The Story of Elijah

So today, we're going to go into the Old Testament and we're going to study the life of Elijah. The life of Elijah. Now, let me give you a little bit of background into Elijah's life, before we turn over to that section of Scripture. Elijah just bursts onto the scene. There's not a discussion about his birth, who his parents were. We don't see his call to his prophetic office, like we see with, say, example Isaiah. He just bursts onto the scene. And as he bursts onto the scene, the powers in Samaria, in Israel, are a king by the name of Ahab and his wife Jezebel. It's a time of great spiritual crisis in the nation of Israel. There had been times, from time to time, when the nation of Israel was into Baal worship. But when it came to, especially Jezebel, Jezebel sought to kill all of God's prophets. She sought to make Baal worship the national religion, the state religion. Through her, and of course her husband Ahab, they were wanting to extinguish the very existence of true religion in Israel. So, very dark times, spiritually speaking. If you go to our online commentary, the United Church of God's online Bible commentary, I'd like to just quote a paragraph. In the UCG online Bible commentary, it says this. When you go over to 1 Kings 17, it says, The great prophet Elijah is now introduced. Haile's Bible handbook states, Six chapters are given to Ahab's reign. While most of the kings have only a part of one chapter, the reason is largely the story of Elijah. Elijah's rare and sudden and brief appearances, His undaunting courage and fiery zeal, The brilliance of his triumphs, The pathos of his despondency, The glory of his departure, The calm beauty of his reappearance and a vision at the transfiguration, Making one of the greatest characters Israel ever produced. It is noteworthy that only two prophets appeared with Jesus in the transfiguration. Moses and Elijah. Now, Elijah's ministry would be the pattern for a number of other very important ministries. Certainly, his successor, Elisha, would pattern his ministry after Elijah. John the Baptist would, and we feel very strongly that our work today is a work of Elijah. So, let's begin our journey today by turning over to Luke chapter 1. Luke chapter 1.

And verse 17. Luke chapter 1 and verse 17. Now, here's a discussion with the parents of John the Baptist about his son. Verse 17, He will also go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and disobedient to the wisdom of the just to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. So, this is very much a discussion about the overall view of Elijah's ministry, but also John the Baptist. If we turn over to Malachi chapter 4, last book in the Old Testament, Malachi chapter 4, and in verse 5, talking about our day today, Malachi 4, 5. Behold, I'll send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. Of course, the day of the Lord, as we may mention, is that last year before the return of Jesus Christ. So, it's important that we understand the ministry of Elijah. You know, John the Baptist was there for preparing the way for Christ's first coming, and we are to be preparing the way for Christ's second coming. Now, as I may mention, at the time that Elijah comes on the scene, Ahab and his wife Jezebel are trying to destroy all the prophets of God. As a matter of fact, we're going to just touch on a certain individual in our reading today called Obadiah. This is not the same Obadiah who wrote the book of the Bible called Obadiah. He's a different man. He's a prophet, and in his life he had to hide 100 of the prophets of God because there was a bounty on their head, and Jezebel wanted them dead. This is one of the reasons why, as we're going to read later on today, Elijah told God, I'm the only one that's left. Well, the reason he thought he was the only one left is because all the other prophets were in hiding or dead. But, as God is about to tell him, there are thousands who had not found the need to bail. But Elijah did not know that. So, the theme for today's message, if you take notes and want to put something across the top of this particular sermon, it's the story of Elijah, our need to depend on God for all things. The story of Elijah, our need to depend on God for all things. And, brethren, no matter what you face in this coming year, you and I need to depend on God for everything, for all things. So, with that in mind, let's turn over to 1 Kings, 1 Kings, chapter 17. We're going to go through chapter 17, chapter 18, and a portion of chapter 19 today. We'll be very focused on that particular part of the Old Testament. And, as we go through the material today, as we work our way through, I've got four lessons to be learned. Lesson number one.

The lowly experiences of life prepare us for the lofty experiences of life. The lowly experiences prepare us for the lofty events in our life. Let's begin here, 1 Kings, chapter 17, verse 1. And Elijah the Tishbite of the inhabitants of Gilead said to Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel lives before whom I stand, there shall not be due or reign these years except at my word. So, for years, this is how it starts.

Elijah just bursts onto the scene. There's no discussion, as I said earlier, about his birth, who his parents were. It doesn't show his call to follow God or anything like that, but we know he was a man. I've got one of the great prophets of the Old Testament. I'm sure, you know, if you want to put in your notes, Ezekiel chapter 9, verse 4. Ezekiel chapter 9, verse 4, you're familiar with that verse. It talks about, you know, taking a look at all the people who sigh and cry when they see the abominations in the land.

