh, it seems that in our darkest moments, that's when we see God the clearest. When all hope was gone to live another day, God showed up in this widow's life. When all hope was gone that she should see her son again, God showed up again in this widow's life. In both cases, this woman, this widow, she responded in faith, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth. Elijah, he came to Zarephath knowing the will of God, knowing that God is able to provide, to protect, and he keeps his promises. Now this widow knows the same thing. She knows the same thing that Elijah knew about the Lord. There was no doubt in her mind that the Lord of Elijah, that he is the God of gods, the Lord of lords, that he's mighty to save. It was a great God. You see, God used this unnamed servant. He used this unnamed widow to show himself strong on their behalf. God used this unnamed widow as a testimony to His great and mighty power to save all those who will believe in Him. Not just for this life, but for eternity. There's hope beyond this life. God has promised us eternal life. Not only will He care for us now, but He's prepared a place For us, you and I are going to face some darkest hours in this life. But through it all, God is working to strengthen our faith and to keep our eyes on Him. Can God count on you? Can God count on me to be as faithful as this unnamed widow who just simply believed God? You know, there's a lot of things that you and I can know in this life. You can know for sure that God loves you. He gave His Son to die on the cross for you. He was buried and He rose again for your justification so that you can have everlasting life. These are things that you can know for sure in this life. You can know for sure that your sins are forgiven and that God has removed them as far as the east is from the west. You can know for sure that your name's been written in the Lamb's Book of Life. You have the promise of the life that now is and of the one that is to come. You've got the promise that God will never forsake you nor leave you. He'll carry you through to the other side and you'll be forever with Him. In John 14 and verse 1 it says, let not your heart be troubled." That kind of sounds like Elijah's address to this fearful widow. He said, fear not. What does Jesus say? He says, let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go, ye know, and the way ye know. Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest, and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father, but by me. Can I ask you, do you know the way? Do you know the truth? Do you know the life tonight? This widow believed, and so can we. We don't have her name here on earth, because we can all identify with this widow. We were all helpless and unable to save ourselves, but God sent His Son to tell us there is hope. This widow found no hope in religion or good works, but she found hope in the Word of God that was spoke through Elijah the prophet. Have you believed in Jesus as your Savior? If not, then why not tonight?