TRUNEWS with Rick Wiles - Morning Manna - May 30, 2025 - 1 Kings 17:8-16 - The Bread in Your Hand

Episode Date: May 30, 2025

On this Faith Friday edition of Morning Manna, Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart walk through the miraculous account of Elijah and the widow at Zarephath. As famine ravages the land, God orchestrates a divine meeting between His prophet and a Gentile widow on the brink of death. Elijah's audacious command to "bring me the bread that’s in your hand" reveals a powerful faith principle: the miracle is already in your possession—it just requires obedience.Through detailed teaching, Rick and Doc emphasize the necessity of recognizing what God has already placed in your hand, trusting Him with what little you have, and stepping into supernatural provision. The episode challenges viewers to respond in faith, even when resources seem depleted, and highlights God’s ability to sustain His people through unexpected sources.Rick Wiles, Doc Burkhart. Airdate 5/30/25Join the leading community for Conservative Christians! https://www.FaithandValues.comIf you're a Faith & Values member, watch today's show with other members here:https://members.faithandvalues.com/posts/morning-manna-may-29-2025-proverbs-126-33-wisdom-laughs-at-the-fools-calamity-85267007You can partner with us by visiting https://www.FaithandValues.com/donate, calling 1-800-576-2116, or by mail at PO Box 399 Vero Beach, FL 32961.Get high-quality emergency preparedness food today from American Reserves!https://www.AmericanReserves.comIt’s the Final Day! The day Jesus Christ bursts into our dimension of time, space, and matter. Now available in eBook and audio formats! Order Final Day from Amazon today!https://www.amazon.com/Final-Day-Characteristics-Second-Coming/dp/0578260816/Apple users, you can download the audio version on Apple Books! https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/final-day-10-characteristics-of-the-second-coming/id1687129858Purchase the 4-part DVD set or start streaming Sacrificing Liberty today. https://www.sacrificingliberty.com/watchThe Fauci Elf is a hilarious gift guaranteed to make your friends laugh! Order yours today! https://tru.news/faucielf

Good morning, everybody. Welcome to Morning Manna. It's Friday and that means it's Faith Friday and on Fridays we focus entirely exclusively on the topic of faith. And we're going to pick up our story from First Kings Chapter 17 where we left off last Friday and finished the story today. So have your Bible ready, have your Bible open. Let's get into the Word of God. Then later, before the close of today's Bible lesson, we're going to go to the Lord's table for Holy Communion. So have bread and your choice of grape juice or red wine and be ready for the Lord's Supper.

Our table is open. We have an open table. We don't close it off to anybody. Some churches do that. Some churches say, you know, only official members are allowed or only members of our denomination. I know our viewpoint is if you are born again and baptized,

you are family. End of discussion. All right. I don't like denominationalism. Okay, my mindset is we are all family. And I desire to treat every Christian man and woman as a brother or sister. And so I don't like the walls that go up. So our communion is open. If you're born again and baptized, you're in.

All right. So, doc, I'm going to pray open up the Bible study invite the Holy Spirit in and then I'm going to Have you pick up our story from last week? um first Kings chapter 17, I'm gonna begin teaching at verse 10 but for the context of the story I'll have you start at verse 8, verse 8 through 16. Alright, Almighty God, our dear Heavenly Father, Father we praise you and worship you and glorify you we love you dearly father and we love your son and we love your holy spirit so we are gathered here in the name of your son jesus asking that your holy spirit take his seat at the head of the table of this class and instruct us in the knowledge of your Son and his kingdom. In the name of Jesus we pray, amen. Amen and welcome here to Morning Manna and to

Faith Friday. We're all throughout 2025 we're teaching on Fridays the principles of faith, encouraging faith in your own life, walking in faith and not by sight. And so we are continuing that study today. Last week we were in First Kings chapter 17. We talked about the faith of Elijah and God's trying of his faith. Today we're going to pick up back up within that story because now Elijah has been given a new assignment and instead of being by the brick chariot, God is sending him to a widow woman in the area of Zarephath and that's where we're at today picking up at verse 8 this morning and the word the Lord came and then saying arise get thee to

Zarephath which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain me. Keep that in mind. 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 and a vessel that I may drink. And as she was going to fetch it, he called her

and said, bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand. And she said, as the Lord 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 and die. Well Elijah said under fear not go and do as thou has said, but make me there of a little cake first, 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 cruise 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 verse 16, 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. God bless the reading of his word today. Amen. Okay, so last week, last Faith Friday, we focused on the first eight, seven or eight verses, and the focus was on Elijah the prophet. Now remember, he had called down a drought and God honored his words. I mean, I believe God inspired him to speak the words, and then God confirmed the words that he spoke. But Elijah was doing battle with old Ahab and Jezebel, and they had led Israel into rebellion and idolatry.

And Elijah had come to the point where they, there's nothing else I can do here except to call for judgment. And so he spoke the words and said, it's not going to rain here. And the rain stopped. God honored his words and stopped the rain for three years. So as we learned last week, our focus was on Elijah's faith. He had to have faith because there was a drought and if you have a drought you have a famine. But God taught the prophet how he could use supernatural means to sustain the man of God who was speaking on his behalf. And the ravens air dropped in fresh meat.

The Lord led him to a brook that had not dried up yet. And Elijah was there at the brook of Cherith for quite some time. And the ravens brought fresh bread also, they had bread and meat every day. Yes. Brought in like Amazon uses drones. And so God used that experience to teach Elijah that the Lord was capable of taking care of those people

who obey him. Even in a famine, even in a drought. Even in a famine that you called for with your words. But then the brook dried up and the ravens flew away and God's saying to Elijah the prophet, we've got a transition happening now. I'm going to change your ministry. You've been resting, you've been hiding, yes, you're hiding. You're hiding from Ahab and Jezebel, and things have been okay. You're eating well. You're drinking good, clean water. But the famine has gotten worse, Elijah.

