Elijah: A man like us

God has called us to be His ambassadors in this world. That means we represent Him in all areas of life. We carry His message of reconciliation in Christ. In other words, we are in this world, but represent a better King and His kingdom!

A challenge, for many, is to want to separate from this world and live safe lives. I am getting to realise that safe is not a prize. Over recent weeks I was wondering - is not the pursuit of safe not an obstacle to the advance of the Gospel and the culture of human flourishing that the God brings through the Gospel. i.e. us being in the Kingdom as children of God but not living as His ambassadors in this world, does not serve His Kingdom purpose.

I was recently with some brothers. One had come to faith in Christ out of the Muslim world and he expressed a desire to go back into that community and be Christ’s ambassador there. The quenstion was then asked, know this would be risky, “What about your family” i.e. play it safe.

Imagine if our Bible heroes played it safe?

Think of the prophets - when God gave the prophets a word to address the evil in their day, knowing they would face hardship, but they never said, “I am not comfortable with that!”

Moses at the Red Sea

Joshua and the wall of Jericho had said, “I can’t see how that’s possible”

Think of Peter when he was told not to speak about Jesus, and he knew that if he did he would go to jail and possibly be killed, but he said, “We must obey God rather than men.”

Think of Paul when he knew that proclaiming the Gospel would mean hardship and certain death, but resolved to preach Christ and push on for his heavenly prize.

Here’s what I have learnt about heroes - we don’t have heroes that have played it safe. There was risk, there was sacrifice, there was struggle, there was perseverance - not safety!

I hear a lot, These are difficult days. I know, we want the world to be kind to us.

John Wesley wrote in his journal when he observed the evil and wickedness in Newcastle, England: “Never in my life have I heard such language, such swearing and have seen such wickedness. Ripe for revival.” Quoted by Kendall, R. T.)

The rampant wickedness was Gospel opportunity!

Over the coming weeks we are going to be spending time looking at the story of the prophet Elijah. What we learn, as we look at his life, is how we can live well for Jesus today - especially as we live with this strong awareness that God is with us!.

1 Kings 17:1–7 CSB

1 Now Elijah the Tishbite, from the Gilead settlers, said to Ahab, “As the Lord God of Israel lives, in whose presence I stand, there will be no dew or rain during these years except by my command!” 2 Then the word of the Lord came to him: 3 “Leave here, turn eastward, and hide at the Wadi Cherith where it enters the Jordan. 4 You are to drink from the wadi. I have commanded the ravens to provide for you there.” 5 So he proceeded to do what the Lord commanded. Elijah left and lived at the Wadi Cherith where it enters the Jordan. 6 The ravens kept bringing him bread and meat in the morning and in the evening, and he would drink from the wadi. 7 After a while, the wadi dried up because there had been no rain in the land.

Here we find an ordinary man in a hostile world with a great God.

1. An ordinary man

Isn’t this who God uses - ordinary people. I still find the thought that we need to see the extraordinary won to Christ who will be used by God. But God wants to show that

James 5:17 CSB

17 Elijah was a human being as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the land.

1.1. He was a man like us

There’s a lot that we can relate to as we look at his life. In his life, there were moments of boldness and then times of fear and weakness.

As we look his life let’s see this as a picture of what God can do with a life surrendered to God, lived under His Lordship.

Jim Cymbala: I discovered an astonishing truth: God is attracted to weakness. He can't resist those who humbly and honestly admit how desperately they need him. Our weakness, in fact, makes room for his power

1.2. Clear identity

He lived out his name - Elijah: Means “My God is Yahweh”

Imagine living that out as a daily reminder - “MY God is Yahweh!” When we undersand who we are, that our names are written in heaven, that our Father is for us and His Spirit is in us, that He knows our name and says, “You are mine!”

That’s a statement of grace!

Here’s the story of a prophect who dared to believe that this was true.

We have to ask ourselves, “Are we living like God is true?” We could go further, “Are we living like the Gospel is true?”

2. A hostile world

2.1. King Ahab ruled

Ahab was the worst of the kings at this point.

