Your Past Is Not Your Prophecy

Introduction

There are seasons when fear speaks louder than faith and begins to predict the worst. In Zarephath, a widow gathers wood to prepare her last meal, convinced she and her son are about to die. That is when Elijah arrives, carrying a different word: a word from God. In this message preached at Elevation Church, Jabin Chavez opens 1 Kings 17 to remind you of a truth: your past is not your prophecy. It is not over.

Message Outline

1. See Your Future

• The widow pronounces the worst possible sentence over herself: "I will eat this meal and die." She does not know that. She assumes it based on the drought she has been through.
• Fear is not always panic. It is often the inner voice that says, "It's over. I tried, I failed. The famine has won."
• The enemy does not know your future. He can only speak to you in the present, and he lies about tomorrow. God, however, knows the end from the beginning: He speaks to you from your future into your present.
• The opposite of fear is not faith: it is the Holy Spirit. God has not given you a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind. Your past is not your prophecy.

2. See Your Calling

• God tells Elijah, "I have commanded a widow to feed you." The Hebrew word is stronger than a simple instruction: God designated and anointed this woman for a particular purpose.
• She thinks she is finished, but she is anointed. She believes she has reached the end of the road, yet God's calling rests on her without her knowing it.
• Elijah carries an anointing she needs; she carries an anointing he needs. Both of them have oil. So do you: that is why people ask you to serve, to lead a small group, to be with the youth or the children.
• She could have made her bread, died with a full stomach and an empty heart. Instead, she said yes to the man of God, and it was in that yes that the miracle began.

3. See the Possibility

• Elijah asks for bread. She answers, "I have no bread." She was not lying, but she had the ingredients for bread. You may not have your miracle, but you have what it takes for God to make it happen.
• God does not always need what you have to give you what you need. Maybe He is not asking you for a thing, but for a "yes."
• At Cana, Jesus does not ask for grapes, barrels, or fermentation time. He asks for jars of water. If you want wine, you need grapes and time. If Jesus wants wine, He only needs jars.
• Can you see the wine in your water? Can you see God's abundance in your "not enough"? Impossible? Bob Schuller, who was told it was impossible to start a church in Orange County in 1955, replied, "Impossible? What an irresponsible word." He ended up preaching from the rooftop of a drive-in snack bar, then built the Crystal Cathedral and the Hour of Power broadcast.

Key Takeaways

• Fear does not always look like panic; it often sounds like the voice that says, "It's over for me."
• Your past is a chapter in your story, not the last chapter. Your past is not your prophecy.
• The enemy speaks to you in the present and guesses your tomorrow. God establishes the end from the beginning: when He makes you a promise, He is not guessing.
• Even in the lowest season, an anointing is on you. God designated you before you understood what for.
• God does not ask you to have the solution. He asks you for a "yes." Give Him your water, your flour, your oil; He will make the wine, He will make the bread.

Personal Application

1. What is the sentence fear keeps repeating to you right now? Write it down, then write beside it the word God speaks over your situation.
2. In what difficult season are you tempted to conclude, "It's over"? What in your story proves that God can make it rain again?
3. What anointing (what gift, what service, what availability) have you put on hold because you feel dried up? What would happen if you said yes despite your weariness?
4. What is God asking you today when you think you do not have what it takes? What are your "ingredients": not yet bread, but flour and oil?
5. Over what situation have you spoken the word "impossible"? Are you ready to remove that word and invite God into your drought?

Verses Cited

• 1 Kings 17:8-16 · Elijah and the widow of Zarephath
• 2 Kings 6:15-17 · Elisha prays: "Open his eyes"
• Isaiah 46:10 · "I make known the end from the beginning"
• Jeremiah 29:11 · "For I know the plans I have for you"
• Luke 21:25-26 · "People will faint from terror"
• Acts 2:17 · "I will pour out my Spirit on all people"
• John 2:1-11 · Jesus turns water into wine at Cana
• 2 Timothy 1:7 · "For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid"

Further reading

• Understanding the Bible: Difficult Passages
• Bible Reading Mistakes: How to Avoid Them at the Start
• Daily Bible Reading: Building the Habit

Frequently Asked Questions

What does "your past is not your prophecy" mean?

This phrase from Jabin Chavez reminds us that yesterday's drought does not dictate tomorrow's rain. Your past is a chapter of your story; it is real; but it is not the prediction of what God is about to do. The widow of Zarephath declared her own death because of the famine she was living through; God, meanwhile, was preparing a daily renewal of her flour and oil. What you have been through does not have the power to close what God wants to open.

Why does the message say "the opposite of fear is not faith"?

Because you can try to "have faith" the way you force a muscle and still remain anxious. Jabin Chavez points to 2 Timothy 1:7: God has not given you a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind. The antidote to fear is not a mental effort; it is the Holy Spirit who comes to dwell in your heart. Acts 2:17: God promises to pour out His Spirit on all people, and it is this Spirit who enables you to see your future, your calling, and the possibilities God is preparing.

Is this message translated from an English sermon?

Yes. This message is translated from an English-language sermon by Jabin Chavez at Elevation Church, preached from the Ballantyne campus. Jabin Chavez is the founding pastor of City Light Church in Las Vegas and regularly serves as a guest preacher. The translation aims to stay faithful to the message and spirit of the original while making it accessible to a broader audience.