While you've been here, resting by this brook and having food flown into you every day. The famine that you called for, the drought that you called for, has produced a famine and people are starving to death. And I have brought judgment on this land. And there are people who are dying and there are skeletons all over the place. And there is a widow, and she's a Gentile. She's not in the tribe. She's outside the tribe. She's outside the covenant. But I love that woman. She's got a good heart. Now look, I'm paraphrasing, none of this is written in the Scripture. I'm trying to create the context of what took place. But the Lord is saying to

Elijah that there's this one particular woman. I mean, there's a lot of people dying from malnutrition, from lack of water, but there's one that I am going to keep alive because her heart is good. And even though she's outside the tribe, even though she's outside the tribe, even though she's outside the covenant, her heart is right towards me. And I have compassion on her.

And I am not going to let her die. And Elijah, you're out of food and you're out of water. You've got your own issues now. And I've got a plan. My plan is, I'm going to provide a miraculous supply of food to this widow and her son. And for you too. Yes, but she needs a miracle. Yes. But she needs a miracle. Yes.

You already know, Elijah, what I can do. You already know it. But she doesn't. She doesn't know what I can do. She's preparing to die. She's giving up hope. There's no more food in her house. I'm going to send you there and your presence is going to unlock my miraculous supply. Just the presence of somebody under the anointing can unlock God's supernatural blessings.

Just the presence of somebody under the anointing. Doesn't mean the person with the anointing is sinless, flawless, perfect. It just says God's anointing is on that man or woman. Right. And if you honor that anointing, the blessings of God will come upon you. So verse 8, and the word of the Lord came unto him saying, arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there. Stay there. You're going to live there. That's your next address. You're going to Zerapat. But something in this verse that a lot of people miss, Rick, is that the Lord had already commanded the widow woman. Yes. This gets skipped over a lot by people.

Yes. I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain me. It's already done. God had already spoken to this woman. Now, my viewpoint on this, and again, I can't prove it, is my viewpoint. And what's it worth? It's just my viewpoint. My view is God spoke to this woman before the drought. Yeah, I'm in that same school of thought. And when she was still married, her husband was still alive

and there was still money. They were probably a prosperous couple and food was abundant. Her husband and her had a good business, and the Holy Spirit came upon her and said, I am going to send one of my prophets to you, and when he arrives, I desire that you feed him. And she recognized the voice of the Lord.

And she said, of course, Lord, yes, bring him on. Tell him to come on over. I've got plenty of food in the house. The cupboards are full. Look at my husband's farm. It's abundant. Bring him over. We'll fatten him up.

I think she made that pledge, that vow when times were good. Yes. It was easy. It was easy to make that vow. She's abundantly supplied. What's a couple loaves of bread and some fish sticks to give to a preacher on his way? I'll do that. I'll even pack him an extra sandwich. She wasn't thinking, hey, he's going to show up when I'm out of food. She wasn't thinking that. But God was thinking it when he spoke to her in her abundance. He knew before he made her, before he made Elijah,

before he made the world. He already knew the situation's coming up. See, he's far ahead of us. He's already made provisions for your tomorrow. That's why Jesus said, don't worry about tomorrow, because your heavenly father's already provided for tomorrow. So I believe the Lord spoke to this woman. He knew that this drought would come.

He knew that someday Elijah would be there. He knew this before he made the world. He knew that there would be no rain, that there would be a drought, there would be a famine. He knew that there would be no rain that there would be a drought there would be a famine He knew that there would be this widow and her boy And he knew he'd have a prophet who was obeying him and he was going to need something to eat The preacher had a need the widow had a crisis. Let me say it again. The preacher had a need, but the widow had a crisis. She was down to one pancake. Okay, that's really desperate. So verse 10, so he arose and he 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. So he arose, all right, let's break this down, okay? So he arose and went to Zarephath. The lesson there is prompt obedience. He did what the Lord told him to do. The Lord said, get up and start walking and walk in the direction of Zarephath. Zarephath, that's a Gentile city. Yeah, that's where you're going. Yeah, that was the heart of Gentile country. It wasn't just on the outskirts. I mean, Elijah traveled a hundred miles

to get from Cherith to Zarephath. A hundred miles in a drought and famine. Right. As he walked, there were skeletons along the way, people who didn't make it. Right. There were buzzards picking the meat off of people. There was desolation everywhere he looked.

Ghost towns, he'd go through towns, a hundred miles. He went through ghost towns. And Rick, think about this, how many widow women did he pass by along the way? Many, begging, sir help me, do you have bread? But there was one widow woman he was assigned to. But God didn't tell him to stop in these other villages. He said, get yourself to Zarephath. That's right. And where does he find an assignment? There was a specific person assigned to Elijah, the man of God.

person assigned to Elijah the man of God. He had an assignment from God to bring the word of the Lord to a specific person. See what Doc and I are teaching today is this is not for everybody, but it's for you. Yes. It's for you. I could go up on the roof of this building. I'm in the downtown of Erie Beach. I could shout this to the whole downtown and hardly anybody would listen to me. But this is for you because the Holy Spirit has brought you here to hear this for your benefit. Right. So Elijah, this was not convenient to Elijah. It was hot, it was dry, there was no food, there was no water, it wasn't like he was sick. Yeah, it was out of his territory.

