Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
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Tone of specific sentences
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Anger
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He died.
The son became so ill, the son died.
The lie of Job’s friends was that there is a correlation between a person’s sin and the calamities of life.
God has stated no such correlation, no such principle.
The test for Elijah was a brook that dried up.
The test for this widow was that her son died.
In fact, Jesus said that calamities sometimes come so that we can see God at work.
Look at John 9:3;
Elijah was puzzled as to the Lord’s purpose in all this.
Elijah’s first prayer (v.
20) simply expressed his compassion for the woman who, in addition to the trials of the famine, now also had to bear this tragedy
Pleading with the Lord for the lad’s life, he followed prayer with active faith, stretching himself out on the boy three times (vv.20–21).
In this instance Elijah out of heartfelt concern stretched himself out placing the whole body of the lad in contact with his own.
Three times Elijah did this, praying each time that God would restore the boy’s life.
Persistence in prayer is a fundamental requisite for obtaining one’s petitions
Miracles are meant to bring faith.
First miracle, water into wine.
Nicodemus
At the death of Lazarus.
This miracle proved to the woman that Elijah was indeed a man of God and that the word of the LORD that Elijah claimed to speak was indeed the truth.
But I want to focus for a moment on the “why” question: Why did this child fall ill and die in the first place.
The messenger of God is in his house.
His mother is doing as the man of God said.
And yet, this boy falls ill.
Faith is meant to be a lifelong confession not a momentary profession.
FAITH IS MEANT TO BE A LIFELONG CONFESSION NOT A MOMENTARY PROFESSION.
A profession is an outward, temporal expression of what one does.
It is seen in clerical robes and baptismal certificates, it is seen in aep helmets and McDonald’s uniforms.
It is something you put on and put off.
It is temporary and sometimes momentary- you could liken it to a time card being punched… one is on duty and then off duty.
This woman, living in a land of a multitude of Gods has been confronted by Elijah, the man of THE God- Yahweh.
And she, in the face of a drought and famine has placed her trust in this man of God, Elijah.
She fed him, she continues to get water for him, she continues to prepare meals for him and the flour doesn’t run dry and the cruze of oil never fails.
But something new has entered this story.
Her son dies.
You would hope for a response like Paul in the book of Romans.
Romans 14:8
You would have hoped that this widow would have responded with a great statement on her faith.
That because Yahweh had fed her in a famine and filled her shelves with food that she had a great trust in Yahweh’s ways.
You would have expected an obedience like Abraham in Genesis 22 when God said
FAITH IS MEANT TO BE A LIFELONG CONFESSION NOT A MOMENTARY PROFESSION.
Even a life time confession begins with a mustard seed beginning.
Look for a moment at the response of the widow at the death of her son in the 18th verse
Remember: The dry brook was Elijah’s test; the dead son was the widow’s test.
Great blessings are often followed by great testings.
It is often the mountaintop experience of your life that will bring the valley of the shadow of death.
Look again at what the widow said. 1 kings 17.18
First, what does this event have to do with her sin?
Good things can have evil in them.
Bad things happen.
Be warned…the darkest and the most demonic can lurk in holy places.
Bad things happen.
But her sin wasn’t the issue here anymore than Job’s was there.
When Jesus was presented with this boy born blind, the question was who sinned?
And that was the wrong question.
You see, what many see as a response to sin God sees as an opportunity to reveal who He is in a deeper way.
This widow’s sin was not the issue- her newly formed faith being brought to a settled maturity probably was at issue.
The response of this widow reveals the maturity of her faith.
It is unfortunate, but it is a teaching moment for us.
Look at what the Psalmist said in psalm 118.75
In faithfulness you have afflicted me.
God is educating you; that’s why you must never drop out.
He’s treating you as dear children.
This trouble you’re in isn’t punishment; it’s training, the normal experience of children.
Only irresponsible parents leave children to fend for themselves.
Would you prefer an irresponsible God?
We respect our own parents for training and not spoiling us, so why not embrace God’s training so we can truly live?
While we were children, our parents did what seemed best to them.
But God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God’s holy best.
At the time, discipline isn’t much fun.
It always feels like it’s going against the grain.
Later, of course, it pays off handsomely, for it’s the well-trained who find themselves mature in their relationship with God.
Re-read the story of John 9.3
Great blessings are often followed by great testings.
The testing grows our faith.
It takes it from the momentary profession to the lifetime confession stage.
Maturity.
Grown up faith.
A life that walks knowing that God is good no matter what.
FAITH IS MEANT TO BE A LIFELONG CONFESSION NOT A MOMENTARY PROFESSION.
the words of the widow tell the purpose of this event.
Elijah, now I know that you’re not the paid professional cleric of the God called Yahweh.
I now see this isn’t about the paycheck or any other temporal benefit- it’s about who you are and more importantly who you serve.
And, now, Elijah, because I see that in you I’m going to deepen my own faith because I see God in you and He’s growing in me.
Much like the woman at the well, who said, “Come see a man who told me everything I ever did.”… and the whole town comes to faith because of that testimony, “Come see a man who told me everything I ever did.”
This widow woman would forever be able to point to Elijah and His God as the one who fed them in the famine and raised her son from death to life.
I think we should realize that Elijah really is a significant individual.
He had so much of a relationship with God that he one day would find him on the mount of transfiguration with Christ.
Mount of transfiguration pix
But even at that, Elijah was just a life pointing not at himself in a momentary profession- but pointing to Jesus in a lifetime confession.
The perfect model of the “man or woman of God” is not Moses or Elijah- it is Jesus.
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