I'm sure Elijah saw the abominations in the land, was horrified by them, and God used the man who had that as a reference of mind and in his heart to be a tremendous prophet. Now, there's something we need to understand here. Elijah is saying there's not going to be dew or rain. And we see when we add a scripture over in the book of James, or is it James? No, it's Luke. Luke chapter 4 and verse 25. Luke 4, 25, and also James 5, 17, and 18. I'm not going to turn to those for sake of time, but when you look at those scriptures, we see that for three and a half years, there is going to be no rain in Israel.

It's going to cause tremendous drought and famine. People are going to die. Now, why is this important to know? We're going to see in chapter 18 when we get there that Elijah is going to call for a test between the true God and Baal. Baal was the god of rain, and God is saying, I'm going to defeat the god of rain. You think he's all powerful?

Well, for three and a half years, your God is not going to be able to give you rain. After three and a half years, when I say so, God says, through the prophet Elijah, I will bring rain. So God here is having a test for the whole nation to witness. First King 17 verse 2, then the word of the Lord came to him saying, get away from here and turn eastward.

So basically God is saying, get out of dodge. Jezebel will be coming after you. She's going to want to kill you. So get out of town. Get away from here and turn eastward and hide by the brook, carath, which flows into the Jordan. And it will be that you shall drink from the brook. I have commanded the ravens to feed you there. So he went and did according to the word of the Lord. For he went and stayed by the brook, which flows into the Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.

This coming year, brethren, whatever challenges you face, remember that God has a way of answering your prayers. It may not be a way that you think is going to happen. In this particular, I mean, how many of us would think that the ravens are going to bring us food? No. I don't think many of us, you know, if we're asking God's blessing to take care of our needs, you know, we might think, well, you know, God's going to have a truck pulled up from Jewell Osco, you know, A&P or something, if they have any more A&Ps.

And food's going to come that way. Are your next-door neighbors going to bring it? No. Birds. Ravens. So, you know, here we see something that's really important for us to understand. There's going to be a tremendous test in chapter 18. But God here in chapter 17 realizes that as zealous as Elijah is, his faith needs to be deepened.

His faith needs to be deepened. As you go through life's trials this coming year, God may have something much bigger in mind for you later on. In the trial you're going through at the current time, as you're thinking about it, God is using to deepen your faith, to draw you closer to Him so that when the bigger trials come, you'll be able to stand. You'll be able to take care of business.

So this is something that's very important for us to understand. God's going to take care of him in a way he in a manner which he never would have thought, just like God can take care of us. God's going to provide for him in the wilderness. You may think you're in the wilderness.

You may think you're all by yourself. He felt he was all by himself. Do you feel you're all by yourself at times? Do you feel that there's nobody who understands what you're going through? He probably felt that same way, and yet God allowed him to witness God's power. Brethren, you think about the way you've witnessed God's power in times gone by. Despite being all alone, despite being hunted down by the king and the queen of the land, who have already killed many, many of the prophets of God, he realized God was going to take care of him.

And notice in verse 6, the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and in the evening, just as there were times for the morning and evening sacrifices, alluding to the fact that God has a way that we are to worship him and we are to worship him in spirit and truth. So God's underscoring a number of things here. One, that he needed to grow in faith, and God was going to help deepen that faith. And secondly, the way we need to be worshiping him.

Starting in verse 7, and it happened after a while that the brook dried up. Well, there's no rain, so obviously everything's going to dry up because there had been no rain in the land. Verse 8, and the word to the Lord came to him saying, So again, we're still in this faith deepening process here. The birds are going to provide for him, and now a widow lady. And brethren, back in these days, if you were a lady without a husband, you were in a tough spot. You think you were in a man's world today? It was very much a man's world back in those days. And brethren, back in these days, if you were a lady it was very much a man's world back in those days. And this is not just any widow lady. This is a widow lady who's about ready to die.

Now, once again, you think about your life. You ask for help. You ask for a God to intervene in some way. Maybe you're asking for a certain individual to help you. And what does God do? He brings you somebody who's about ready to die. And you're thinking, great God, this looks good.

This whole story is just full of irony. He is to go to Zarathath, hometown of a woman by the name of Jezebel, a woman who's seeking his life. And yet another woman, a widow lady, one of the least powerful people in the kingdom, is going to spare him from one of the most powerful women in the kingdom. A lot of irony here.

First tense. So he rose and went to Zarathath, and when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks, and he called her and said, Please bring me a little water in a cup that I might drink.