Which means it was out of his comfort zone. Yes. He's in alien territory. He's with foreigners. He's headed towards a Sidonian city A place he's not supposed to be 100 miles on foot That's a long walk

in a hot sun And you can't find water and you can't find food I mean you go into a little village and say where can I buy some food and people are laughing are you serious look at look at this look at the gravestones around here I mean try to imagine what this 100 miles in a in a famine on foot on foot for us where I'm, that would be walking to Miami and having no idea if you're going to get any water or food anywhere. So he's out of his comfort zone. This isn't easy on Elijah. God's told him to go to a Gentile city. The Lord said something about

he's commanded a widow to feed me. Elijah had to be thinking, oh no, not, not, seriously no. Seriously, no. A widow? I should be feeding her. She shouldn't be feeding me, I should be feeding the widow. But Elijah knew this is a heaven mission. The only way this woman's going to get her miracle is if he shows up and she does what God tells her to do. Right. And a couple things about this, Rick, that comes to my mind. Elijah's knees miraculously, through the ravens. But there came a time where that divine provision ended and a new level of provision had to begin. So even though it was a miracle, you can't rest in the miracles of the past. Even though they're good, they make for great stories and teaching of faith, but there comes a point where it Yes. And it might not be, you might not have done

anything wrong. It just, God's got another place for you and where you were, it's not where He wants you to be. And so Elijah didn't do anything wrong lying by the by the brook. He was doing what was right. He was exactly where the Lord told him to go. Right. And he was he was enjoying a miraculous supply of food and water. So and gotten the miracle stopped. Right. And so God tells him to go to Zarephath and that a widow woman is there to sustain him. And even though he has a hundred mile walk to get to Zarephath, the promise is on the other end.

Are there going to be struggles and are there going to be things that happen along that hundred mile walk? Sure, they're going to happen, but if God has given you a word and has given you an assignment, it doesn't matter about the journey. God's going to sustain you in the journey because He has a promise on the other end. So He wasn't worried about God supplying him food and water along the trip because He knew God had an assignment for him in Zarephath. Yes, and the word doesn't tell us how the Lord fed him on the trip.

That's right. We don't need to know. We just assume he found food and water somewhere on the path to Zarephath. path. You know, I'll use our situation with this ministry. So the Lord had been dealing with me for quite some time to shut down true news, to retire it, put it away. Quite some time. Doc knows that. I had many conversations. And then it came to the point where I knew the Lord was commanding me. Like it was no longer a nudge. It was a command. A lot of the people who got upset with me and left the ministry and just moved on said well Rick you you are abandoning your call you you walking off from your duty your post.

Now you don't have the right to speak like that to me. I obeyed the instruction. What God was saying to me was, Rick, get up from the brook and move. I'm taking you to another place. Yes. And if you stay here, I'm gonna dry up the brook and true news will just dry up. Give it another year or two, it'll just dry up.

See, that's where I knew we were at. That if the Lord turned off the spigot, there would be a drought in this ministry. That's, see, when you have knowledge of the word like this, you know, His hands on the spigot. And when He's telling you, it's time to get up and go. If you don't do it, he's going to turn off the spigot. Yes. And your supply will dry up. So Elijah knew when the brook dried up and the ravens didn't show up twice a day with meat and bread. He's like, what's going on here? And the Lord said, now I've got something else planned. It's time to leave this place. The Lord, I've been here and I've been obedient and you and I have been fellowshiping. Yes,

Elijah, that's all true. You've been obedient and we've been fellowshiping, but we're going to fellowship someplace else. You're going to take a journey there's going to be a transition. What I'm trying to get across to you is it's not abnormal for ministries churches or Christian people to do transitions. Right. It's actually quite normal. Or it should be. Yes. God's always, He knows that we get in our comfort zones. He knows we like to get our little nests all nice and furry and fluffy and get down in it and like, oh, this just feels so good. He knows that that's our nature. Right. And every once a while, he'll shake the nest and say, come on, get up. I got,

I got a faith lesson for you and I can't teach it here while you're in that nest. But that, that nest, that nest is the, that nest is the fruit of your last faith test. Yes. The problem is, Rick, that so many people, and it's tragic really, choose to remain at dried-up Cherith rather than move on to supply at Zarephath. Yes. They say, you know, Ravens fed us here. We had miraculous water here. This is why leave here? Why do this? Well, it's dried up. I'll tell you, there are people watching

us right now listening, you're living in a dried up town. The city you call home is dried up and it's going to continue to dry up and there's no future but you won't leave. Why? Because it takes faith. Moving to another city requires faith. There's a transition. into another city requires faith. There's a transition. But you need to look around, you know, has the city that you live in has a deteriorated has crime gone up? Is there trash and litter everywhere or businesses closed stores closed buildings boarded up? Hey, the place is dead. Right? Why are you staying there? Well, this is where I was born. That's where you're going to die? You're going to die with the city? Oh, you got to, sometimes you just, sometimes you have to make a transition.

Right. And there are probably some really genuine, heartfelt folks, even here on the live edition of Morning Manna Today, where God has provided for you miraculously in the past, where you've seen miracles happen in your life, where the Lord has opened up amazing doors in your life, but you've been living off the vapors of that, of the cherubic brook for decades and God is speaking to you right now saying you know what you can stay here by the brook or you can go to Zarephath because that's where your nest that's where I'm providing for you you're living on vapors miracle vapors instead of the next miracle in your life. And you're right, it takes faith to move to Zarephath.

Yes. The whole journey of the Hebrews from Egypt to Canaan was a daily walk of following the leading of God. a daily walk of following the leading of God. He led them with a pillar of fire and a cloud. But they were on the move and they were following the signs of God. And this is the way we have to go through life. That doesn't mean we're constantly physically moving cities. That's not what I'm saying.

But in the past, I'll tell you, I have talked with people who've emailed and said, I really need your prayers. And I've contacted them and they're like, I got to have a job. And after I've talked to them, and I've asked him about where they live, and he realized that they're living in a dried up dead town. I'm like, you've got to leave that place. No, I can't leave my family, all my relatives here. My dog is buried here. You know, it's like, no, there's no jobs there. I actually had one person say, I can't sell my house.

