Getting Ready for the Last Supper
Sunday, March 13, 2011 PM
By Pastor James May
If there’s one prophet of the Old Testament that I love reading about it has to be Elijah. Here was a real man of faith and of power; at least most of the time. Like all the rest of us, Elijah had a few ups and downs in his ministry to the people of Israel; especially to King Ahab and Jezebel. Through it all though he was victorious and came to the end of his time on earth walking in the power of God and then stepped into chariot of fire and was raptured into Heaven without ever seeing death. One day he’s coming back according to most Bible scholars; in the last days during the Tribulation after the rapture of the church.
There is a song that’s popular today called “Days of Elijah” describing the spirit and power of Elijah that will be alive in the earth as we draw nearer to the end of days. Just in case you were wondering what the “spirit of Elijah” really means; it’s the power of the Holy Spirit moving in the earth to perform great works, signs and wonders among men in an attempt to draw them to Christ and reject the government and lies of the Antichrist.
Most say that Elijah will be one of the two witness of Revelation who will come back and have the power to call down fire out of Heaven to consume their enemies. That would be consistent with Elijah for one of his most noteworthy miracles was the fire that fell on the top of Mt. Carmel devouring the sacrifice.
But Elijah wasn’t always sitting on top of the mountain in his walk with the Lord. His powerful prophetic words against King Ahab would get him into “hot water” more than once.
Shortly after the miracle on Mt. Carmel, Elijah went to Ahab at God’s direction and gave Ahab some news that wasn’t very well received.
1 Kings 17:1 And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.
Can you begin to imagine just how angry it would make the king to say, “I stand in judgment of you and your heathen queen, and because you have disobeyed God, I have been given authority over the weather and I hereby declare that you will have three years of drought and famine in your kingdom, and it will not rain until I say so. Take that you ungodly rascal!” I can only imagine the fury that would rise in the king’s face and the promise of quick execution to anyone who say that. Ahab had spoken what God had said for him to do, but sometimes doing the will of God will lead us into a place of danger, just as it did for Elijah on that day.
You can only resist the devil so much; or rebuke his henchmen so long; and then you can expect a counterattack. Satan won’t give up easily and just when you think you’ve got him cornered, he’ll come at you from another direction. If you are going to go up against the powers of darkness; you better make sure that you have the Lord on your side.
1 Kings 17:2-3 And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.
The name Cherith means, “cutting; piercing; slaying” which tells us that if Elijah hadn’t cut and run, he would likely have been pierced and slain by King Ahab. Sometimes retreat is the better part of valor. To live and work another day for the Lord is more important than to stand and die because of pride. So Elijah ran into the hills to hide along the banks of the brook where he would have water to drink during the drought and be fed by ravens.
The idea of Cherith also means that this could have been the place in Elijah’s life where God would take him to cut away any pride of being a great prophet of God; a place where the heart of the prophet could be pierced to remind him that he was still dependent upon the Lord; and a place where the prophet’s ideas of being someone special could be slain once and for all. He was brought to realize that his only hope was now and would forever be, in God alone.
1 Kings 17:5, 6 So he went and did according unto the word of the LORD: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.
Now I don’t know about you but I might just begin to question God’s intentions right about now if I was in Elijah’s shoes. He was an obedient servant of Almighty God. He was a man of miracles and signs and wonders. He could call fire down out of Heaven to burn up his enemies so why did God have him hiding out?
Not only was this degrading and embarrassing to have to stay in hiding but I’d have to think twice about eating what a buzzard was bringing by twice a day. I know the scripture says “Raven”, but some scholars say it was actually Condors or buzzards and others say it really was Ravens. It doesn’t matter which one it was because Ravens, Condors and buzzards all eat the same thing – dead things that lie in the hot sun.
I’m telling you that it took faith in God to live off of dead flesh brought to you by buzzards or ravens. Yet that’s what happened and Elijah ate well during this time. The rest of Israel may have been in famine but Elijah was fed by God. While all of Israel suffered, Elijah grew fat and lazy, just ‘hanging out by the pool” at Cherith. This serves as proof to us all that we can get comfortable right where we are, no matter what the circumstances.
When we get used to the idea, and see that God is providing for us in the midst of our tribulation; we often get to the place where we just sit back and let God do his thing in our lives but have no desire to move on to something new.
I’ve been in places where it was truly miserable to work but because I did the same thing all the time; I got used to it. It wasn’t the best place to be but it was better than nothing and it paid the bills so God had to finally push me out into something else. I’ve heard some people say that when we were stuck in that little rental building on Highway 44, that perhaps God had to allow us to be burned out so that we would expand outward and reach for new and bigger things. I sometimes wonder if that isn’t true because I certainly had no idea how to do it otherwise.
I’ve even been in churches where it was getting miserable to go because it was just the same old thing week after week and nothing was happening that would be exciting, but we didn’t move simply because it had become a habit that was hard to break.
God always finds a way to get us to move when its time to go! Eventually God must move us out of our comfort zone.
