Get in the Game
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Text: 1 Kings 17:1-16
Kids ask the question “why?”
“The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” Mark Twain
The why is an important question in everything we do. When we find out the why, we will be successful and rest easy no matter what the outward circumstances appear to be.
This morning we will be in 1 Kings looking the life of the prophet Elijah. This was man of God who knew the why behind the what. Sometimes we struggle with the why but when we rest in God’s amazing truth and HIS calling on your life great things will happen. Just like God called Elijah to do difficult yet significant things for God in his lifetime, God has called us to do great things in our lifetime as well.
As we humbly, obediently, and daily live out God’s purpose, the why becomes clearer.
1 Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” 2 And the word of the Lord came to him: 3 “Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. 4 You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” 5 So he went and did according to the word of the Lord. He went and lived by the brook Cherith that is east of the Jordan. 6 And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. 7 And after a while the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.
8 Then the word of the Lord came to him, 9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” 10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.” 11 And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” 12 And she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.” 13 And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son. 14 For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’ ” 15 And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. 16 The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.
PRAY
We are ALL called to serve the Lord in whatever capacity, environment, or season we are in.
God has given each of us different gifts, talents, experiences, and passions but when we seek first HIS Kingdom and HIS righteousness all these things will be added unto us.
This was a bad time in Israel’s history. Ahab was king… Jezebel was queen… Baal worship was taking over the nation of Israel… But God called Elijah at this difficult time.
It looks like Elijah just all of a sudden appears here for the first time in scripture. We know that these things didn’t just happen… we know that in order to do the miraculous things he did, Elijah had to have a close relationship with the Lord.
Just like Elijah, we must be constantly seeking the presence of the Lord and walking with the Lord daily so stay faithful… God wants to use us to be a blessing to others.
God wants to reveal HIMSELF to us as we stay in tune with the Holy Spirit.
Elijah was constantly seeking the presence of the Lord, he was in tune with God’s voice, and he simply walked in total obedience.
God will always give us HIS message to declare
God will always give us HIS message to declare
In 1 Kings 17, Israel was in a bad place.
King Ahab, one of the most wicked kings in Israel’s history reigned. They had completely rejected the Lord and instituted Baal worship. Elijah knew God’s purpose and was prepared by the Lord to demonstrate to all Israel that Yahweh, not Baal, is still the only true God.
HIS name even declares “Yahweh is my God!” God gave Elijah a mission. Elijah left his home town and headed toward Samaria with a Word from the Lord.
1 Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.”
I’m sure he heard reports of Jezebel’s plan to replace worshipping the Lord with Baal worship. Elijah’s heart was stirred to respond and God used Elijah to deliver this powerful message to the King.
Armed with God’s promise he bursted into the palace and gave King Ahab this ultimatum. “there will be no dew or rain during the next few years until I give the word!” This was not a happy message for Ahab and because of that, Elijah became a wanted man. He was called ‘the troubler of Israel’ 1Kings 18:17
As the drought continued, people were ordered to look for Elijah. Even though this message got Elijah in trouble, God loved Israel enough to get their attention.
Baal-worshipers believed that their god was the god of rain… they believed Baal controlled the weather and was responsible for abundant crops.
This Word from the Lord showed the Israel that Baal doesn’t control the weather, God does.
This bold declaration demanded faith to respond. God gave Elijah the message to declare but also the faith to walk in obedience.
God will always give us the faith to be obedient
God will always give us the faith to be obedient
2 And the word of the Lord came to him: 3 “Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. 4 You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” 5 So he went and did according to the word of the Lord. He went and lived by the brook Cherith that is east of the Jordan. 6 And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.
God took care of Elijah’s physical needs but also a place of protection against Ahab.
This seasonal brook was likely one of many streams that flowed during the rainy season but dried up in the heat of the summer. God promised to provide through the 3 1/2 year drought but Elijah had to step out and trust.
God told him to go to an unlikely spot yet he still obeyed the Lord.
God miraculously provided for him just as HE had promised.
Water from the brook, bread and meat from the ravens twice a day.
He had to sit there and rest in the Lord and God supernaturally nourished him physically but nourished his faith.
This was all in preparation for the great showdown on Mount Carmel. Scripture doesn’t say how long Elijah stayed at the brook before it dried up
7 Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land.
As we walk in obedience we see God miraculously providing for us. We trust in God’s unlimited means.
It’s easy to have faith when things are looking good in our own resources but God wants us to be in a place where we are completely resting in HIS perfect and endless resources.
God always opens doors when we walk in humility
God always opens doors when we walk in humility
God provided miraculously for Elijah but when the brook dried up, the Lord moved Elijah to an unlikely place.
8 Then the word of the Lord came to him, 9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.”
Elijah took a 90 mile journey to Zarephath, located in Phoenicia.
Phoenicia happens to be the homeland of the wicked queen Jezebel and the heart of Baal worship.
Even though God already prepared this widow, it still required humility for Elijah to approach a very poor widow who is trying to take care of her son and request a meal.
10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.” 11 And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.”
God sent Elijah to an unlikely place, to look for a Gentile, in the middle of Baal worship-country, in the middle of a drought to get fed by a poor widow.
Even Jesus even mentioned the significance of this place, this timing and this person God sent Elijah… Jesus mentioned the widow in Luke 4:25-26
25 But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, 26 and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.
This humble, child-like, simple faith in God’s ability to provide, not only blessed Elijah but also this poor widow who was preparing her last meal with her and her son.
When we humbly step out in faith our vision expands. God will show us greater opportunities to use us. God’s Kingdom becomes much bigger than us, our church, even our world.
12 And she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.”
She was preparing the final meal for her and her son. She had nothing to loose. Now this Gentile Phoenician woman heard from the Lord and believed that this man was sent from God. Since she had nothing to loose she had everything to gain.
Elijah calmed her fears, her hunger, and her imminent death by saying to her.
13 And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son. 14 For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’ ”
This was a step of faith not only for the widow but also for Elijah. Nobody wants to take somebody’s last meal, especially from a poor widow and her little boy.
This widow’s obedient response demonstrated her faith as well.
15 And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. 16 The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.
God provided for her physical needs miraculously until the rains came back and the crops grew.
Baal-worshipers believed that Baal was a fertility god, giving rain to make crops grow. But Baal could not overcome the drought to make wheat and olive trees grow.
Only God, the one true God could provide flour and oil during a three and a half year drought! God opens doors when we are humble.
33 The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom,
and humility comes before honor.
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
It takes humility to suspend reason and obey God even when it doesn’t make sense.
It takes humility to receive from another person what we could have tried to achieve on our own.
When we humbly step out in faith, God shows HIMSELF faithful.
Sometimes the why doesn’t make sense… especially when we question the how is God… and the what is the reason… Just step out in faith, Why… because God has called you to trust in HIM.
TAKE AWAY:
God will always give us HIS message to declare
God will always give us the faith to be obedient
God always opens doors when we walk in humility