I buried my dog in my yard. Seriously? You're gonna dry up because your dog is buried in your yard? He's not gonna miss you. Oh. I understand the emotional bonds. My dog is buried in my yard, but if it dries up, I'm leaving. It's just his bones there.

That's all it's there, just his dried up bones. So he gets to the gate of the city. The gate is always the entrance place. And who's there? The widow. What a coincidence. God divinely scheduled her path, you know, he ordained's got to be the widow. That's got to be her right there. That's God. He just knew it. And then he's like, oh,

I'm going to be the widow. And then he's like, oh, I'm going to be the widow. And then he's like, oh, I'm going to be the widow. And then he's like, oh, I'm going to be the widow. And then he's like, oh, I'm going to be the widow. That's got to be her right there. That's God. He just knew it. Behold, the widow

woman was there. All right. So this is a beautiful example of God's orchestration. He orchestrated that two people meet at the right time, at the right place to have a miracle take place. See your faith, when we talked in the beginning of this lesson about having expecting faith, expectant faith, you're expecting something good to happen. When you have expected faith and you are expecting God to do something, now you're looking for that person. You're looking for that encounter. You're expecting that God sent person

to show up in your life. You're expecting that God sent person to show up in your life. And many times that person is not dressed, talks or looks the way you thought. I could tell a whole story. I'm not going to do it on because I don't have time. I can tell you a whole story about years ago in this ministry, we had a great need. I mean, we were ready to shut down and I was honestly was trying to figure out how to get a meeting with Ross Perot. I was the one I lived in Texas. But God sent an elderly elderly farmer wearing suspenders and a straw hat and he came on a bus and he came to abundantly bless our ministry and paid off all of our debt. That was the encounter. That encounter was with this old farmer from Arkansas

who came to the gate of the city on a Greyhound bus. True story. God used that man to save this ministry from collapse. Joe McBride, I'll never forget that man. Joe McBride. He's gone, he's with the Lord. But one of the last things he did was rescue this ministry. See, I have memories. Over 26 years, I have memories of

God's divinely orchestrated meetings with people at a time when I was in a desperate condition. See, I can teach this lesson. I know what this is about But you know as wonderful as that provision was Rick You can't be sitting here today waiting for Joe McBride to show up again No, this is not gonna happen the same way. It's not gonna happen again the same way It's a he'll do. God will do something different.

He's an original God. Every miracle is new. Every miracle is different because He's a creator. He's an innovator. He never paints the same painting. He never does a duplicate. They're always different. Every sunrise is different.

Every sunsetets different. So she was there gathering sticks. That speaks of her poverty. And it speaks of her willingness to do manual labor, to do whatever is necessary to stay in the game. to do whatever is necessary to stay in the game. She didn't lie down on her sofa and say, well, I'm just gonna lay here and die. No, she was still in the game. She's like, well, I'm gonna do something.

I'm gonna go gather sticks. What were the sticks for? Was she going to eat the sticks? No, she was going to start a fire to bake her last piece of bread. That's what she was doing. She was looking for some sticks to start a fire. But she had to go search for sticks.

Yes. They were, the sticks were scarce. So now Elijah says, fetch me, I pray thee a little water. All right. Here's, here's a man who's called down the drought. The man whose word said, it's not going to be any rain. And now he's thirsty. He's been walking 100 miles.

Gets to the city gate, says, here's the widow. She's gathering sticks and he goes, excuse me, ma'am, I'd like to have a drink. First words out of his mouth, I'd like to have a drink. It's a modest request, but he's testing her willingness to obey. If she would have said, get out of here, you freak. We're all looking for a drink of water. A lot of people would respond. What are you talking about? You want a drink of water.

So does my son. Who are you a stranger to come into this city and ask for water? You got the nerve. Don't you know people would talk like that? Water was scarce. Get in line. Yeah. But he's testing her.

The man of God is testing her. Is this the woman God said is going to feed me? Well, she's going to have to give me a drink first. Before she has the faith to feed me, she's going to have the faith to give me a drink. So, God's setting the stage here for the widow's faith and the miracle to come. Get to verse 11. And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her and said, Bring me I pray the a morsel of bread in thine hand So the woman's leaving the widows She's obeying his instructions. He's a day. She's gonna go get him a drink of water and he calls out Hey while you're at it bring me some bread. I

Mean this guy is I Mean a lot of people say you're pushy. Dude, we don't even know you. You're not from this town. We've lost 80% of our population. They've died. And you come marching in here and you ask for water and then you say why you're going to get that water bring me some bread too.

She he asked her for the bread after he asked for the water and he asked after she turned to said yes I'll go get the water. He tested her faith. She's yeah she's willing to get me water. Now I'm going to go to the next level. Hey, bring me some bread, too. In your hand. Yes.

Bring it in your hand. She didn't have the bread. She did not have the bread in her hand, mind you. But he said to her, bring me some bread in your hand, which means she had to make it. She didn't have it. She had to make it. But by faith, Elijah said, I see it in your hand. I see the bread. Oh, hallelujah. Yeah, think about that doc. He said, bring me the morsel bread that's in your hand. Your miracle is in your hand. It's there before you have it.

This is really important to grasp. Your miracle is in your hand. What do you have in your hand? Yes. What do you have in your possession that God can use to bring a miraculous supply to your need. Yes. He can wipe out your need with something that's in your hand. Doc knows at times here in this ministry we have said, what do we got in our hand? Yes. Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie,

Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritchie, Dr. Ritch Rick, what's in your hand is a writing pen. You need to write a book. How many of you agree with me on that, by the way? Okay, so that's in my hand. You know, we don't write with pens anymore. But the idea is it's in your hand to write a book. Now the book does not exist right now, but by faith it exists.

