Elijah
Walking With God • Sermon • Submitted
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· 5 viewsThe call of salvation includes a summons to be on a mission for God. God reveals himself through His church and through his spirit.
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
God’s salvation includes a calling to join God in His work to save the world.
Our position with God is as a servant. God is all-knowing, we are submission and obedient. God’s plans are in our best interest.
5 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.
13 For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, 14 and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. 15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
Matthew 11:13-15
14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
1 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. 3 And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 4 And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.”
10 And the disciples asked him, “Then why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?” 11 He answered, “Elijah does come, and he will restore all things. 12 But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.
47 And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” 48 And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink.
47 And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” 48 And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. 49 But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.”
23 And he said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘ “Physician, heal yourself.” What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’ ” 24 And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. 25 But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, 26 and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27 And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”
James 5:13-18
16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.
23 In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. 24 Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
Jeremiah 14:14-
14 And the Lord said to me: “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds.
Matt 18:
4 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me,
20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
19 Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
4 And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. 5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray.
Matt 24:4-5
37 “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.”
Mark 9:
39 But Jesus said, “Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. 40 For the one who is not against us is for us. 41 For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.
12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
Introduction
Introduction
There is a philosophy that suggests that God is immutable. A word which here means, that God cannot be affected or changed by anything. This philosophy proposes that God dwells in one eternal moment in time where He sees all time at once and where His knowing of time establishes the fact of it. This theory proposes that every move of my hand, every word of my mouth, every interaction that I have with others has been pre-programed by God to accomplish His purposes. This extreme view of predestination and God’s sovereignty means that there is no prayer that I can pray that will change anything. In fact, it suggests that the only reason I pray is because God predetermined that I would pray and even gave me the words to pray. This view would make God the author and designer of every act of love (making love an act of slavery), and the author of ever evil design (making sin an act of obedience to God).
Of course, this view is a corruption of truth. We know that God is the author of time and that He sees from the beginning to the end of time. But we also know that God inserted himself into the narrative over and over again—spending time with Adam and Eve, witnessing the evil of mankind before the flood, looking into the case of the tower of Babel, spending time with Abraham before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, leading the Israelites out of Egypt and through the wilderness, and of course becoming incarnate in Jesus. From God changing his plans in the Garden of Eden after sin, to God changing his mind after Moses pleaded with him when He had determined to destroy Israel after their rebellion—God clearly interacts with us in time and responds to our prayers.
In and again in The Bible records that God doesn’t change. That isn’t to say He doesn’t interact and respond to his friends on earth, but rather that His character and nature have always been and will always be the same. He is the creator God of the universe who’s very nature is love. He will never be anything other than the loving creator. His character is firm and unchangeable. And love, for it to be love, is a two-way interactive relationship where both respond to each other.
6 “For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.
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tells us to,
16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.
If our prayers didn’t change anything, why would James encourage us to pray? James encourages us to pray because He knows the God of love is actively participating in our experience here on earth.
Keep reading in and you’ll find a relevant example:
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17 Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years! 18 Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops.
While the Bible is clear that God’s character and plan to save us do not change, it is obvious that He does interact with us and respond to us. However, His response is not based on our whims or our limited perspective of what is good for us or for others. He answers our prayers according to a bigger picture than we could imagine and a bigger plan than we can conceive of.
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Testimonies for the Church, Volume 4 Chapter 50—The Servants of God
That prayer which comes forth from an earnest, believing heart is the effectual, fervent prayer that availeth much. God does not always answer our prayers as we expect, for we may not ask what would be for our highest good; but in His infinite love and wisdom He will give us those things which we most need.
In My Name
In My Name
There’s a phrase that a monarch uses to give authority to an ambassador or state official. He says to do or say something “In My Name.” This phrase demonstrates that the state official is operating and acting with the interests and intentions of their leader or sovereign. An ambassador can make deals and sign agreements with other countries “in the name of” their own country because they are commissioned to act on behalf of and with the authority of their country. The ambassador has no power on their own—they’re just a common person, but when they are doing the will of their leader or country, they wield the full authority of their government.
Jesus told his disciples:
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12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
Elijah
Elijah
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When James mentioned Elijah in his example of answered prayer, he wasn’t pulling a name out of a hat—Elijah was a big deal to the Jews. Besides Abraham and maybe Moses, Elijah was the prophet of legend. Maybe even more so than Abraham and Moses because Elijah’s ministry was marked with amazing miracles like people being raised from the dead and being taken to heaven in chariots of fire.