So he probably maybe is testing, is this the right lady? A lot of ladies walking around. How do I know which one? So he's probably asking to see which one would heed what he says. And as she was going to get it, he called her and said, Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand. And so she said, As the Lord your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour and a bin, and a little oil and a jar. And see, I'm gathering a couple of sticks that I might go in, prepare for myself and my son, that we might eat it and die.

You know, side note here, as you and I go through life's trials, as I've said this a number of times, those around us, those who witness what we're going through, have a part in all this. They see what we're going through. They're a part of it. And they also grow as they see us as we go through the various trials. So here this lady is about ready to give up the ghost here, and her little boy, little son. Verse 13, And Elijah said to her, Do not fear, Go and do as you have said, but first, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me, after it makes them for yourself and your son.

I've always thought this was interesting. I mean, let's put you in this scenario. You're dying. You haven't eaten a really good meal in a long, long time.

Mr. D knocks on the door. Fat old Mr. D. And I ask you to take what little minuscule food you have, make a meal, and feed me first.

I don't think that would go over so well today with a lot of folks. And yet, I think what is happening here, I believe what's happening here is, again, God is working with this woman, too. He loves her every bit as much as he loves Elijah. And I think he was working to see what she put her family in second place compared to God and the work of God. And she did. And she was going to be tremendously blessed for that.

Verse 14.

For thus says the Lord God of Israel, The bin of flowers shall not be used up, Nor shall a jar of oil run dry, Until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth. So she went away, and did according to the word of Elijah, And she and her household ate for many days. The bin of flowers was not used up, Nor did a jar of oil run dry, According to the word of the Lord, Which he spoke by Elijah.

This brings up lesson number two.

God's provision will never fail those who trust in Him. God's provision will never fail those who trust Him. She trusted in the Word of God, As spoken by Elijah.

And this is one of the great miracles of the Bible. You know, she kept on going back to that bin of flower, And kept on pulling flower out. She kept on going to that jar. Now, this was impossible. But it happened. But it happened. This was impossible, but it happened.

Once again, God is showing Elijah here something. We're not coming to chapter 18, Where there's going to be this tremendous test Between one man, Elijah, and 450 prophets of Baal. That's going to be in chapter 18. But once again, just like God says There wasn't going to be rain, And Baal was the god of rain, Baal also was the god of harvest. He was a fertility god. As the fertility god, things should be growing. Wheat should be growing. That would make flower. Olive trees should be having olives. But that wasn't happening.

So once again, God is trumping over Baal.

Now, I'll tell you a story. And I don't know whether this is urban legend or fact. But I know in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area, A number of people view this as fact. That back in the worldwide Church of God days, There was a church social.

And more people came than was expected. Again, whenever there's food present, Numbers are going to increase. And people were being fed. Everyone was being fed. There was no problem. After everything was said and done, And all the ladies and the fellows are cleaning up, Apparently several ladies got together and said, You know, I just didn't think we were able to feed everybody. And one lady said, Well, I went to that refrigerator to pull out this kind of food. Time and again, another lady said, I did the same thing. And a third lady said, I did the same thing. Then they all three looked at each other and said, That refrigerator couldn't have held all that food.

So in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, did this happen? Those who lived in an area say it did.

I don't know. I was not there. Is it impossible for God to have done it? Obviously, of course it was not. Impossible. God did it here. He can do it in your life. When you think you're on empty, if you're trusting in God to provide, He will fill you. He will do what it takes to take care of you.

Let's continue on with the story. Verse 17. 1 Kings 17, verse 17. Now, it happened after these things that the son of the woman who owned the house became sick. And his sickness was so serious that there was no breath left in him. He died.

So here's a woman who put herself and her son in second place, who's doing the will of God, who's showing faith, and her son dies.

Sometimes people say, Why is God doing this to me? Well, God is allowing us to grow. God is allowing us to deepen our faith. God is allowing us to draw closer to Him, asking for Him to provide for us through life's trials. Verse 18. So she said to Elijah, What have I to do with you, O man of God? Have you come to me to bring my sin to remembrance?

She understood that sin brings death. And she thought that God was just like God took David's son.

Through Bathsheba took his life, the first one. She was thinking, Well, God's taking my son. She didn't understand. You know, brethren, there are times in our life we don't understand what God is doing.

That's not a sin, not to understand.

Verse 19.