God says, I see bread in your hand. Oh, so for me, he say, Rick, I see miraculous supply for you in your hand. If you'll just use that hand to write a book. What do you have? What do you know? What is your skills? What are your abilities? Yes. What can God use that you have? He see he's not going to do a miracle out of nothing. She had all the ingredients for bread, mind you, she had a handful of meal, she had oil, she had access to water, because she was on her way to get water.

She had sticks for a fire. And sticks for, so she had everything for bread. But Elijah saw the bread first. Even though the bread did not exist yet, he saw the bread. Oh, I just want to shout today. bread. Oh, I just want to shout today. And, and the fact that we later learned that she says, I only got, I only got enough flour to make a pancake for my son and me, we're going to eat it and then we're going to die. Boy, that's a lot of positive thinking. But doc, she, she knew that's all that's left right there

Okay, we're gonna fast for a week If we fast for a week we'll live an extra week We'll we'll prolong this agony as much as we can. We'll do our very best to go without. We will go without as long as we can because there will come a point that we have to use the last bit of resources that we have and when we do that we die. That was her mind. She knew death came after she ate that last pancake. What are you gonna do after that?

You're gonna go on a prolonged fast? Yeah, that's called starvation. long fast yeah that's called starvation but Elijah said I see a I see bread in your hand when you go get that water bring that bread that's in your hand to me yeah bring that miracle loaf to me she's looking at her hand she going she must be thinking, you're hallucinating, dude. Oh, and she says that, she says that in verse 12, I don't have a cake. What are you talking about? She's like, you've been in the sun too long. You're hallucinating. You're seeing bread in my hand? I don't have bread in my hand. I don't have a cake. What are you talking about? You're seeing a mirage. You're delirious. You're seeing a mirage. You think I have a loaf of bread in my hand. I don't have a cake. What are you talking about? You're seeing a mirage.

You're delirious. You're seeing a mirage. You think I have a loaf of bread in my hand. But Elijah saw it by faith. He saw it. Elijah saw what she had readily available. Yes. And as far as he was concerned, that bread

had already been baked. He could already taste it. Oh, it's going to be so good. Ooh. Hallelujah. Folks, if you've never tasted bread fried on rocks, oh, man. You don't want to eat your want to try a hot grill outside.

Oh man, is it good? It is so good. Verse 13, and Elijah said under her fear not go and do as thou has said, but make me thereof a little cake first and bring it unto me. And after make for thee and for thy son. Don't be afraid go and do as you have said but make me a little cake from it first and bring it to me and then after you've fed me feed yourself and your son.

And then after you fed me feed yourself and your son Do you know what the modern world today would do to a preacher who said that on television Do you know what would be on social media what would be in the newspapers What would be in the newspapers? What would be late night comedy shows? They'd be showing that video clip over and over and over. Look at this. Here is this wealthy TV evangelist and he's standing with a starving widow.

And he said, go get that last piece of bread you've got and feed me first. They would show that video over and over and over and over. But that's exactly what he said. Yes. Because feeding Elijah first is equivalent to feeding, to offering to God first. Saying this, he's saying, I am the man who's bringing the miracle to you.

It's coming through me. You wouldn't get this miracle if I wasn't here. I don't understand that. Why does God do it? I don't know, it's his system. It's his system. It's his system. He connects people with needs to preachers with needs. That's why many anointed ministries will have very real financial needs. I'm kind of leery of churches and ministries

that don't have financial needs, because like, wait a minute, you're too self-sufficient. You got too much going on there, you don't need God. I've never been in that position. I've always needed God. But he puts ministries like that in that position because they have a need and that need is created by God in the ministry. Listen to me. God creates the need in the ministry so that the people of God have a vehicle to receive their miracle. And both are blessed. Yes. And both are our faith. Yes. There's faith in Elijah, there's faith in this widow. So he starts with fear not.

Hey, don't pay attention to this drought. Don't look at those skeleton bones over there. Fear not. You're not going to die. Well, she's a widow. We could assume her husband starved to death. That's right. Yeah. It's possible that man stopped eating so that his wife and son would have a little bit more food.

He may have deliberately starved himself to death to spare food for his wife and son. We don't know. She's a widow. But it means her husband died. And we do know there's a drought and a famine. So it's reasonable to think maybe he died from starvation. Because he was he was sacrificing food for the for his family. So Elijah says, fear not, put your trust in God. You're not going to die. Don't look at the circumstances. Don't look at what they call reality. The only reality is in heaven.

God can change reality here. Yes. He can change your reality while the reality stays the same for everybody else. Oh, listen to what I just said. God can change your reality. While the reality remains the same for everybody around you. Elijah saw the bread, he saw the bread, he could taste it. He said, go and do as you have said. Go ahead and prepare what you call it your last meal. Go ahead. You want to call it your last meal? Go ahead. Go get it. But while you're preparing to eat your last meal, I need to be fed. In your desperation, in your crisis, I'm telling you, I'm hungry. And it's your duty to be the man of God first.

That's the implication of these words. If you will put the man of God first, if you will put the anointed ministry first, God will do a miraculous work in your life. It's an audacious command. I would have had trouble honestly. I'd be saying, oh sweetheart, I'll go hungry. I wouldn't eat that pancake for a million dollars. You eat that pancake and die.

You and Junior. I'll find something somewhere. I'll keep walking. I got faith in God. He'll provide me something. I'll just keep walking. You eat that little pancake, sweetheart. That's really what I would have said. I can't take your little loaf of bread. But Elijah knew, if I don't tell her to feed me first, she is going to die. That's right.

