How God Uses His People

Introduction

Tonight as we continue our series on Elijah & Elisha, we come to the second instance in the life of Elijah that we want to focus on.

Within the text tonight, there’s two great miracles performed through this man which are typically looked at separately, but for our purposes, I believe they go better together.

It’s probably more common to focus upon the widow woman as the subject, but tonight I want to continue to focus on Elijah.

Last week I’d preached that message titled ‘How God Sustains His People’. Tonight I want to give unto you this message ‘How God Uses His People’.

I. There Must be a Record (v1-7)

In order for God to use his people in any meaningful, purposeful way, there must be a record.

What I mean, is there must be a past - some things must have taken place in their life in order to be used of God.

He’d Heard the Word (v2-4)

We see in these verses that God spoke unto Elijah. “The Word of the LORD came unto him…”

Now, for our purposes, we’re examining Elijah as a saved Christian - one who already knows the LORD as his Saviour. But in addition to that, he’s also viewed as one who is a newer Christian. REMEMBER, we’re first introduced to Elijah in these verses right here.

Do you know what novice / newer Christians need more than anything? The Word of God! They need to hear the Word of God!

Psalm 119:105 “NUN. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, And a light unto my path.”

Psalm 119:11 “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, That I might not sin against thee.”

2 Timothy 2:15 “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

In order to be used of God, you must first have baseline knowledge about God:

Who God is

What God has Done

What God expects

How God works

What God will do

The Mind of God

The Character of God

That which God loves, and that which He hates.

(Ill.) I had a man tell me once that God is love and Hate is of the Devil, and God doesn’t hate. I said ‘Well, you’re wrong about that’ (I’d read enough of Proverbs to know that’s not so). Proverbs 6:16–19 “These six things doth the Lord hate: Yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, Feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, And he that soweth discord among brethren.” Do you know what his first problem was? He hadn’t heard that. This friend is my point.

You must first hear the Word, you must have baseline knowledge about the Word of God. But then you must HEED the Word

He’d Heeded the Word (v5)

(Ill. - Cont.) His second problem was that even when he’d heard it, he wouldn’t accept it.

It’s one of the simplest things in theory and one of the hardest things in practice. To just listen to instruction and follow the instruction.

(Ill.) I wonder how many times in American history has a mama baked cookies. Little Johnny walks in and smells those freshly made cookies… Mama tells him: ‘Johnny, don’t you touch those cookies until after supper, you hear me?’ Little Johnny says ‘Yes Mama, I won’t touch the cookies’. Mama walks away for a bit, what does little Johnny do? HE TOUCHES THE COOKIES!

It was important for Elijah to not only HEAR God, but HEED God!

I can’t give you too many examples, because we’d be here all night, so only a few. The main problem with Christianity is that everyone has their own take on the matter. When they get to a passage they don’t agree with, they either:

Alter it to change it’s meaning:

Proverbs 1:7 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: But fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

Many have heard that the expression to ‘Fear the LORD’ really doesn’t mean what it says. I’ve heard that it just means to have respect for - and the most foolish I’ve heard is that it means that we should fear hurting him - or some nonsense such as that.

Do you know what the word means there? Fear (def) fear; reverence; dreadful; exceedingly; fearfulness. The thing is, this is a topic that is spoken of ALL THROUGHOUT the Bible:

Proverbs 9:10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: And the knowledge of the holy is understanding.”

Ecclesiastes 12:13 “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.”

Psalm 25:14 “The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; And he will shew them his covenant.”

Deuteronomy 10:12–13 “And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, To keep the commandments of the Lord, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?”

Isaiah 11:2–3 “And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and might, The spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: And he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, Neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:”

Luke 1:50 “And his mercy is on them that fear him From generation to generation.”

Acts 10:35 “But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.”

1 Peter 2:17 “Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.”

Revelation 19:5 “And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great.”

I can respect my parents and still be inclined to disobey them. But if I fear them, I will be more inclined to heed them.

They’ll Alter it to change it’s meaning

Spiritualize it to lessen the effect

1 Peter 1:15–16 “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”

Holy (def) sacred; pure; blameless ; consecrated

They will take this and Spiritualize it in the sense that I go to church, and pray and read my Bible, and now therefore I am holy - no, you live Sacred, pure, blameless & consecrated lifestyle all of those will follow.

But you see, it’s not what you DO it’s how you live - “…ALL MANER OF CONVERSATION…” Christians want to cling to the world with one hand and the LORD with the other. They are not heeding the Word of God!

Ignore it altogether

1 John 2:15 “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”

But we do love the things of the world, don’t we? We need to HEED the Word of God if we’re to do great things for God!

Heed the Word

He’d Been Helped by the Word (v6)

Elijah when he was by the brook - do you know what he did? He feasted. Day after day, he was sustained because he heard and heeded the Word of God

In other words, the Word of God has to have made a difference in your life.