Yet, James boldly declares that Elijah is just like you and me. He didn’t have anything special in himself that allowed him to raise the dead or call for a drought. If Elijah wasn’t uniquely powerful, then what allowed him to do those amazing things?
The story is told in 1 Kings chapter 17.
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1 Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” 2 And the word of the Lord came to him: 3 “Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. 4 You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” 5 So he went and did according to the word of the Lord. He went and lived by the brook Cherith that is east of the Jordan. 6 And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. 7 And after a while the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.
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Notice Elijah’s words as He boldly addresses the king of Israel—”As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand...”
Elijah declares this to a king who had fully devoted himself and his nation to the worship of the fertility God, Baal. He had funded Baal’s worship by providing for the salaries of over 800 pagan priests, and building worship places throughout Israel. King Ahab would have considered Baal the God of Israel, but Elijah says that the Lord is the God of Israel. In this statement he positioned himself apart from the false priests and false prophets, making sure everyone knew that he was speaking and operating under the authority of God—in God’s name.
The phrase, “before whom I stand…” makes this clear. If you read you’ll see where Elijah got this phrase:
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8 At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord to stand before the Lord to minister to him and to bless in his name, to this day.
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Other translations of show the meaning of Elijah’s phrase, “before whom I stand”, by saying, “As surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives—the God I serve...”
1 Now Elijah, who was from Tishbe in Gilead, told King Ahab, “As surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives—the God I serve—there will be no dew or rain during the next few years until I give the word!”
That’s are great translation of this idea, but it doesn’t give the hint of the close connection to Elijah’s service and the work of the priests and levites. The Levites were serving God by acting out His plan of redemption. A priest was a symbol for Christ Himself. Each article in the sanctuary and service they would perform represented some part of God’s great plan to save mankind.
Elijah put himself in that same role—recognizing that He was doing something that would be a component in the salvation plan of God. He was acting in the name of God—under the authority and in the plans of the Monarch of the Universe.
Review from Abraham
Review from Abraham
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When we talked about Abraham in our first sermon of this series on Walking With God, we discovered that God has plans for us, though we shouldn’t be self-focused when we are looking to discover God’s plans because His plans for us are part of a much bigger plan to save the world.
We also discovered that when God calls us, that is the time to modify our lives to join Him in His plans. If we fail to join God in his plans, then even our good intentions are going to burn us out because we’ll be bearing the weight of our own plans rather than joining God in His yoke which He says is easy and light.
Lets apply this to Elijah’s story:
From our position as readers of Elijah’s story, we can see how things turned out. Ahab had led Israel away from the creator God to follow the local gods of the Canaanites. We can see that all Israel was being harmed by the terrible queen Jezabel, and that God needed to do something dramatic to undermine the influence of the false religion of Baal and help people to turn to the only true God. We know that in the end the people turn back to God and that this terrible drought was an essential part in helping the people repent.
From our position as readers of this narrative, we can see that Ahab had led Israel away from the creator God to follow the local gods of the Canaanites. We can see that all Israel was being harmed by the terrible queen Jezabel, and that God needed to do something dramatic to undermine the influence of the false religion of Baal and help people to turn to the only true God.
Baal was a fertility god—the priests claimed that the rain and good crops all came from Baal.
What the story doesn’t tell us is that Elijah had been quietly working on the outskirts of the Israelite nation. Actually, there were lots of men and women who abhorred the idolatry and wickedness of the nation, but the Bible points us to one of them, Elijah.
Elijah was a man who followed God and who did his best to bring people back to God and to reform the nation. “He was the voice of one crying in the wilderness to rebuke sin and press back the tide of evil.” (PK 119)
As he looked at the evil all around him, Elijah was distraught. He saw Israel going deeper and deeper into idolatry and his righteous anger grew. He recalled all the times that God had worked mightily on behalf of Israel—freeing them from slavery to other nations and false gods.
Prophets and Kings Chapter 9—Elijah the Tishbite
In anguish of soul he besought God to arrest the once-favored people in their wicked course, to visit them with judgments, if need be, that they might be led to see in its true light their departure from Heaven. He longed to see them brought to repentance before they should go to such lengths in evil-doing as to provoke the Lord to destroy them utterly.
Prophets and Kings Chapter 9—Elijah the Tishbite
In anguish of soul he besought God to arrest the once-favored people in their wicked course, to visit them with judgments, if need be, that they might be led to see in its true light their departure from Heaven.