Feeding him first is what was standing between her and death. How do we get this cross to people? God's calling people to make a sacrificial gift to a ministry and watch what I do in your life. That ministry, that gift that you're, it's what's standing between you and a miracle, or you and death. Not necessarily physical death, but it could be a death of a business,

a death of income, a death of whatever. You're in a place where you need a miracle. Hallelujah. You need a miracle. And God says, do this first. Do this first. I'm going to tell you my early years as a Christian, God taught me these things because I was in situations, financial situations, and the Lord would say, I'm instructing you to send this offering to such and such ministry.

I was like, Lord, I have to pay my electric bill by Friday. Send it. Send it and the bill's paid. I had to learn these things. I had to learn to trust God, to put him first. Wasn't easy. I look back now, I realize how God orchestrated these painful lessons for me. orchestrated these painful lessons for me.

So Elijah makes this audacious demand on a widow in her poverty. He says, a little cake. Didn't ask for a big cake. See, God's not telling you to donate a million dollars. He's not telling you to, you know, He's not telling you to wipe out your bank account. You say, hey, send a little offering. See, God can do something with a little offering

when there is a financial drought in your life. But for this woman, it was a huge offering. Yes. See, the size of it is proportional. So it's a modest request. Just make me a little cake. Maybe a teeny weeny little, my grandchildren, when they were smaller, when they'd stay with us overnight, especially Avalon, she'd in the

mornings, I'd say, what do you want, silver dollar size pancakes, you know, she called them baby pancakes. That's what I see here. Just make me a little baby pancake. And then he and then he has the nerve to say, bring it to me. I'm not going to go get it. You bring it to me. Do you see? I mean, when you break this down and

look at this stuff, get me a drink of water. And I see bread in your hand. Yeah, I can see it. It's in your hand right now. You bring that bread to me. You bring it over to me, please, bring that bread to me. I mean, this woman could have just said, dude, I don't know who you are, but you got the nerve. Get out of my face. So he's standing there, bring that bread to me. And she's like looking at her hands, going,

there's no bread in my hands. Yes, there is. Yes, there is. I see it. I see it by faith. You've got bread and I'm hungry. And she's thinking, you're out of your mind. You're hallucinating. You're seeing a mirage. There's no bread in my hand. And then he says, and then go after you feed me, you'll feed yourself and your son. He's saying, don't worry, you're going to be fine. You're going to be fine. You're worried that you, first of all,

without me even being here, you've already convinced yourself you're going to die. You have no hope at all. Without me here, I, you've already convinced yourself you're going to die. You have no hope at all. Without me here, I'm telling you right now, you feed me first. And even though you're going to have less to eat, think about this. You're going to feed me first and now you and your son have even less to eat. And yet? And yet you're your son have even less to eat. And yet? And yet you're going to have abundance.

Yes, hallelujah. So honor God first, and that will release the miracle. Verse 14. Here's the promise. For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, the barrel of mills shall not waste, neither shall the cruise of oil fail until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth. That jar of flour in your kitchen will not run out, it will not be empty, and that jug of oil will not be dry. This was the day that God releases the rain to fall and brings back prosperity again. That's right. This wasn't Elijah's opinion. It wasn't his, you know, forecast.

It wasn't anything. This was a word from God. This was a word from Lord. Thus saith the Lord. So Elijah gives her the prophetic assurance that if she obeys, God would give her an unending provision of food throughout the famine. Now this miracle ceased when the famine was over. There was no need for it. Right.

That's what Doc said earlier, miracles don't continue forever. They have an expiration date. Because you don't need a miracle in a non-miracle situation. That's a good way to put it. Now that just becomes greed. That becomes gluttony.

So God already knew when he was going to restore the rain, when the crops would come back, when the olives would be on the trees again. he already knew. He's saying through Elijah, tell this woman, I'm going to feed her and her son until this drought is over. And I'm going to feed you too, Elijah. You're going to hang out here. Right. This is where you're staying. So, thus saith the Lord, that establishes the divine authority of the promise So you look you get in the Bible and you find a thus saith the Lord and you hold on to it Because it's a promise from Almighty God and if he said it once he'll say it again it doesn't have to be said again He's already said it

It's for you today the lord god of israel and the lord god of israel is blessing a gentile widow that's right Which Expresses his universal power to do whatever he wants to do To whoever he desires to bless Amen So the barrel mill shall not waste it means continuous supply of flour Defying natural limitations

The cruise of oil will not fail, symbolizing sustenance and blessing and abundance. Abundance that defies reality. How could she be abundantly supplied while everybody else is starving? See, the Lord will prepare a table for you in the presence of your enemies. Yes. And you know, people were talking in that town, what's this Jewish prophet here? Yeah. What's this guy even doing here in town? Well, you know, somebody overheard him. You can be certain somebody heard him say, Hey, he told her to go get some bread and feed him.

This guy's a real pushy Jew. You know, that's what they were saying. The guy's a pushy Jew. He came in here, he was a water and he wants bread. Guys got the nerve. People are people. That's how they talk. No, he was a pushy prophet. He was a pushy prophet and he's pushing this Gentile woman into a miracle. Hallelujah. See sometimes you've got to have a pushy prophet push you. Sometimes you have to have somebody that just with the force of their words and their faith is pushing you

to do something that defies logic. Or you might be planning to, you might be hearing the Lord say to give a big, a massive gift to a ministry. It could be just to title over a piece of land, a house or a large financial. And you got people in your family and your friends saying hey you that's that's You shouldn't do that