And he said to her, Give me your son. So I took him out of her arms and carried him up to the upper room where he was staying and laid him on his own bed. So obviously a little guy. Little boy. You know, if he was 20 years old, I doubt Mom's going to be able to hold him in her arms. So he's a young child. Verse 20. Then he cried out to the Lord and said, Oh, Lord my God, have you also brought tragedy on the widow with whom I lodge by killing her son?

He didn't understand.

After having been fed by the ravens, after having been fed by the widow lady, which should have deepened and did deepen his faith, now he's questioning God. And again, is this a sin? Well, the attitude he's showing, he's just puzzled. I'm sure that you've been puzzled in your life as to why certain things have happened to you. He was puzzled. Nothing wrong with being puzzled. You know, you're seeking after truth. He was seeking after truth. Verse 21. And he stretched himself out on a child three times and cried out to the Lord and said, Oh, Lord my God, I pray, let this child's soul be coming back to him.

Notice three times he did this. Persistent prayer.

Be persistent with our prayers in the coming year as we face adversity.

Verse 22. Then the Lord heard the voice of Elijah, and the soul of the child came back to him, and he revived. And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper room into the house and gave him to his mother. And Elijah said, See, your son lives. Then the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord is in your mouth is truth, is the truth. So once again, we see where not only is Elijah's faith being deepened, but so is the widow. And I would dare say, this is something that she's going to tell her son as time goes along, and he's going to deepen his faith.

So lesson number two was God provides for us, and he will never fail to provide for us as we trust in him.

So to this point, we've been talking about Elijah's faith being deepened. We saw that from the lowly experiences that prepare us for the lofty or the higher events of life, we see where God's provision will never fail those who trust in him. Now we come to the chapter that has the big test. Verse the Kings chapter 18.

Lesson for this part of the story. Lesson number three.

God expects us to faithfully do our part, and then he will faithfully do his part.

God's our father. He is the most faithful being in the universe. He's got children. He's got sons and daughters. He wants his sons and daughters to be faithful, as he is faithful.

Okay. 1 Kings chapter 18 verse 1.

And it came to pass after many days that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth. So just as God had turned off the spigot, God's going to turn the spigot back on. Baal didn't do this. The great God has done this. God is going to keep his promise. Now, we're going to see where the nation does not repent. This is not Nineveh. This is Israel. And yet, God is going to show how gracious he is, how merciful he is, by allowing the rain to come back.

Let's drop down now to verse 7 and 8. I'm going to skip the story of Obadiah here, for time's sake. But verse 7.

Now, as Obadiah, again, not the one who wrote the book in the Bible, and he was a prophet, as Obadiah was on his way, suddenly Elijah met him, and he recognized him and fell on his face and said, Is that you, my Lord Elijah? He answered him, It is. It is I. Go tell your master Elijah is here.

Again, understand the context. This same Obadiah had been hiding the prophets of God. He himself was a prophet of God.

He's told by Elijah, Go announce me. And by that very act, he could have had his life taken. He could have been killed.

You know, it's like asking a Jewish person, Listen, I want you to go talk to Adolf Hitler. Tell them the allies are coming. You know?

You know how that would have gone. The same kind of situation here.

Brethren, are there times in your life where God brings people into your life to be of service to you? Can you ask that of God?

Does God work through people to help you?

I've got a story to tell on that.

I was relating last week to, I gave the sermon last week in Chicago. And I was relating to the folks in Chicago when I had seen my family doctor, and I was having some indications there might be something wrong inside my chest. I had a mild burning sensation. It wasn't like a heart-stopping, you know, thing that just really gets your attention. It was rather minor, but with my family history, I thought, well, let's go see the doc and see what he says. And he recommended for me to go see a cardiologist, Dr. Ciacuti.

Dr. Ciacuti practiced at the University of Michigan Medical Center, one of the foremost hospitals in the country. Normally, when you make an appointment to see Dr. Ciacuti, you let you take three or four or five months and get in line. I saw him in two days.

He ran a number of tests, the last one being a heart catheterization. And I'm sure our Dr. Andy could tell you more about how that procedure works, but somehow they've got a camera or something inside of you. And you're awake, you know, they give you something that kind of relax you a little bit, but you're about 95% there. And there's a big screen TV, basically, and you're watching the whole procedure, because wherever that camera or device is going, there's no feeling. And so he gets into the heart, and for those of you who are old enough to remember tube TVs, I don't know how many... Probably I'm the only guy who remembers that. But the old tube TVs, you know, if there was a cobweb or something in there, you'd see this awful thing. Well, that's what my heart looked like. And so we were about a half hour into procedure. He said, Randy, I think we need to talk... Because they wanted to be able to converse, and I'm looking at the picture. He says, I think we need to talk to a surgeon here. And I said, well, what I'm seeing is... What I think I'm saying, I said, Amen, we need to talk to a surgeon. He said, well, there's a fellow I work with quite a bit. His name is Dr. Pagani. Once again, you want to see Dr. Pagani? Three, four, five-month-white. Now, both of these fellows, by the way, at the University of Michigan Medical Center, were the head of their departments. These are well-known, very well-known men. Now, why did De La Sandro get in to see both of these guys in a matter of five or six days? Well, was it because I'm rich and famous? No. Because God opened the door.

