“THE WORD OF THE LORD…IS THE TRUTH” (Outline)
June 21, 2009 --
PENTECOST 3 --
1 Kings 17:17-24
INTRO: It is important for us to know and believe in absolute truth. Jesus says, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life”. “There is no other way unto heaven except through me”. This is the truth. This truth is absolute. What is the point? The point is that today our society likes to say there is no absolute truth. It reminds us of the time when philosophers tried to promote their idea, “god is dead”. Today the modern world says, “Truth is dead”. Truth has been replaced with a moral relativism. People determine what is the basis of truth for them, individually. Our text today tells us something very different. Many try to deny and reject absolute truth. They cannot overcome the power of God’s holy word. "I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished" (MATTHEW 5:18). The world will perish but not the absolute truth of the word of the Lord.
“THE WORD OF THE LORD…IS THE TRUTH”.
I. We see death changed into life.
II. We see truth changing our lives.
I. WE SEE DEATH CHANGED INTO LIFE
A. Verse 17. This woman is the widow of Zarephath. The Lord sent Elijah to her to spare his life.
1. The Lord provided for Elijah. This widow was outside of God’s kingdom – not a Jew.
2. The woman blames God by blaming Elijah for her son’s death, verse 18. Elijah – man of God.
3. This widow was blaming Elijah for coming and bringing God’s attention upon their house.
B. Verse 19. God intended something greater than the son’s death. The woman listens to the man of God.
1. Elijah goes up on the flat roof of the house. Verse 20. Even Elijah questions God, “why?”
2. Elijah is curious about God’s will. Elijah continues, verse 21. Elijah prays.
3. This prayer is very simple and direct. Elijah prays what is in his heart and comes to his lips.
C. The son’s death is a great tragedy. He was to provide for his mother. Elijah prays in this tragedy.
D. There will be tragedy in our lives. At times we might forget the greatest power God gives us. It is the power of prayer. In normal day-to-day living we might even be tempted to forget to speak with our heav-enly Father. We need not wait until tragedy enters our lives to wake us up to the powerful importance of prayer. "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective" (JAMES 5:16). [In the next verses (17,18) James speaks of the success of Elijah’s prayers.] In faith the believer prays. The divine forgiveness that is of God and comes only from God is the greatest healing believers possess. This verse also encourages prayers for others. Believers would pray selflessly for others instead of selfishly.
E. The son of this widow died. Tragedy. Death comes upon all men. There is no escape. Some still try to deny there is any absolute truth. Our nation promotes healthy living. Everyone wants to have a long life. Death is the end to an earthly life. This is an absolute truth. The body wears out. Sickness overcomes. God gives us the reason. "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned" (ROMANS 5:12). Death comes because all sin. It is very simple: there is sin in this world and there is death. This is an absolute truth mankind tries to deny. There is death because of sin, because of man’s wickedness.
F. Our first lesson today (*below) tells us how sin came into the world. (Please take time to read the rest of the verses of Genesis 3.) “The soul that sins is the one who will die”. For the believer our earthly death is not death but eternal life. At death eternal life begins. "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life"(JOHN 5:24). We look forward to eternal life. It is also our present gift. The word of the Lord is the truth! Salvation is ours as a gift of God. Forgiveness is ours by God’s grace, mercy and love.
“THE WORD OF THE LORD…IS THE TRUTH”.
We see death changed into life.
II. WE SEE TRUTH CHANGING OUR LIVES
A. These were very bad, difficult times for Israel. God’s people and their kings had rejected God.
1. They worshiped false gods. Elijah warned them. They did not listen. A drought came.
2. There was no rain for 3 ½ years. The ravens fed Elijah. The brook Kidron dried up.
3. The widow gathered sticks for a last meal. Elijah revealed to her the Lord would provide.
4. The jar of oil and the flour did not run out. The Lord God mercifully provided for them.
B. But now the son dies and God gets the blame. The widow cries out. Elijah prays to the Lord.
1. Verse 22. The Lord listens and answers. The boy lives. God had provided once again.
2. Verse 23. Elijah returns the son back to his mother. God acts purely out of divine love.
C. Verse 24. God’s grace opened up the eyes of this woman. It took her son’s death to see, to believe.
1. All this time the Lord had provided in this land where there was nothing at all. God’s love.
2. When the son came back to life the widow finally declared, “Now I know…”
D. We probably are much more like this widow than we are willing to admit. We live a life that is filled with miracles. Instantaneous worldwide communication is a miracle. Space travel is a miracle. All these miracles are quite commonplace and seemingly ordinary in our modern world. We carry on with our daily living and may overlook God’s goodness. Too often we begin to think like the world. We might think that we have all the answers. Or the experts have all the answers. We begin to trust in others around us or in ourselves. "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understand-ing; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight" (PROVERBS 3:5,6). Often we consider tragedies as always bad. God makes all things work out for our good. We may not always be able to explain everything. God does hold some mysteries. Rather, we trust in God.
E. God uses his power to change things in this world. The power of God is not always easily understood. Simply put, we do not think like God. God’s ways and thoughts are higher than our ways and our thoughts. "But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong"(1 COR. 1:27). These words describe salvation. It seems foolish to think that a man dieing on a cross saves the world. It seems foolish to think that a body placed into a tomb is able to bring life. This is the foolish, weak thing that God did when he sent his Son to be our Savior.
F. The powerful truth of God’s word changes our lives to this very day. The Lord God Almighty has never left us nor forsaken us. God has never failed in a single promise or any promise that he has made to us. Day in and day we are kept safe in the hands of our Savior. Hands scarred with holes from the nail prints caused by our sins. We are blessed. "Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you" (ISA. 46:4).
CONC.: All around us the world is changing. It is changing for the worse. The word of the Lord, the powerful truth, changes our lives. “God is dead” was not true. “Truth is dead” is not true either. God’s foolishness and weakness is wiser and stronger than everything. We see death changed into life over and over in the Scripture. We see God’s truth changing our lives. "I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path" (PSALM 119:104,105). The word of the Lord is our light and our lamp. By God’s grace our lives are changed forever. “THE WORD OF THE LORD…IS THE TRUTH”. Amen. Pastor Timm O. Meyer
SERVICES: 1:00pm @ NCF Min. (Sat) / 12:00pm @ NCF Medium (Sun) / 9:30am @ Redeemer (Sun)
BIBLE STUDIES: TUES. -- 6:00pm (Min) + 7:30pm (Med) @ NCF / 10:55am @ Redeemer (Sun)
/ Sunday radio broadcast @ 9:05am on KQNK 106.7FM or 1530AM
PENTECOST 3 rdgs.:
*GENESIS 3:8-15;
2 CORINTHIANS 4:13-18;
MARK 3:20-35;
(PSALM 51)
