Elijah Learns Lesson In Faith

Title: “Elijah Learns to Grow in his Faith” Scripture: I Ki. 17:8-16

Type: Expository Where: GNBC 10-15-23

Intro: Often our personal testing in the Christian life is used by the Lord to help meet the needs of others. I don’t think there’s a better example then that of Joni Erickson Tada. Over 50 years ago an athletic, talented, high school senior dived into a lake and broke her neck. Instantly her life was changed. Instantly she went from have full range of use of her body to being a quadriplegic. Without a doubt this was a time period of intense personal testing for a young woman. However, out of that personal testing, literally millions of people with and without physical or developmental disability have been blessed and had needs met because of Joni’s “accident”. Never lose sight of the fact that the very same events that test us can be used by the Lord to minister to others. In other words, our trials often become tools God uses to minister to others the power of Christ and the reality of God in the lives of others. This is what we see today in the life of the most famous of the OT prophets, Elijah. Christlikeness means that even in our pain we are to think of others and how God may want to use us, even in our trials, for His sake. Our culture is completely focused on self today. What’s best for me? My career, my happiness, my security, my significance, my preference…The Christ speaks to this and says “Lay down your life for me and for your brother.” In order to do this, we must grow in our faith in the trials of life. \

Prop: Let’s Learn 3 Important Lessons of Faith as we Look to the Life of Elijah.

BG: 1. This is the 2nd major test of faith in the life of Elijah. God had uniquely provided for his needs for a period of time as he was alone near Cherith, east of the Jordan River, after challenging the evil king Ahab of the northern Kingdom of Israel.

2. Events taking place sometime around 870-860 BC.

3.

Prop: In IKi. 17 we’ll realize three lessons of faith in the life of Elijah.

I. The Lord Speaks – Communication vv. 8-9

A. The Lord Speaks to His Listening People.

1. 1 of the Most Important Lessons in Learning to Live By Faith is Realizing God Speaks!

a. Notice the word that begins v. 8 “Then”. – Hebrew is a conjunction. It is a connective word in the sentence. It is linking the past events of vv.1-7 to what is going to begin new now.

b. You see, back in vv.1-7 we see that for some time the prophet had been peacefully dwelling by the brook of Cherith. God had been faithful in providing for His prophet’s needs. This had been a season of solitude for Elijah, but now the Lord is about to push the prophet out of this place. The Christian can experience God’s solitude and peace and rest, but often He is only allowing this for a season and is using it in the believer’s life in preparation for a greater ministry or service.

2. God is about to change and direct what the Prophet was doing and how he had been provided for.

a. We see in the passage that God used both natural and supernatural means to supply for the prophet while he sat sidelined in solitude. The Lord used the natural means of the water from the brook and the supernatural, the ravens who brought the prophet bread and meat. However, over a period of time, God’s provision began to literally dry up as the brook’s levels dropped lower and lower until finally it was dried up!

b. There is a lesson of application in even this section for us. The moment God’s one source of provision dried up he directed the prophet to a new means of provision. Illust – I am theologically, fiscally, and politically a conservative. I would like to think that God is too, but I am not so sure He always is! Conservatives never really want change, but God is all about change. We look at a situation and think that situation should never change. The way we do life, church, relationships, etc. should never change. Yet, here we see that God is changing how he is providing for the prophet’s most basic needs. Illust – Now most of us would have started crying and complaining that the brook dried up…possibly so much that we would have missed the “Then the word of the Lord came to him.”

B. Faith is Precipitated on the Fact that God Clearly Communicates to His People. Vv.8

1. Elijah only moves after hearing from the Lord.