God put the chess pieces in the right place. Just as God is doing that here with Elijah.

Couldn't God do that with you? Absolutely. God can put people you need to have help you in a place where they come to you and help you. We can be praying for something like that. We can be praying for something like that. Dropping down to verse 16.

Chapter 18, verse 16. So, Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah.

Doesn't say Obadiah then was beheaded. God protected him. Then it happened when Ahab saw Elijah, this is verse 17, that Ahab said to him, Is that you, O troubler of Israel?

And he answered, I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father's house have, in that you forsaken the commandments of the Lord and followed the Baals. Now therefore send and gather all Israel to me on Mount Carmel.

The 450 prophets of Baal, the 400 prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel's table. So, God doesn't do anything in a small way here. Here's a tremendous test.

Verse 19. Mount Carmel. That's supposedly where Baal lives.

So, God is giving Baal home court advantage.

450 male prophets of Baal, 400 female prophets. Now, from the context here, it appears that the lady prophets didn't show. We'll see that as we go through the story. But still, 450 of the men, the false prophets, came. Again, 450 to 1. Odds mean nothing when it comes to God. People come to you and they say, well, the odds are against you. Well, all you need to know is you've got God on your side.

And if you've got God on your side, I don't care. You shouldn't care what the odds are.

And I think that all by itself, brethren, is a very encouraging thing if we find out that we've got whatever, cancer or whatever. We've got God on our side.

Now, if he wants us to die, we're going to die. If he wants to heal us, he's going to heal us. Our life's in his hands. And humility, we say those things to God. We put our prayer at his feet. And in humility, we accept the verdict.

So, Ahab sent for all the children of Israel— No, no, no. Both Ahab and Elijah want plenty of witnesses. Now, the whole country didn't come, but a large gathering did. So Ahab sent for the children of Israel and gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel. Notice it doesn't say the females. And Elijah said to the people, How long will you fault between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him. But if Baal, follow him. But the people answered him, Not a word.

They don't want to commit. They are going to say, Well, let's see how this plays out.

Because if Elijah fails, and we're on his side, Jezebel may come after us. So they were kind of being, they were fence sitters.

They were fence sitters.

And as I may mention, you know, Elijah felt he was all by himself, but he wasn't.

Verse 22, Then Elijah said to the people, I alone am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal's prophets are 450 men. Again, there's no mention of the female prophets here.

So he feels he's by himself, but he's not. Think about what we've got here, brethren. We've got Mount Carmel, home field advantage for Baal. The trial, the thing that's going to happen, we're going to see in just a minute, is fire is supposed to come down from heaven and devour sacrifice. Baal was the god of fire and lightning.

So again, advantage to Baal in terms of weapon re-choosed, in his duel. So over and over, we see that every possible way that God can put himself behind the eight ball, he's never behind the eight ball, but at least the way men might see it, it's taking place. Verse 23, Here's what's going to take place. Here's the test. Verse 23. Therefore, let them give us two bulls, let them choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, put no fire under it, now prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood, and put no fire under it. Then you should call upon the name of your gods. Notice, this is a duel. Elijah's saying to the prophets of Baal, you can take the first shot.

Then you can call on the name of the gods, your gods, and I'll call on the name of the Lord, and the God who answers by fire, he is God. So all the people answered and said, it is well spoken. It is well spoken.

Verse 25. Now Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, choose one bull for yourselves, prepare it first, for you are many, and call on the name of your God, and put no fire under it. So they took the bull which was given them, they prepared it, and they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon, saying, oh, Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, no one answered, and they leaped about on the altar which they had made.

So they're dancing and they're prancing around, thinking that they're going to get God's attention.

Our physical activities most of the time don't get God's attention. Now if we're doing sinful activities, yes, those are going to get God's attention.

These people are just thinking that they can get their God's attention by jumping around. And so there's a little bit of humor here in verse 27. So was it noon that Elijah mocked them and said, cry aloud, for he's God. Either he's meditating, or he's busy, or he's on a journey, or perhaps he's sleeping and must be awakened.

