Rev. David Holwick N The Life of Elijah, #1
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
April 15, 2007
1 Kings 17:1-7
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I. Super-Hero of the Bible.
A. Americans love Super-heroes.
1) I bought a sheet of stamps with famous comic book
super heroes on each one.
2) Little known facts:
a) Superman was a Methodist.
b) The Thing was Jewish.
c) Batman was either Catholic or Episcopalian,
but he lapsed.
d) Some you never heard of are Baptist, but we do
have Perry White, editor of the "Daily Planet."
So we have to settle with being Superman's boss....
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B. Elijah comes across as a Super Hero.
1) Many Christians are aware of his reputation for
miracles.
2) Greatest miracle - he didn't die.
a) He went up in a whirlwind, accompanied by a fiery
chariot.
b) (In the 1970's a guy wrote a book claiming Elijah
was abducted by an alien spaceship.)
c) Centuries later, Elijah appeared on a cloud-covered
mountain with Moses and Jesus.
C. At every Passover table last week, a place was set for a guest.
1) Jews set a plate for Elijah.
2) The children check the front door to see if he's there.
3) In many ways he is most important prophet, because he
prepares the way for the Messiah.
4) Like the Jews, Christians believe Elijah will return
in the future, just before the Tribulation period.
a) Jesus also said that John the Baptist was an
Elijah-like figure.
II. The human side of Elijah.
A. "Elijah was a man just like us." (James 5:17)
1) His background was very ordinary.
a) He was from Gilead, the area on the far side of
the Jordan River. It was sort of the Wild West.
b) His village was obscure and has been lost to time.
2) He had the same failings we have.
a) There were times he was afraid.
1> And because he was afraid, he ran away.
b) There were times he was discouraged.
1> So much so, he wanted to give up and die.
c) Elijah had the same needs and appetites as us.
1> The drought he predicted affected him as much as
it did everyone else.
B. Like us, Elijah lived in a pivotal period.
The nation of Israel had already been split in half, just like the
United States during the Civil War.
The southern part of Israel, known as Judah, continued to have David's
descendants for kings.
The king of the northern part, known as Israel or Samaria, was whoever
could seize the throne.
Every few years they would have a revolution and a new king would
take over.
Elijah lived in the North.
At this time the king of the North was Ahab and he was extremely
powerful and had the best army in the region.
It was also a very prosperous time.
Through military strength and a politically motivated marriage, Ahab was
at peace with most of his neighbors and they traded freely with him.
Ahab could afford fancy furniture that was inlaid with ivory.
His capital city of Samaria was the best constructed of any that
archeologists have uncovered in Palestine.
If you were rich and powerful, King Ahab's reign was a great time to
be alive.
The only area of weakness in Ahab's kingdom was religion.
You see, in order to have peace on his northern border, Ahab had married
Jezebel, whose father was the king of Lebanon.
Jezebel worshipped Baal, the god of storms and fertility.
She was a great pagan evangelist.
She brought four hundred and fifty priests of Baal into the country and
tried to make it the official religion.
Some Israelites converted, some did not.
Many were like King Ahab and believed in both religions.
Morality started to decline because people weren't quite sure what to
believe anymore.
Elijah was one of the few who knew exactly what he believed.
His name means, "Jehovah (or Yahweh) is God".
To Elijah, to say that Jehovah is God must also mean that Baal is not
God.
Toleration and compromise are great virtues when it comes to getting
along with people but there are some things that cannot be compromised
and our faith is one of them.
C. He acknowledged that his power came from God alone.
1) When he had God's power, he was very courageous.
2) At those times, he stood alone against a nation.
III. Elijah's first assignment from God.
A. The prophet bursts on the scene, unannounced.
1) Other prophets had visions or mentors to establish "cred."
2) Not Elijah.
a) He appears before a powerful king.
b) He announces a drought.
c) He gives no reasons for it, nor conditions for mercy.
1> They actually didn't need any.
2> The Bible had already given the reason.
[Deuteronomy 11:13-17]
Hundreds of years before Elijah's time, Moses told them:
11:13 So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you
today -- to love the LORD your God and to serve him with all
your heart and with all your soul --
11:14 then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn
and spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new
wine and oil.
So rain is a sign that their relationship with God is OK.
(Our storm this morning means we are super-blessed!)
But the reverse was also true:
11:16 Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship
other gods and bow down to them.