You shouldn't do that No, you're doing what the Lord told you to do. Yes, I Guarantee of Satan will have people around you to talk you out of your miracle. Oh, yes. I've seen it happen. I've seen it happen over the 26 years of this ministry. I've had people call us right to us. The Lord told me to give such and such thing to you. And it never happened. Yes. And how many times Rick, how many because people around that person would talk them out of it. And they just changed my mind. Well, you shouldn't have you should not have called us and said, I'm

going to give this. I didn't ask you didn't call you, you shouldn't have, you should not have called us and said, I'm gonna give this. I didn't ask you, I didn't call you, you called us. You made the vow, you said God spoke to you. Right, but fear entered in. I had a guy in Belize, I actually went to see him. He asked me to come see him. And the Lord spoke to me, He said, go see that man. I traveled to Belize. And I'm standing there in his kitchen

when I first arrived, he's making coffee for me. And he points up at the ceiling and there's a big hole in the ceiling. And it's charred. And I go, what? You had a fire? He goes, no, lightning bolt. I said, you had a lightning bolt come through your ceiling

into the kitchen? He goes, yeah. I said, where were you? He goes, standing right here where I'm at right now. I said, dude, what? What in the world was going on? He goes, I was listening to you on shortwave radio. He goes, and I remember exactly what you said. And you know what I was doing? I was I was preaching a message just like this and that man Had made a vow to I didn't know anything about it. He had made a vow to God to give a large track of land to us and he had reneged on it and

I didn't know anything about it. I Mean I'm talking like I want to say 1500 acres. I didn't know anything about it. That's why he asked me to come down there. And as lightning bolt comes through, as I'm on the radio, and I said, what was I saying? He said, you were talking about obeying God. And when the lightning bolt came through, I said, what was I saying? He said, you were talking about obeying God. And when the lightning bolt came through, I said, Oh God, do not strike your servant,

meaning himself. I'm sitting there in his kitchen going, what is going on here? That man never did give what he promised God he would give this ministry. Even after a lightning bolt! Look, I just, you know, I just wash my hands of this stuff and walk away. Yeah. What am I gonna do? Grab the guy by his shirt and say hey you promised no You're unwilling to keep your vow to God, right? He even sent you a lightning bolt to remind you Just in case you forgot bam at the very moment I'm on the radio talking about obeying God

So talking about obeying God. So, we're way over time. Verse 15, and she went and did according to the sayings of Elijah, and she and he and her house did eat many days. Hallelujah. She did and she went and did. She went. She did. She there was action. There was movement. There was obedience. She went and did. She went where? To go get the bread. And she did what Elijah said bring it to her bring it to him with a drink of water she still hasn't brought the water yet she had to go get the bread too again you in her mind she must say, all I did was agree to get him a drink of water and now I'm baking my

last piece of bread for this guy. And yet she's not aware of the miracle that's brewing, there's a miracle bubbling up. If you just do it, the miracle will be birthed. How many people abort their miracles with unbelief or disobedience? She did according to the saying of Elijah, she followed widow and he the prophet and her house the son. They all ate. They ate many days. Continuous blessing. Verse 16, and the barrel of meal wasted not neither did the cruise of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord, which was sp by Elijah wasn't Elijah's word it was the word of the Lord yes so there was a constant supply of food throughout a drought because she acted on the words of a preacher and said, if you just do this, I promise you

God's going to feed you. Yes. So I'm going to tell you right now, I'm speaking. There are people watching us right now. You need a miracle. You need God. You already know what it is. You need God to do something. And it's beyond your ability to do it. What you need is something you can't do. But God says, look at your hand.

I want you to do what you've got. I want you to do what is in your hand. I want you to do what you've got. I want you to do what is in your hand. You have something that I can work with. And right now and watch what I do in your life I'm not going to tell you what it is. God's already spoken. He's got is speaking to people right now Already telling you what you're supposed to do for this ministry I'm telling you right now. I feel it It's all over me. God is speaking to people right now. What you are supposed to do for this ministry and your faith and your obedience is going to unlock heaven. Heaven's windows are going to open up and there's going to be a miracle in your life. Yes.

Or you can eat your pancake by yourself and just wither up. I mean, how's it going without God? How's that working out? How is it working out in your life without God's miracle? You need the miracle. Doc and I are telling you right now what you need to do. You need to unlock your faith, you need to release your faith, and you need to do something you've never done before.

You need to give at a level you've never given before. You may be sitting on a piece of land that you really don't need. You could sell it or give it to this ministry. You might be sitting on a nest egg of money that you could take a large chunk and give it to this ministry. You might be sitting, I mean it could just be this woman only had a handful of meal. He says, what do you have? She didn't have a large gift. She had a little gift, but the little gift was huge because it was all she had. And he didn't ask for all she had. He said, just go make me a little, a little bread. He didn't ask for all she had he said just go make me a little a little bread He didn't even ask for all of it It's the act of obedience it's the act of faith it's saying I believe God I

Feel it right now. I sense it. I mean this way, you know when you're doing these things God is saying I see your faith I feel you it's there. Yeah, you're trusting me Yes, and God will do something in your life that you can't do She couldn't feed herself But she could feed the man of God You see that she couldn't feed herself, but she could feed the man Amen, when I say she couldn't feed herself, she couldn't come up with a continuous supply of food. She was tapped out, completely tapped out. I've seen this ministry

over the years where we had no money left in the account and we took what little money we had we gave we gave to other ministries and then God would fill up our bank account you get down to you and you can see the bottom of the barrel you got problems but you don't have any problem. You only need faith in God. God. Sorry, Doc, we're way over. We are, but it's a great lesson, Rick. I just want to encourage folks, you may only see two sticks in your hand,

but God sees bread there. Amen. I'm going to think about that all day. You think all you got is two sticks? No. I've got your supply for the next three years in your hand. Yes. So, praise God. Well, we are going to honor the Lord's table today and so as we prepare for that, we ask that you have bread and either red wine or grape juice participate in the Lord's table. We get asked often who can participate in communion. Well, if you're confessing believer in Jesus Christ and you've been