1 Kings 16:30 CSB

30 But Ahab son of Omri did what was evil in the Lord’s sight more than all who were before him.

1 Kings 16:33 CSB

33 Ahab also made an Asherah pole. Ahab did more to anger the Lord God of Israel than all the kings of Israel who were before him.

He also married an evil woman, Jezebel, and then proceeded to set up the worship of Baal in Israel.

2.2. The atmosphere was demonic

Baal means “lord, master, owner, posessor.” Satanic pressence because Satan is the usurper - he wabts to take what is rightfully God’s. We all need to be aware of the influence on the demonic. They wouldn’t have started there but they were there now. It’s allowing the infleunce of the demonic in small ways that grow.

Mediums

Horoscopes

Sangomas

The Bible warns us not to give the devil a foothold!

2.3. He confronted their unbelief

These were the people of God, but they weren’t following Him. He’s not just coming to share in their unbelief but to confront their unbelief. He is opposing their religion. He is showing that God is God. So when he says that it won’t rain, he clear that that is under the command of God and proving that the Baal of rain is not in control.

We’re Christians living in an antagonistic culture – how do we live out our lives in these days? We’re living in a post-Christian world. There was a time when people knew who Jesus was but it’s not like that anymore – people don’t care.

3. A great God

3.1. Very much alive and active

A God who withholds rain. He hears prayers.

Sometimes we don’t see this, do we? But why? Here’s what I suggest could be a reason.

We are after things that aren’t according to the will of God.

We are not asking for the things that God has called us to ask for

James 4:1–3 CSB

1 What is the source of wars and fights among you? Don’t they come from your passions that wage war within you? 2 You desire and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and wage war. You do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and don’t receive because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.

3.2. The God of Israel

This is the God who chose a people for Himself. This is the God is revealed Himself to a people.

Church, because of Jesus, we are under the new covenant. The Bible says that if you are in Christ, you are the Israel of God.

Philippians 3:3 CSB

3 For we are the circumcision, the ones who worship by the Spirit of God, boast in Christ Jesus, and do not put confidence in the flesh...

Romans 9:6–8 CSB

6 Now it is not as though the word of God has failed, because not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. 7 Neither is it the case that all of Abraham’s children are his descendants. On the contrary, your offspring will be traced through Isaac. 8 That is, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but the children of the promise are considered to be the offspring.

He is our God!

3.3. A God who is present

“In whose presence I stand!”

This gave authority to His speech. He was conscious rthat God was with Him, and because He was conscious of God’s presence, he couldn’t have been bothered by what Ahab thought of him. Later we will see that he forgot this, he feared mnan. That’s our problem, when we fear man, we have forgotted God’s presence.

This also speaks of his life being characterised by devotion to God because When God spoke, he acted.

Some of us are more fixated on ourselves and being liked than doing God’s will. God calls us and we wait to see if there is something better that will come up.

An ordinary man in a hostile world with a great God (that’s our story) needs lives by faith!

4. A life of faith in God

William Carey wrote, “Attempt great things for God; Expect great things from God.” This was said as he faced leaving home and family and heading off to India where he spent the rest of his life and never went home. But it was a provocation to believe God.

We have the theory. We know the verses, “God is able to do far more than all we can ask or think.” What would life look like if we lived that?

What did that look like?

2.1. A life of preparation

This is often where we are least patient. We want the glory, when God wants us. In the waiting, God is preparing us. In the lean times God is shaping us.

Cherith prepared Elijah for what was coming in the future. Cherith, in the Hebrew, means “to cut down.” God is saying to him that “I am going to cut you down, remove your strength, and teach you to depend on me.” Unless we are comforted by the fact that God is faithful, we will struggle with that.

AW Tozer says, “Before God can use a man greatly, he must first hurt him deeply.”

2.2. A life of simple obedience

That simple obedience is an expression of simple and yet confident faith. Reminder, you don’t have to be a genius to be used by God because God is the genius.

2.3. A life of determined perseverance

Whatever came his way, He would be faithful to God. Think of your challenge - What if you dare to believe that God is good and is wanting to use that to work in you and through you for His glory.