(Ill.) Church, you might not think much of me today - but I assure you this, the Word of God has made a difference in my life!

If you’re to do great things for God, you must have been effected by the Word of God

We see there must be a Record; next if you’re to do Great things for God we see the Requirements

II. The Requirements (v8-14)

So now that we see one needs a baseline in order to be used in a great way, what then must one do?

He was Open (v8-9)

Elijah was then instructed to go unto a widow woman.

First off, imagine the situation here. There’s a been a drought for some time and she’s a widow. She has not an husband to provide for and protect her. She’s fending for herself during this time of great calamity. Worse yet, Elijah would soon find out she’s not only fending for herself, but she has a child she’s providing for as well!

Elijah was told to go to her for provision. Church, that would be a hard thing to do.

Church, if we’re to do great things for God, we must be open to following the Spirit of God wherever it may lead - and sometimes, it may not make much sense.

(Ill.) I think of the time I quit my job and moved back to NC. I didn’t have a job, I was led to pastor that church down there, but they hadn’t called me to it and I had no promise to it. It didn’t make much sense, but if you’re to do for God, you have to be open to the leading of the Spirit

He was Open

He was Obedient (v10a)

How many of us have felt the leading of the LORD to do a thing, but didn’t?

(Ill.) I wonder how many of us have had opportunity to give a tract or a testimony and the Spirit of God was pressing upon us to do so, and we didn’t? How many souls could we have led to the LORD if we had! Imagine if it were just one - but that one might have been the next Billy Sunday & they’d led a multitude to Christ!

Elijah wouldn’t have done anything if he hadn’t been obedient

Remember what Samuel said unto Saul: 1 Samuel 15:22 “And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to hearken than the fat of rams.”

We’ll never do anything unless we first Obey the Spirit of the LORD

He Believed (v10a)

Not only was Elijah Obedient, but the catalyst for his obedience was faith.

Elijah believed that God would do what He said He would do.

This like the one earlier is such a simple concept, but one of the utmost importance!

Hebrews 11:1–2 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report.” Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

Remember the disciples in how they could not help the demoniac? Matthew 17:19–20 “Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.”

Faith is the key - faith is the victory!

Church, do you believe that God can use you in great fashion?

(Ill.) I don’t think that when people look at me they see much. My name will never be immortalized and spoken of generations from now. I’m just a middle-aged country preacher from the smallest city in the smallest county in one of the smallest states. But in the eyes of God, through His Grace and Spirit, I’ve done things that have effected eternity! The World will never know - but some do, most importantly - God does!

Church, if you will be:

Open to the Spirit’s Leading

Obedient unto His Direction

Have Faith that God is SO GREAT that He can use even you

And then this last point - be bold!

He was Bold (v10b-14)

Consider for a moment what Elijah did here:

He asked for water - DURING A DROUGHT

She did as he asked… but then

He asked for food too!

Picture her reaction to that: (Illustrate her exacerbation of the request)

That was a bold thing to do!

Church we’re called to be bold!

Proverbs 28:1 “The wicked flee when no man pursueth: But the righteous are bold as a lion.”

Our Examples were bold!

Daniel 3:16 “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.”

Ephesians 6:19 “And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,”

Acts 18:26 “And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.”

Church, if you will be:

Open to the Spirit’s Leading

Obedient unto His Direction

Have Faith that God is SO GREAT that He can use even you

Finally, be Bold - Fear not man nor what he thinks!

God will do great things with you.

We see the Record and the Requirements

III. The Results (v15-24)

A Sustaining (v15-16)

The first thing that we see is that because of the man of God’s faithfulness, three people were sustained. They were given what they needed to keep going.

Church, we’re called to edify one another. One of the greatest things that you can do is to be a helper and sustainer of the brethren.

I think back to Moses upon the hill & Joshua in the valley. Ex. 17:9-13 In order for Joshua to be sustained in the battle, he needed Moses to raise his arms. In order for Moses to keep his arms raised, he needed Aaron & Hur to stay his hands as they were heavy.

If we’re obedient, God will use us to sustain others

A Salvation (v17-23)

It’s arguable that the second miracle here was greater than the first. In the first, some were sustained, in the second, the dead were brought to life!

My point is this: If you continue in your faithfulness: (Being Open to the Leading of the Spirit, Obedient, Full of Faith & Boldness) you’ll not only be used of God in some things, but God will use you to do great things as well!

God will not only use you to support others, but the vehicle to save others as well!

We see a Salvation

A Strengthening (v24)

After all of this, the woman we see something interesting in the last verse. I say interesting because:

She knew already knew that he was a man of God (1Ki. 17:18), but now she REALLY knows.

In other words, her faith was strengthened

One of the greatest things that we can do in this life is to strengthen the faith of others.

This was the request of the father of one who had a dumb spirit: (Read: Mar. 9:17- 27)

Jesus strengthened his faith - by showing Himself faithful and a willing vessel to do the Will of the LORD.

Conclusion