Now the contemporary English version has a much more interesting translation here.

In the contemporary English version, it says, at noon, Elijah began making fun of them. Pray louder, he said, Baal must be a god. Maybe he's daydreaming, or using the toilet, or traveling somewhere, or maybe he's asleep and you have to wake him up.

Little earthy there, but it gets the point across. Verse 28, So they cried aloud and cut themselves, as was their custom, with knives and lances, until blood gushed out of them. And again, we see, this is what people who don't know what God do. You know, we see it all the time, a lot of times around various religious festivals around the world, people will be crawling on their hands and knees, they crawl through glass. God never asks us to do things like that.

That's what Satan would want people to do. Satan would want people to hurt themselves and mutilate themselves like that. Leviticus 21.5 says, we should not do those kinds of things. Leviticus 21.5. Leviticus 19.28, don't cut yourself, don't do the things that the pagan people did.

Verse 29, And when midday was passed, they prophesied till the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, but there was no voice, no one answered, no one paid attention. The reason? Because Baal is not God. Okay. They had their shot. They miserably failed. Now it's Elijah's turn. Then Elijah, verse 30, then Elijah said to the people, come near to me. Basically saying, gather around. I want your eyeballs to see this. Gather around. Come near. So all people came near to him and he prepared the altar of the Lord that was broken down. Probably Jezebel had done that earlier.

Elijah took 12 stones according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob. So he's showing here whose God he's referring to. And the people of Israel should know this God. Elijah took the 12 stones according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, Israel shall be your name. Then with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord and made a trench around the altar, large enough to hold two siyahs of seed. And he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, laid it on the wood, and said, fill four water paths with water and pour it on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood.

Hard to, you know, if you ever tried camping to start a fire with wet wood, not real easy. Virtually impossible. Verse 34. He said, do it a second time. They did it a second time. He said, do it a third time. And they did it a third time. And this is soaking wet now. So the water ran all around the altar, also filled the trench with water. And it came to pass, verse 36, at the time of the offering and the evening sacrifice, times when people were supposed to worship, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are the God in Israel, and I am your servant, and I have done these things at your word. Very simple prayer. God, show who you are, and show that I am your servant, and the things I say should be listened to because they come from you. Verse 37, hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that you are the Lord God, that you have turned your hearts back to you again. Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, the wood, the stones, the dust, licked up the water that was in the trench. God took care of business very dramatically. And now when all the people saw it, these same people who are non-committal, just a little bit before, when all people saw it, they fell on their faces and they said, The Lord, He is God. The Lord, He is God.

Wish they would have kept that frame of mind from that point on. But at least at this point, they see the truth. And Elijah said, them seize the prophets of Baal. Once again, we don't see the female prophets. Prophets is there. See the prophets of Baal. Do not let one of them escape. So they seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the brook, Kishon, and executed them there. Executed them there. Why the execution?

Because of their terrible sin. They were taking Israel away that God did not want them to go. The nation was facing ruin. The nation would go into national captivity because of the work of people like this.

They led the nation away from God. And God said, we will not stand for that.

Let's put a marker here, brethren. Let's go over to Ezekiel 13.

Now, we're talking about the coming year. Well, in coming years, there's going to be a beast and a false prophet. There may be people who knock on your door occasionally. There may be people who come to belight Sabbath services occasionally. And they might want to tell you that they have a special mission from God. They are to teach, and they want to bring you materials to show you various materials.

Let's take a look at Ezekiel 13, starting in verse 4.

Ezekiel 13, verse 4. O Israel, your prophets are like foxes in the desert. You have not gone up into the gaps to build a wall for the house of Israel to stand in a battle in the day of the Lord. They have envisioned futility and false divination, saying, Thus says the Lord, but the Lord has not sent them.

Yet they hope that the word may be confirmed. They hope they're lucky enough that what they say comes to pass.

Brethren, if somebody comes to you, and they are not an ordained individual in God's church, or a representative of God's church, now a number of our sermonette men will not be ordained, but they have been sanctioned, they have been allowed by the ministry in the area to speak to you and to teach you. But if other people come to you and they say, Well, I want you to read this. Be very, very careful. I'm not trying to censor you here, but I am saying to you, be very careful. There's a lot of people out there with a lot of weird ideas.

Verse 7. Have you not seen a futile vision? Have you not spoken false divination? You say, the Lord says, But I have not spoken. Therefore, thus says the Lord God, because you have spoken nonsense and the vision lies, therefore I am deed against you, says the Lord God. My hand will be against the prophets who envision futility and divine lies. They shall not be in the assembly of my people, nor be written in the record of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter into the land of Israel.