Then God entrusted to Elijah the mission of telling Ahab that there would be a drought. He did not seek to be the Lord’s messenger—the Lord came to him. But because he was jealous for the Lord’s honor, Elijah didn’t hesitate. He changed his plans and started out for Samaria to deliver his message.
How Does God Speak to Us?
How Does God Speak to Us?
If God has a big plan for saving the world, and if my plan is packed up inside that bigger plan, how am I to know God’s will? How does God speak to us?
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God’s primary tool for communicating with us is the Bible—His revealed will. He tells us about Himself in the stories, reveals his big picture plan for the world, and even gives us day-to-day guidance as we allow the Spirit to guide us in our study and devotional reading. This is one of the reasons it’s so important for us to regularly spend time in God’s Word.
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God’s Spirit also works to open doors for us in life and in the church. He may guide in bringing you a job offer, or introducing you to a new friend, or having the church invite you to take on a ministry role. He may guide in closing doors for us too. That job we really wanted was given to someone else, or the money just didn’t come in to finish that project, or a friend wasn’t able to make it to an appointment. Some people call this type of guidance, providential leading. As we surrender ourselves to the Holy Spirit’s leading, we become more open to the opportunities God brings our way and less troubled by the doors He closes.
It is possible for us to be so steeped in our own plans or following the promptings of a heart that is not sanctified by God’s Spirit that we don’t recognize God’s providence working in our lives. It’s important for us step back from our self-interested plans and follow this advice found in the book, Steps to Christ:
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Steps to Christ Chapter 8—Growing up into Christ
Consecrate yourself to God in the morning; make this your very first work. Let your prayer be, “Take me, O Lord, as wholly Thine. I lay all my plans at Thy feet. Use me today in Thy service. Abide with me, and let all my work be wrought in Thee.” This is a daily matter. Each morning consecrate yourself to God for that day. Surrender all your plans to Him, to be carried out or given up as His providence shall indicate. Thus day by day you may be giving your life into the hands of God, and thus your life will be molded more and more after the life of Christ.
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The third way that God leads us is through the still small voice of the Spirit impressing our hearts and saying, “this is the way, go this direction.”
If you have any doubt on any subject, first consult the Bible. God’s providence and the voice of His spirit in your heart will never contradict His revealed will in Scripture. If you have truly begun the life of faith and have given yourself to the Lord to be wholly His, then you should have an earnest desire to be pliable in His hands and to follow Him wherever He may lead you.
If you have any doubt on any subject, first consult the Bible. If you have truly begun the life of faith you have given yourself to the Lord to be wholly His. You should have an earnest desire to be pliable in His hands and to follow Him wherever He may lead you.
God provides for Elijah
God provides for Elijah
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Go back to and notice how God gives Elijah the next step in His plan after he had followed through with giving the message to the king. We saw this when we talked about Abraham, too. God leads us one step at a time, and its important for us to follow through with what we know about God’s leading, even if we don’t see the whole plan.
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I’ve heard of people doing some crazy things in the name of God. Some people have moved far away from their family—my sister and her husband just did that. Some people have sold everything, or taken big risks to buy something. Others have given their business to God, or committed to giving God 1% more of their income every year up until they’re living on just 10 or 15% of what they make. Many of you moved to Northern Idaho because you felt that God was leading you. I’m sure that is true for some of you, and its just as likely to be the case that some of you came up here for your own selfish reasons without the leading of God.
How do you know if your ideas are inspired by God or by your own unconsecrated heart? First, start by consecrating your heart. If your goal is self exaltation, or self-preservation, or self-anything, then that idea is something you cooked up yourself. But if your plan is founded in God’s Word, and your heart is moved with a burden for God’s kingdom, and the godly counselors in your life who have been praying with you agree that this is God’s will, then you can be pretty confident the idea is from God.
After giving a message to the king, Elijah followed God’s direction and went to a brook called Cherith where God provided food, water, and safety from the evil king, Ahab. If Elijah had approached the king in his own authority or at his own time, he wouldn’t have had God’s help. Either the drought wouldn’t have come when Elijah called for it, or the drought would have come but Elijah would have been somewhere other than the brook Cherith. Either way, his life would have been much harder than it was when he joined God in the work He was already doing to save Israel.
A consecrated heart says, “Ok, God. I don’t understand where this is going to end up, but I’m willing to trust you with my future.”
