Elijahs faith, Gods power (3)
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17 Now it happened after these things that the son of the woman who owned the house became sick. And his sickness was so serious that there was no breath left in him.
18 So she said to Elijah, “What have I to do with you, O man of God? Have you come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to kill my son?”
19 And he said to her, “Give me your son.” So he took him out of her arms and carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed.
20 Then he cried out to the Lord and said, “O Lord my God, have You also brought tragedy on the widow with whom I lodge, by killing her son?”
21 And he stretched himself out on the child three times, and cried out to the Lord and said, “O Lord my God, I pray, let this child’s soul come back to him.”
22 Then the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came back to him, and he revived.
23 And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper room into the house, and gave him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives!”
24 Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now by this I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is the truth.”
From Suffering To Surrender
From Suffering To Surrender
Intro: Last weeks message we saw a great miracle. It brought hope to a poor widow and her son. When this widow who spoke to Elijah said “the Lord your God” But she did as Elijah said, and God took care of her.
Every morning there was a new miracle, there was oil and flour. This went on every day. I believe just enough for the day.
She was happy, she was grateful, she was blessed. She was seeing what a great God, God was. Elijah’s God.
He was providing for her when no one could. There was a famine, others were suffering, she was being cared for.
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
all I have needed Thy hand hath provided:
great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
This a great choirs for us to sing daily. Because
God provides our daily needs.
God provides daily blessings.
God gives joy.
God shows that He is God.
For this widow, she had seen Gods blessing. Elijah’s God would become her God.
But on this day, when everything seemed to be going well, tragedy hits, and it hits hard.
I. THE TRIAL OF FAITH Vs. 17
I. THE TRIAL OF FAITH Vs. 17
1 Kings 17:17 (NKJV)
17 Now it happened after these things that the son of the woman who owned the house became sick. And his sickness was so serious that there was no breath left in him.
Now it happened after these things
After had just happened. Things were going well, the Widow, Elijah and her son were living the blessing of God. Maybe he had told her how God had taken care of him. Now during a great famine, they were doing well.
I’m sure he spoke to her about God.
All seemed to be going well, then tragedy hits, and it hits hard.
that the son of the woman who owned the house became sick. And his sickness was so serious that there was no breath left in him.
We don’t get a lot of detail here. Just her son became sick, he sickness was so bad, that her son died.
A trial, a great trial, came upon both Elijah and the widow. There was sorrow, tears, both Elijah and the widow.
She, who had lost a husband to death, now loses not just a son but her only son. A heavy trial indeed.
In this one verse, her happiness turns to sorrow.
It can happen that way in life. Everything seems to be going great, then something happens, somethings goes wrong.
The Bible has many examples of trials. And there is better places on how to deal with our trails then Gods word.
God is always there for us, He is with through any difficulty we may go through.
10 Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’
5 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you.
He is always with, but it doesn’t mean tragedy's will never come our way.
God gives, God takes away.
God had water flowing for Elijah, then the brook dries up.
God gave this widow a meal everyday, by a great miracle, then He takes her son.
Look at her reaction.
1 Kings 17:18 (NKJV)
18 So she said to Elijah, “What have I to do with you, O man of God? Have you come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to kill my son?”
1 Kings 17:18 (AMP)
18 And she said to Elijah, What have you against me, O man of God? Have you come to me to call my sin to remembrance and to slay my son?
The widow first tried to blame Elijah for the trial. She said “What have I to do with you, O man of God? Have you come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to kill my son?”
In her mind, Elijah had come to lift her up, them to knock her down.
Can you imagine how she felt. The emotions that were flooding her mind.
What have you against me, O man of God? Have you come to me to call my sin to remembrance and to slay my son?
Anger. Heartache. There was the question of why.
She blames Elijah.
It is hard for to understand why God allows tragedy’s in our lives.
Why is it that when things seem to be going well, some difficulty hits us hard.
7 For we walk by faith, not by sight.
We are told to walk by faith, this widow had learned to walk by faith. She had seen had God had taken care of her and son. Now her son gets sick and dies.
In our lives. I mean followers of Jesus. You are faithful in your service to God, you are faithful in your giving. You are walking by faith, trust God with all your heart. You are being the salt of the earth, then boom, something happens.