Verse 9 is a verse that Gerald Waterhouse used to quote quite a bit, talking about, as we move from the great tribulation of the day of the Lord into the millennium, his feeling, that was his feeling, I'll use that as his speculation, was that no false minister would live through the great tribulation day of the Lord and enter into the millennium. If Satan and the demons aren't going to be there in the millennium, why should false prophets, false ministers, be? Stands the reason. Now, we don't know, you know, this is maybe that's what this verse means, maybe not. But I think there's some credibility that we can think that way about that verse.

Let's take a look at James chapter 3.

James chapter 3 verse 1. 1. My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, and that we shall receive a stricter judgment.

This is something you might want to remind people that come to you, they want to teach you, and they've not been ordained, they've not been set apart by the church by saying, okay, you can give sermonettes, or you know, you can go on visits, and so forth. People who just kind of set themselves up by their own authority, you'd be very careful of that. Why are they doing that?

Let's go back now to 1 Kings chapter 18.

1 Kings chapter 18 verse 42.

So Ahab went up to eat and drink, and Elijah went up to the top of Carmel, and he bowed down on the ground and put his face between his knees. So here Elijah is going to pray a fervent prayer.

It had not reigned in Israel for three and a half years. Now, as God said, it's time for rain to come. So God is going to listen to Elijah, again, this strengthening Elijah's faith, all these things that are strengthening his faith, the ravens, the widow lady, raising that little boy from the dead. That's the first example in the Bible of somebody being raised from the dead. Very first example. And what happened with the prophets of Baal? Now this. He's calling for rain. Verse 43. He said to his servants, Go up now and look toward the sea. So he went and looked and said, There is nothing. And seven times he said, Go again. He's wanting his servant to say, Is there rain clouds in the future? Are there rain clouds coming? And Elijah tells the servant, seven times. We don't know the gap of time here, but again, it shows persistence and prayer. Verse 44. Then he came to pass the seventh time. He said, There is a cloud as small as a man's hand, rising out of the sea. So he said, Go and say to Ahab, prepare your chariot and go down before the rain stops you. Again, the Ahab was worshiping was supposedly the God of rain. Yet that God didn't come through. The true God is about to come through. And as Ahab wanted to kill Elijah, Elijah's saying, You better hurry and go back to the palace. Otherwise, you're going to be stopped by the rain. You may even drown. Talking about being kind to one's enemies.

Verse 45. Now it happened in the meantime, the sky became black with clouds and wind and there was a heavy rain. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel. Then the hand of the Lord came upon Elijah and he girded up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

Now I don't know how Elijah was built, but any guy who girds up his clothing, kind of hikes up his robe there and takes off running, I'm sure a lot of cross-country teams would have liked to have had that guy. He outran a chariot and his horses. Again, something that would deepen his faith. Something that would not seem to be physically possible. Now, having said all that, all these things where this man is a tremendous man of faith, let's understand he was also a human being.

Last lesson we see in chapter 19, and that is God will comfort us in challenging times.

God will comfort us in challenging times.

Chapter 19, verse 1. In Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as one a life of them, by tomorrow about this time. So Elijah is threatened. In about 24 hours Jezebel says, and you are dead.

Verse 3. And when he saw that he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left a servant there. But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree, and he prayed that he might die, and said, It is enough. Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my father's.

A tremendous lesson there. All the things we've gone through, all the things he went through to deepen his faith, and now, as a man, he thinks that God can't protect him from this lady.

Think about your life. Have there been times in your life, or my life, when we doubted God was with us? And yet, shame on us. Shame on you. Shame on me. Think about all the times that God has been there for you and for me. All the answers, prayers, all the interventions, and we have the gall to say, Where are you, God? Well, Elijah did that. Let's put a marker here. Let's go back to James, Chapter 5, or over to James, Chapter 5.

Here's a section of Scripture we read all the time when it comes to anointing. But there's something else that's said here that we need to take note of.

James, Chapter 5, Verse 17 and 18. James, 5, 17. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours. He was a man with a nature like ours.

Just as he had doubts, we can have doubts. And he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain in the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.

But Elijah was a man with a nature like ours. So we see him here in Chapter 19 of 1 Kings, showing his nature, showing his humanness, showing a weakness. Even though he was a man of tremendous faith, our faith ebbs and flows. It's stronger some days than others. Most of the time when I'm anointing somebody, I ask God to increase that individual's faith, that they are showing faith. That's why they're being anointed. But please strengthen the faith, because faith ebbs and it flows. Now, from a practical, physical point of view, also remember something else.

