The Sound of Abundance of Rain
Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 7 viewsNotes
Transcript
Intro:
Intro:
Good morning.
If you will, turn to 1 Kings chapter 18 this morning.
This past week I was reminded of one of my favorite people in the O. T., specifically one of his most famous sayings — That person being Elijah, and his famous saying being said to king Ahab: “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of the abundance of rain.”
And isn’t that a wonderful sound?!
What is the context of Elijah saying that?
Well, before we go there, take a look at James 5:17-18:
Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
You want to talk about a DROUGHT?!
The last couple of years including this year we’ve had some tough droughts here in this area, but not like that one!
Three and a half years!
Think about it this way — When Elijah uttered those words “there is the sound of the abundance of rain,” those folks had forgotten what that sounded like!
Maybe you’ve felt that way before on a much more minor scale!
I’m always amazed when I read that passage in James ch. 5 that, you know what, Elijah prayed for that which was to his own hurt!
We won’t have time to read all of the story of Elijah this morning, but if you go back a ways in 1 Kings, you’ll see that Elijah was having to be fed by the ravens, and had to drink water from a brook in the wilderness, and then …
Then THE BROOK DRIED UP! (1 Kings 17:7)
And it happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.
The very curse that Elijah prayed would be upon the land, in the form of no rain, ended up affecting HIM TOO!
He prayed for that which ended up being to his own hurt!
You keep reading in the life of Elijah, and he actually got down in the dumps after that!
In fact, I would say he got downright DEPRESSED!
He ends up going to visit a widow who provides for him in the town of Zarephath, and he ends up performing a miracle there, so she can provide food for herself and her son.
And then he performs another miracle for her! He raised her son from the dead!
Needless to say, the life of the prophet Elijah can definitely be described as an up-and-down roller coaster!
Well, the roller coaster isn’t done yet for Elijah.
As we said earlier, he ends up being downright depressed … and here’s why:
In chapter 18, we find out that Jezebel had been killing the prophets of the Lord, and we meet a man named Obadiah who had hidden some of the prophets in caves.
Well, by the time you get to chapter 19, Jezebel is at it again, and this time she’s coming for Elijah, “the troubler of Israel” as her wicked husband Ahab called him (but actually, Ahab was the troubler of Israel)!
(We’re going to read 1 Kings 19:1-4).
And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.” And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.
But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, “It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!”
Again, downright depressed!
Elijah had killed the prophets of Baal in the previous chapter (We’re going to look at that in a minute), and Jezebel was on the path of revenge!
And after all that Elijah had witnessed, the miracles he had performed& the defeat of the prophets of Baal we’re about to look at, he STILL in this moment just wanted to lie down under a broom tree and die!
Well, if you keep on reading, in verse 10 we read:
1 Kings 19:10
So he said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.”
Well, Elijah was not alone!
We find in in 1 Kings 19:18 God saying:
Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”
Well, let’s take a look at the moments leading up to this in the previous chapter as we look at “the sound of abundance of rain!”
TEXT - 1 Kings 18:
TEXT - 1 Kings 18:
What we’re going to see here is the immense POWER of God, compared to the utter HELPLESSNESS of false gods, such as (in this case) Baal!
The One Who holds the POWER of the rain is the One who WITHHELD the rain on Israel at the prayer of Elijah, and will SEND the rain in this account we will read now.
VS. 1-2 - Make no mistake about it — This is the condition that sin brings!
Lack of rain, lack of food consequently!
But God tells Elijah He WILL send rain on the earth!
I can’t help but think about the dire wasteland picture, here, that sin represents, versus the abundant life-giving picture that the blessing of God represents, characterized here by rain!
Let’s skip ahead to my favorite part! … … … … …
V. 17 - We mentioned this earlier — The audacity that Ahab has to say that!
V. 18 - You tell him, Elijah!
V. 19 - In other words, “We’re about to have a SHOWDOWN!”
“Let’s see who really has the power, the prophets of Baal, or the LORD JEHOVAH?!”
So begins one of my favorite passages in the O.T. that showcases the power of God!
V. 20 - The showdown commences!
V. 21 - In other words, it’s choosing time!
Don’t be wishy washy!
Choose a side!
Stop paying lip service to Jehovah while worshipping Baal and Asherah on the side! (Committing Spiritual Adultery!)
And “the people answered him not a word!”
What could they say?! (They were guilty!)
This verse reminds me a lot of Joshua who had said centuries before - “And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Josh. 24:15)
V. 22 - Seriously outnumbered!
Or so it seems?!
Perhaps you’ve heard it said, “God plus one is a majority!”
Really, GOD Himself is the majority when it comes to right and wrong, when it comes to His almighty power!
The next two verses we are going to see Elijah’s plan!
VS. 23-24 - The plan is simple enough!
And foolproof!
There’s no way of denying which God is the true God after the people are about to see what happens next!
… and now we get to the funny part! :D
VS. 25-29 - “But there was no voice; no one answered, no one paid attention.”
Why?
BECAUSE BAAL IS NO REAL GOD!
He’s fake! He’s a phony!
Of course he’s not answering them because he does not exist, except as a figment of their imagination!
Now think about that — Are figments of the imagination worthy of worship? (No!)
But God IS worthy of worship because He is our Creator and we have the evidence of His existence!
VS. 30-32 - What’s he doing?
Preparing this sacrifice in such a way that there will be NO DOUBT who is the Lord when he gets through with this!
Look at the next verse!
VS. 33-35 - He’s COMPLETELY SOAKED this sacrifice with water, so that under normal circumstances, it would be a lot harder to light on fire, right?! You’d have to wait for it to dry back out!
But we’re not dealing with normal circumstances ...
We’re dealing with the power of the LORD!
V. 36 - Emphasis on the “YOU!”
V. 37 - Notice the intended effect of all of this - That the people’s hearts would turned away from their paganism and back to serving the true and living God!
V. 38 - The full and complete power of God!
V. 39 - How in the world had they let their hearts come so far as to turn away from believing in the true God in the first place?!
I don’t know.
But now they know the truth!
And we see large scale repentance going on!
(Something we don’t need to lose hold of when it comes to OUR day and age!)
V. 40 - He gave them the death penalty that they deserved for misleading God’s people into idolatry!
V. 41 - Which brings back to our verse of the day - 1 Kings 18:41
Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.”
The rain was on its way!
After having not been around for a LONG three and a half years due to the prayer of the Lord’s prophet!
Why?
What is the …
Application:
Application:
The reason why, and the application for us today is this — Sin brings consequences!
It brought not only PHYSICAL DROUGHT and FAMINE in Israel’s case …
But also, and even more seriously, SPIRITUAL drought and SPIRITUAL famine!
I’m reminded of the words of another prophet in Amos 8:11
“Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord God, “That I will send a famine on the land, Not a famine of bread, Nor a thirst for water, But of hearing the words of the Lord.
It goes on to say in Amos 8:12-13
They shall wander from sea to sea, And from north to east; They shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord, But shall not find it. “In that day the fair virgins And strong young men Shall faint from thirst.
Could that not accurately describe our situation in our land today?!
I believe it does!
CONCLUSION:
CONCLUSION:
“Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain!”
God answered some of our prayers in the last week with abundance of much needed rain!
Maybe it’s time we also pray for the abundance of much needed SPIRITUAL RAIN of the Word of the Lord upon our land?!
(Give invitation).