God uses these difficulties to make us stronger in out faith. But its how we handle them.
Many will just give up on God.
Or question, what have I done? Is God punishing me?
This widow, in her mind though that it was her sin.
Just because something bad happens to you doesn’t mean you are being punished.
God has a plan.
1 Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth.
2 And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.
Widow to Elijah. What have you done oh man of God.
Elijah’s response.
1 Kings 17:19(NKJV)
19 And he said to her, “Give me your son.” So he took him out of her arms and carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed.
First lets take note of this. Elijah had been faithful to God’s call. He has followed God command every step of the way.
Elijah will be faithful here. He doesn’t get anger.
He doesn’t defend himself.
He doesn’t try to give so explanation.
His response is “give your son to me”
Jerry Vines study Bible “Put your burden in my arms”
So he took him out of her arms and carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed.
Elijah handles this trail with gentleness. He takes her son, carries him to the place (room) he was staying in lays him on the bed.
He picks her distress and makes it his own. (We need to do this for fellow Christians, unbelievers, Christians who have falling away.
So Elijah takes her so into his arms, for a Jew, to pick up a dead body was unclean.
Elijah is willing to do whatever it takes to help her in her sorrow.
He bears he burden.
2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
22 Cast your burden on the Lord, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.
Elijah takes her burden, and call on God in prayer
1 Kings 17:20 (NKJV)
20 Then he cried out to the Lord and said, “O Lord my God, have You also brought tragedy on the widow with whom I lodge, by killing her son?”
In vs 20 & 21 we see that Elijah “cried out to the Lord”
This was not passive praying, This was real, earnest pleading with God. It is the only way to pray in time of trial.
This is the way we need to pray when we are going through difficult trying times.
When was the last time you prayed like this?
So Elijah cries out to the Lord. At this point Elijah felt helpless. So he cries out to the Lord.
Something important that we see here.
Elijah identifies with her.
“O Lord my God, have You also brought tragedy on the widow with whom I lodge, by killing her son?”
Elijah takes her heartache and turns it into a prayer.
He is praying to God from her view point.
This is a great way to pray when praying for somebody that is going through a tragedy, difficulty, hard time.
We need to put ourselves in their position and pleading their sorrow.
15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.
Cry out to God for others.
2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
There times when we want to give an answer for why people are going through whatever it may be. Elijah doesn’t do this.
So he cries out to God feeling what she was feeling, now he intercedes for her.
21 And he stretched himself out on the child three times, and cried out to the Lord and said, “O Lord my God, I pray, let this child’s soul come back to him.”
Up to this point in Gods word, there no where found of anyone being raised from the dead.
Now we see this in the N.T. But this has not happened in the O.T. So Elijah can’t pray, “Lord you have done this before, so do it again”
This show the boldness of Elijah’s prayer.
Look at this verse again.
Elijah puts his whole body into this prayer.
Elijah prays like he had never prayed before.
What great things that could happen if we could pray like Elijah prayed.
17 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.
18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
He pleads with God in prayer. Nothing magical, he repeat a prayer that has been repeated over and over, he just prays.
22 Then the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came back to him, and he revived.
God heard the cry from Elijah.
God did as Elijah ask.
God doesn’t always answer our prayers the way we want them. But here, God answers just as Elijah ask.
God restores the boy soul, He brings him back to life.
23 And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper room into the house, and gave him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives!”
Now Elijah takes the formally dead son down to his mother. Elab on this.
24 Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now by this I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is the truth.”
“Now by this I know that you are a man of God”
“and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is the truth”
1 Kings 17:12 (NKJV)
12 So she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, 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.”
Things have changed for her. After the heartache, after the tragedy, she says “now I know”
God used a great tragedy to show her who He was. Through this she learned more about God then ever could have, if this would not have happened.
She knows now that God was far better then she knew. Elijah would be gone soon, now she knew the God that Elijah knew. A God she could trust.
He is the God of life and death.
God works in our lives to deepen our faith.
It may be a lot of little things that God does in our lives to deepen our faith.
It may great tragedy that has come into your life, that seems like you will never get trough it, but God will use it to deepen your faith.
The stronger your faith grows, the closer your walk with God will be.
One day, when you stand in the presence of God, you can look back on every heartache, difficulty, and say “now I know”