baptized in water according to the scriptures in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, then we invite you to participate in the Lord's table. We don't care about your denominational background or you don't have to take a quiz or anything like that. All you need to do is have faith in God that this is what the Lord commanded us to do until he returns. And so we're gonna ask the Lord's blessing

on the elements of the Lord's Table here in just a moment. But as we do every Friday, we ask the Lord to search our hearts. Lord, let us see bread in our hand and not sticks. Help us, Lord. Help us. The man of God sees the bread in our hand. Lord, help us to see that bread, that miraculous supply that comes from obeying by faith in what the word of the Lord is saying to us. Rick, would you pray for us here and ask the Lord to search our hearts where we fall short in that particular area and others as well? Yes. Dear gracious Holy Father, Father, we come to you with great reverence for your holiness, for your goodness, for your righteousness. Father, we confess that all of us have fallen short of your glory. All of us

us have sinned, all of us need grace and forgiveness. And so Father, I ask that you forgive all of our sins, wash us clean with the blood of Jesus Christ, and remember no more any wrongdoings or transgressions against your holy name. So Father, prepare us, our souls, our minds, our hands, our bodies to receive the precious flesh and blood of Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen. Praise God. Well, if you have the elements with the Lord's Table, let's pray a blessing over it and let's participate together. And we do this every Friday so if you are watching this live you're participating with us live or if you're watching this recorded version you are welcome to participate in the Lord's

Supper here. Let's pray. Almighty God in your tender mercy you gave your only begotten Son Jesus Christ to suffer death upon the cross for our redemption and he offered himself and made once for all time a perfect and sufficient sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. ask you to bless and sanctify with your word and Holy Spirit these gifts of bread and wine that we may partake of His most blessed body and blood. Christ our Passover lamb has been sacrificed once for all upon the cross, therefore let us keep the feast. Hallelujah. On the night that He was betrayed our Lord Jesus took bread and when He'd thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples saying, Take eat. This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. Glory to God. The body of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was given for you, preserve your body and soul

to everlasting life. This is the bread of heaven. Take and eat in remembrance that Christ died for you. After supper, Jesus took the cup and when he'd given thanks, he gave it to them saying, drink this all of you for this is my blood of the new covenant which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins whenever you drink it do this in remembrance of me glory to god hallelujah thank you lord the blood of our lord jesus christ which was shed for you preserve your body and soul to everlasting life.

Drink the cup of salvation, excuse me, in remembrance that Christ's blood was shed for you, and be thankful. Behold the Lamb of God. Behold Him who takes away the sins of the world, and blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. This sacrament is the gift of God for the people of God.

Feed on him by faith with thanksgiving that Christ died for you. Glory to God. Great faith lesson, Rick, and a great opportunity to celebrate the Lord's table as well. Amen. I hope people were encouraged by this message today. Amen. I hope people were encouraged by this message today. I was. I was being encouraged all the way through it. And Rick, I don't know how many times I've studied this particular passage or heard it preached. It wasn't until today I saw the bread in her hand. Yes. I mean, that is a revelation to me. It is.

Really is. But it's been there. Doc, it's been there for thousands of years and we didn't see it. I know. But today's the day. Today's the day. The bread's in your hand. I mean what else are we missing? Yeah. I just hear our RW Shanbach shouting that from a platform. So the bread's in your hand. Right? Glory to God. And you can see that woman looking saying, What are you talking about? I don't have a cake. Bring it over to me. I want to eat it.

I want to eat it. Hallelujah. Well Rick, today's Friday, of course. But we want to remind people to be sure to spend some time along with the Lord this weekend. Get to fellowship with him a little bit. Any last words before we sign off for today. Yes, those of you who donated for the cross, you know, that we had, that we were offering, you know, got it over here, you know, this one right here. So we have shipped out a lot and we're down to the last batch. Okay, so if you have not received it, just be patient. Jake is working, he was over here last week and he, oh, he showed me his hands. His hands were so calloused. He told me he's picking up hot iron with his hands and

it doesn't even hurt anymore doc because he's so calloused. He's working hard. I mean he's working really hard, long hours and it's physical labor. It's tough physical labor. He's every single cross that we're sending out has been forged in fire by his hands. There's no mass production here. So if you haven't received yours, just know, he's working on it. It's gone. I want everyone to know that here's the report. I drive by Jake's house once or twice a week and I drove by earlier this week and here's what I heard. Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang. He's making crosses for us.

That's right. So hey, and I'll just say this, and I don't think but you know, when Jay came over here, a couple of months ago, he brought a cross to give to me. He made he made one as a gift to me. I didn't know he, he needed a financial miracle. Okay, but he made a cross and brought it over to me just as a gift, just a kind act. And that's when I looked at this and I said, wow, our classmates would love this. So this has put him into full time, I mean, it wasn't that he wasn't working full time, but in other words, it's been a blessing to him.

Yes. Because we're paying him to make these crosses for us. So there is what was in his hand. He's a blacksmith. He's a blacksmith. Spikes. He's got spikes in his hands. He had a whole bunch of spikes. A whole pile. That's exactly it. He had a pile of spikes.

What's in your hand? And he's looking at these spikes and he's, it gets an idea. I can make a cross. See what's in your hand. I'm going to start another lesson. Let's go. We got to wrap it up. I'll start another lesson. All right. Praise God. Well, folks, thank you for joining us today. God bless you. Be sure to share this program today, this lesson today with your friends and other people who are seeking more from the Lord, who are looking for a miracle in their life. Share today's episode of Morning Manna with them so their faith will be encouraged as well. Share the bread, folks. Share the bread. Amen? Amen. All right. God bless you. We love you. And we'll see you on the next edition of Morning Manna. God bless you. Take care. Bye.