11:17 Then the LORD'S anger will burn against you, and he will
shut the heavens so that it will not rain and the ground
will yield no produce, and you will soon perish from the
good land the LORD is giving you.
B. Baal is being challenged.
1) Remember, Baal is the Canaanite god of storms.
a) But he cannot stop the drought.
2) Elijah's God is the living God, and he can send rain or
drought.
a) As it turns out, the drought lasts 3.5 years.
1> Jesus (Luke 4:25) and James (5:17) reveal this.
2> It is so dry there isn't even dew, which was an
important source of moisture for their crops.
b) According to James, Elijah prayed over this. Jam 5:17
1> His coming was sudden but his preparation wasn't.
2> Since 18:1 mentions it ending in the third year,
Elijah must have first prayed for six months.
A> He probably prayed not for rain or a drought,
but for revival among the people of Israel.
IV. Elijah's next assignment: run!
A. God directs him to flee to a remote area.
1) The brook, unknown today, was called Kerith.
2) As always, the prophet immediately obeys.
B. It is for his protection.
1) Ahab sent out search parties to all bordering countries.
2) Elijah is brave, but not stupid.
C. It is for his preparation.
1) Elijah had plenty of time to be alone with God.
a) There is a a movie showing in New York City right now
- a three-hour movie about Carthusian monks.
What makes it unique is that Carthusians don't talk.
At least, not much.
So the movie follows them as they pray, tend their
gardens, read.
All in silence.
The theater has had to extend the engagement because
so many people are flocking to it.
With all of our entertainment and stimulation, we
sense a need for solitude and quietness.
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b) We all need some alone-with-God time.
2) He had to learn to rely on God.
a) Like manna in the wilderness or Jesus multiplying
loaves of bread, Elijah was miraculously fed.
b) (Some want to make ravens into Arabs, but there is no
call for this. God can do miracles.)
V. What we can learn from Elijah.
A. God showed him one step at a time.
1) Elijah didn't know about Kerith until after he announced
the drought.
2) When the Apostle Paul was converted on the road to Damascus,
he asked, "Lord, what do you want me to do?"
God replied, "Go to Damascus and then I'll tell you what to
do."
3) Instead of worrying about the future, we should focus on
the situation that God has brought us to right now.
That's why Jesus taught us to pray, "Give us this day our
daily bread."
God's work is done a step at a time.
B. God's direction includes God's provision.
1) He provided for Elijah, and he'll provide for you.
Do you ever wonder if the Lord REALLY knows what you want
and need?
David Smallbone felt God leading him to promote Christian
concerts in his homeland, Australia, where only 5 percent
of the people believed in Christ.
When too few fans filled his seats during one major tour,
David took a $250,000 bath in red ink.
Creditors repossessed his home, and the father of six looked
for work elsewhere.
A top artist offered him a job in Nashville, so the
Smallbones sold their furniture and other possessions
and purchased tickets to the United States.
A few weeks after they arrived, however, David was informed
that his position was "no longer available."
He literally could not get out of bed for several days.
When he and his wife explained to their children what
happened, they all got on their knees and asked God to
help them.
Interesting things began to happen.
God provided bags of groceries, a minivan, and odd jobs.
Then the biggest surprise of all - a recording contract for
David's oldest daughter, Rebecca, age 15.
She recorded her first album using an old family name,
St. James.
Flash forward to today.
David promotes his own daughter's sold-out concerts.
One website that gives her biography says she won't accept
this statement herself, but Rebecca St. James is today's
most loved and respected international Christian
music artist.
Christianity Today magazine has named her one of the top
50 up-and-coming evangelical leaders under age 40.
All along - no surprise - God knew what he was doing!
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2) Do you have confidence that God can provide for YOU?
C. When God says "jump", jump.
1) Elijah knew that his God lives.
a) God is a God of the present, not just the past.
b) What God did through Elijah, he can do through you.
2) Elijah knew that God must be served.
3) Elijah knew that God must be obeyed.
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
Most of wider text sections are derived from an earlier sermon by me,
"Elijah and the Drought," September 23, 1984, Kerux Sermon #22014.
#13306 "God Knew What He Was Doing," by Luis Palau, from Sermon #16651
by Rev. A. Todd Coget in the Kerux Database.
#34330 "Religious Affiliation of Comic Book Super-(,"
http://www.adherents.com/lit/comics/comic_book_religion.html#pr.
#34384 "Into Great Silence," by Michael Schulman, New Yorker Magazine,
April 16, 2007.
These and 30,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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