Still Faithful pt6

Still Faithful pt6

1 Kings 17

We fast forward in time now to a chapter in the historical book of 1 Kings. To a prophet named Elijah, who is most famous for his encounter with the prophets of Baal and an evil king named Ahab.

God had moved Elijah to prophesy against Ahab that there would be no rain, not even dew, until God said so, and after Elijah made his pronouncement, he was told by God go and hide by a brook.

This whole chapter shows us how God is faithful to provide for His people when they do as He commands. I hope, as we have walked thru this series, you have connected the dots between God’ faithfulness and your obedience. Our obedience is such an essential. And we are such an independent people, as a nation.

And dependence and obedience are not easy for us. We are use to providing for ourselves and making our own success happen. But when the bottom falls out- the drought starts, the oil industry tanks, the job goes away, the car breaks down, the loved one dies…the list goes on…it brings us to our breaking point and we have to make a choice- are we going to trust God, even when life is going down the tubes- or are we going to turn away from Him?

Vs 2-6

The initial calling from God to Elijah, after his prophecy makes some sense. Go where there is still water. And when the initial calamity occurs, we often make sense of God’s call because it is simple. The first steps are often the simplest.

1, 2 Kings (2) God Provides for Elijah (17:2–6)

Regardless of harsh physical circumstances, the Lord provides for the prophet. The drought has begun, but Elijah has resources because his God controls all natural resources. God directs him to a brook that has water and where ravens will feed him. Also God has protected Elijah by taking him out of Ahab’s reach (cf. 18:10). Nothing he needs has been withheld, a point that must be recalled for future reference.

The early stages of a crisis, it is easy to see God’s hand. In this case, not just the spring with water, but the ravens showing up with food. Stop and think for a minute, when your calamity first hit, it seemed like everything was going to be ok. People, God’s people, arrived with aid. They stood by you. They provided from their means or their time or their own experiences.

Some of you have been the ravens that God sent. We should all, always, be looking for a way to dive in and serve when we see a friend who is going thru a rough season.

V7

This is where it gets tough. For many of us, we think the provision for the moment of crisis is sufficient for the whole thing. So we set up camp and start to rebuild our lives in an oasis that God only meant for a season. And to get us to move on God has to dry up the brook.

I mean stop and think about it- the drought is going to go on for a long time. And why would Elijah not want to stay in a place of relative ease, with Door Dash via raven showing up every day? For many of us, the calamity is so damaging, we just want to curl up in a ball and let the world pass away while we lie cocooned in our own little ball of misery.

Not only is that not healthy, it is not holy. God is not done with YOU yet. You still have purpose and work in the Kingdom and your sojourn is not your new world- kind of like the exile of Moses, the place of rest is not the place of restoration.

V8-16

So God moves Elijah and Elijah is willing to be moved. Because he trusts the Lord, more than himself.

He arrives in a place where a widow and her son are preparing to die. While he has been provided for, others have suffered.

1, 2 Kings (3) Elijah’s Miraculous Powers (17:7–24)

Since Baal worshipers explained the drought as a sign that Baal was dead, he could not help the widow and her son. “In the absence of Baal who lies impotent in the Netherworld, Yahweh steps in to assist the widow and the orphan, and this is even done in the heartland of Baal

The God, Baal, who would have been worshiped in this area is believed to be dead, because of the drought. The widow, who most likely worshiped Baal, has given up hope, and in that hopelessness she is looking for any sort of reason to go on. And into that void walks Elijah, who has a God on his side who is not capable of dying.

Stop and think about that for a moment- yes you have suffered, it has been bad, debilitating, devastating- but while you have been provided for others have not. And they may well have been waiting for you to show up and bring the hope that you have been experiencing for yourself, to them!

In a land of drought, water and food are precious, yet Elijah asks for them. And the woman, has a choice to make- will she do as she is asked, or will she be selfish, in her own pain, and deny the request.

Pain makes us selfish. It makes us only look out for ourselves. It makes us blind to the needs of other people. It makes us bitter. It makes us judgmental. It makes us sin.

When we refuse to allow God’s voice to override and assuage the pain, we run the risk of missing His voice AND His miracles.

The widow, despite her own imminent death, and the death of her son, hears the voice of God in the midst of her pain. She knows that hospitality is a calling for God-followers and she is obedient.

And the result of her obedience is PROVISION.

God shows up!

When you are obedient, God is enough!

V17-24

But even more than the oil and the flour, God knew, before either of them knew, that the widow and Elijah needed each other.

He brought them together, in their shared need, to do something extraordinary. To resurrect her son!

If Elijah isn’t obedient, the woman has no hope when her son dies.

If the woman isn’t obedient, her son has no hope without Elijah there.

Their simple acts of obedience, result in a confluence of events that resurrect someone, by the power of God, from the dead!!!!

1, 2 Kings (3) Elijah’s Miraculous Powers (17:7–24)

Elijah’s faith in the midst of uncertainty allows God to use him to demonstrate God’s life-giving power, his constant watchfulness, and his compassion even on those outside the elect nation

Now let me ask you, do you know someone who is dead? Not physically, but spiritually?

How is YOUR obedience when it comes to where God has you in your life?

What if your active obedience is what is going to bring them to Jesus?

What if God is using your pain, your loss, your calamity to give you a way to speak to them that no one else could ever have?

And you are still by the brook, or not being a raven, or ignoring God’s call to give, or serve, or trust…

God is faithful in the midst of our tragedy, and He wants us to trust Him in obedience in the midst of our pain…

What is keeping you from doing that this morning?