Elijah, up to this point, had been under a tremendous physical strain. When you're under a tremendous physical strain, it does horrible things to the body and mind.

It can bring depression. It can bring any number of things that are stress-related. He may have been falling victim to this. It may be a natural consequence of what he had been going through. So remember that as you and I go through the coming year. That as you go through your share of trials and tests, it will weaken you physically. You may be the strongest person spiritually, but it will have a tendency to weaken you physically. So understand that. 1 Kings 19, verse 5. Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, Arise and eat. He needed sustenance. When a person is depressed, they need to be eating, and eating the right things. So is God here scolding him? God loves Elijah. He loves you. He loves me. There are some things here for him to learn. Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals and a jar of water. So he ate and drank and lay down again. Again. Maybe because of the depression he was feeling. He just didn't have much strength left in him. Verse 7. The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, Arise and eat because the journey is too great for you. So God is comforting him during a time of his weakness. During a time when he was puzzled. During a time when he felt he didn't have the answers. God can do that same thing for you and does the same thing for you and for me. Verse 8. So he arose and ate and drank and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as the mountain of God.

So Moses fasted for forty days and forty nights. Christ fasted for forty days and forty nights. And here is Elijah fasting for forty days and forty nights.

Verse 9. And there he went into a cave and spent the night in that place, and behold, the word of the Lord came to him and said to him, What are you doing here, Elijah?

Now, some of the biblical scholars, as they look at verse 9, they say it should be better translated than he went into the cave. There are some thought by some scholars. It's not universal, but some scholars think this is the same cave that Moses was allowed to see the back part of God. Very famous cave. We don't know. We could never know. We can ask out about that in a resurrection. But that's what some scholars believe. But basically, God gave Elijah a mission. And he's kind of off the beaten path and says, Hey, Elijah, what's up, guy? What are you doing over here? Verse 10. So he said, I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts. For the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant, torn down your alverest, killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they seek to take my life. Dare we say it? Elijah is having a pity party. You ever had a pity party? You ever had a pity party in your life? You know, the sad thing about pity parties is you're the only one who comes to it. You know, we can put our little hat on, have our little thing that we blow onto, and we're having a pity party. Notice, though, he says they have killed your prophets.

He tends to forget that he had just killed 450 prophets of Baal. So he's being very selective in what he's rehearsing before God. Do you and I tend to be very selective sometimes in what we rehearse before God? Oh, God, you're not doing this. You can't be doing this to me. Look at all I've done for you. We can never outdo what God does for us.

Verse 11. Then God said, Go and stand on the mountain before the Lord, and behold, the Lord passed by with a great and strong wind and tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in places before the Lord. God showing his tremendous power there. But the Lord was not in the wind. That's not how he chose to work. And after the wind and earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake of fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. So the idea being here is that God can do his work many powerful ways, eye-popping ways, but not all the time. End of verse 12. And after the fire, a still small voice. And the Bible doesn't say, and God wasn't in the still small voice. So God was in the still small voice. So God can work very powerfully in your life, or God can be a still, small voice. Let's not shorten the hand of God. So it was when Elijah heard it that he wrapped his face in his mantle, went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him and said, Elijah, what you doing here? So God returns back to his original question. God is not going to be deterred from getting something out of Elijah. Verse 14. And Elijah said, I have been very zealous. So Elijah repeats the same thing again. He's not getting it. He would eventually get it, but he's not getting it at this point. Verse 15. Then the Lord said to him, Go return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus, and when you arrive anoint Hazael as king over Syria, you shall also anoint Jehu the son of Nimshih as king over Israel, and Elisha the son of Zaphath of Abel Mullah, you shall anoint as prophet in your place. So God does something here that's very appropriate for somebody who may be facing depression. He gives them something to do.

If you and I are faced, if you and I are pity parties, if we are stalled on the tracks, if we're facing depression, don't let's not let it get to you or I. Let's not stall in the tracks. Let's get out there and do something. So, brethren, today we've taken a look at Elijah.

We've seen his need and our need to depend upon God for all things. We've seen four lessons to be learned that the lowly experiences of life prepare us for the lofty, Mount Carmel type of events. That was lesson one. Lesson number two. God will provide for us, and that provision will never fail those who trust in him.

Lesson number three. God expects us to faithfully do our part, then he will faithfully do his part. And lesson number four. God will comfort us in our time of trial. So this coming year, let's remember the life story of Elijah. I think that will stand all of us in very good stead.