One of the churches I participated in as a teenager held an evangelistic series. A family of four attended and at the end of the series they were baptized. The problem was that he owned a used car lot and his most profitable day was the Sabbath. During the series of meetings he had read in the Bible that we should keep the Sabbath day holy to the Lord, and lay aside our business and not cause any of our neighbors to work on that day. With some prayer and a sincere discussion with his employees, he closed the lot on Saturdays and opened it on Sundays. It was totally possible that he could have lost 1/3 or more of his business. And even he had, that loss would not have indicated he had done the wrong thing. When God’s word says it, our surrender to God’s plan is essential for continued experience with God, even if it hurts us in the short term, like the drought that hurt the nation of Israel in Elijah’s day. I’m thankful that wasn’t a test this family had to bear. What actually happened to this family was that God grew their business so Sunday became a more profitable day for them than Saturday ever was. When that happens it strengthens our faith, but we should obey God even if the results don’t always feel the best.
Another family that came to that evangelistic series had three boys, but the mom and dad weren’t married. They’d lived together for a few years, but they had never made a public commitment to each other. When they read about marriage and fidelity in God’s word, they asked to be married on the same Sabbath they were going to be baptized.
In a different church I led a Bible study that included a young man who kept saying yes to God. One time he said yes to God and his girlfriend said, no. So he lost his girlfriend. Another time he said yes to God by stopping playing the violent and spiritualistic role playing games he had been playing. That resulted in a whole group of his friends being cut off from his life. Another time he said yes to God and he deleted 80% of his music. There were times when he wondered when he was going to catch a break and actually gain something from his friendship with God. Slowly, but surely, he found friends that loved God, and good activities to fill his leisure time. Today he has a post graduate degree and works full-time for God. It took several years for him to be in a place where he could look back and see how God led him, but today he’s glad he made the choices he did and that God led him in those ways.
That’s the thing about following God. In the end we’ll look back and realize that God’s plan was best. We won’t look back and say, “God I wish you hadn’t done that to me.” We’ll look back and say, “Wow! Your plans were better than I could have ever imagined. Thank you!”
Elijah spent some time by a brook being fed by Ravens, and then some time in a lady’s home where she fed him from a never ending supply of miracle flour. Then, when the drought was sufficiently long, he saw God flash his glory down and consume an offering to demonstrate that He was the Lord, the God of Israel. He saw the worship of Baal defeated and the Israelites turn to God. And he oversaw the redevelopment of Samuel’s system of Bible schools that turned out Bible teachers all throughout the land who would ensure the Israelites wouldn’t quickly return to idolatry. If Elijah hadn’t stepped out in faith — changing his plans to follow God’s bigger plan, he might not have survived the drought, and its probable that many people would have been lost to idolatry, though God may have found someone else to do the work Elijah did.
Conclusion
Conclusion
As we look at our lives, and our plans and our futures, it’s important for us to recognize the servant attitude of Elijah. It’s a position of responsibility because we act in the name of God. But its also a position of humility because we act in the plans and will of God as well.
Jesus said,
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23 In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.
19 So Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does.
John
If Jesus lived his life based on the will and direction of the Father, how much more should we rely on God for direction in our lives?
What might God have planned for your future?
Is there a part of your life that you have left unconsecrated to God?
Do you make it a point to let God lead in your business, in your finances, in your recreation and leisure, in your marriage and family?
And, are you willing to trust Him to direct your path? If so, I hope you’ll
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Steps to Christ Chapter 8—Growing up into Christ
Consecrate yourself to God in the morning; make this your very first work. Let your prayer be, “Take me, O Lord, as wholly Thine. I lay all my plans at Thy feet. Use me today in Thy service. Abide with me, and let all my work be wrought in Thee.”
Steps to Christ Chapter 8—Growing up into Christ
Consecrate yourself to God in the morning; make this your very first work. Let your prayer be, “Take me, O Lord, as wholly Thine. I lay all my plans at Thy feet. Use me today in Thy service. Abide with me, and let all my work be wrought in Thee.” This is a daily matter. Each morning consecrate yourself to God for that day. Surrender all your plans to Him, to be carried out or given up as His providence shall indicate. Thus day by day you may be giving your life into the hands of God, and thus your life will be molded more and more after the life of Christ.
Consecrate yourself to God in the morning; make this your very first work. Let your prayer be, “Take me, O Lord, as wholly Thine. I lay all my plans at Thy feet. Use me today in Thy service. Abide with me, and let all my work be wrought in Thee.” This is a daily matter. Each morning consecrate yourself to God for that day. Surrender all your plans to Him, to be carried out or given up as His providence shall indicate. Thus day by day you may be giving your life into the hands of God, and thus your life will be molded more and more after the life of Christ.
White, E. G. (1892). Steps to Christ (p. 70). Pacific Press Publishing Association.