1 Kings 17:7 And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.
Elijah’s vacation was over now. The Bible tells us that rain falls on both the just and the unjust. That goes for drought and famine as well. Elijah was now a victim of his own prophetic words. The water was gone. The ravens stopped coming and it was time to move on unless he wanted to sit there and just wish and pray for the water to return and the ravens to come back.
Christians can get that way can’t we? I’ve seen the times when I would be so stubborn and so comfortable right where I was spiritually that the desire to move on and get a deeper walk with the Lord just wasn’t there. My spirit would dry up and even though I went to church every time the doors were opened; I just didn’t seem to get fed by the preaching.
It wasn’t the preacher’s fault; and it certainly wasn’t because the Word of God was just as anointed as ever. The fault was within me. I was too satisfied; too complacent; too relaxed in my comfort zone.
God had dry up my spirit, cut off the Word and force me to move on before he could take me to the next step in my walk with him.
1 Kings 17:8,9 And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.
I wonder if Elijah didn’t think the same thing that so many of us might think today. All right, Lord! I knew you would come through for me! You’ve provided a rich widow just to take care of me because I’ve been such a powerful man of God. Get out the GPS partner, head toward Zidon.
Do you know Zidon means? It means, “hunting; fishing; venison”. Wow, not only was he going to get a rich widow to provide his every need, but he would be able to do all the fishing and deer hunting that he wanted to – the best of both worlds. Now that’s what I call a good place to retire Lord. I sure thank you for giving me this blessing.
The only problem was that we forgot to take into account what the meaning of Zarephath is. Zarephath means, “ambush of the mouth”. Does that give you a clue as to what is coming?
1 Kings 17:10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.
Elijah got up, brushed off the dust from the dry creek bed and headed for the land of fishing, hunting and the rich widow. As he came ever nearer to Zarephath, he began to suspect that this place wasn’t all it was cut out to be. The lake for fishing was dried up and all the game had long since departed for greener pastures. But at lease the widow was still there and here she came, picking up sticks to build a fire. Oh well, so much for the “rich” part. No rich widow would be picking up her own sticks. She would have hired a servant.
My first thought would have been, ‘Ok Lord, what did you get me into this time? Where’s the hunting, fishing and the rich widow? This sure isn’t my idea of a retirement paradise.”
Oh well, let’s make the best of it. Hey, widow, God said that you’re supposed to feed me, give me a free place to live and take care of me while I’m here, so let’s get started right now by you bringing me a drink of cool, clear water!
All I can say is that Elijah should be glad that he didn’t live in our day. He would probably have died of thirst waiting for a woman who was a stranger and a widow to bring him a drink of water., But customs were different in those days and she was obedient and went to get him a drink But that wasn’t all. Elijah decided to push his luck a little harder. If she’ll get me a drink, maybe she can bring me something to eat too.
1 Kings 17:11 And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand.
Oh, can you imagine the looks you’d get today? Daggers would shoot forth, and if she did bring the water and the cake I’d be leery about taking it. The first thought in our mind today would be, “Who’s this lazy bum, just walked in from the desert, seeking a handout. Can’t he see that I’m broke? Why don’t you just go get a job like everybody else? What makes you so special that I have to take care of you? Where’s your sign, “Will Work for Food and Drink”? If you won’t work then you shouldn’t eat… that’s what I’ve always believed.
1 Kings 17:12 And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.
I can picture this scene in the modern day. The widow just looks back at Elijah in disbelief. Who is this dark stranger? Why is he bothering me? Sir, can’t you see that there’s a famine going on? Where have you been living, under a rock somewhere? All I have to my name is these two sticks to rub together and build a fire. There’s so little food in the house that even the rats have moved on. I have enough flour and cooking oil for one flapjack and I certainly won’t give to a stranger when my son and I are starving to death. We are going in to prepare for our Last Supper and then get ready to face death.
1 Kings 17:13 And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.
Have you ever had someone say something to you that was cute but seemed to have no impact on your problem? I’ve heard people say something like, “call me if you need me” as they ran out the door to keep from getting involved. I’ve heard people say, “we’re praying for you” when you know full well they haven’t even remembered your name a week later.
Elijah looked at this widow on the brink of starvation, with no food and no hope, and says, “Don’t worry; be happy”, don’t fear, everything is going to work out somehow.
Now go make me that cake and bring me that water. She had just told him that she only had enough for one flapjack, and now he is insisting that she give it to him first.
Have you ever felt like that’s what God was asking of you? Have you ever felt like God was asking for everything that you had left? You’ve worked like a Hebrew slave all week long, you’re tired, worn down, weak and feel like there’s nothing left to give and then some preachers says, “hey let’s all get together and have fun day doing a jambalaya fundraiser”. You think to yourself, go have fund by yourself – I’m past going!
Maybe you’ve just spent your paycheck on bills and groceries and there’s just a few dollars left to last until the next payday and then you can sense the Holy Ghost saying, “put it all in the offering plate”. Now you can sense how that little widow felt.
Why did the widow do what Elijah asked? The anointing of the Holy Ghost was upon the words of the prophet and the words that he spoke brought faith alive in her heart; giving her a hope that she had long since lost. Here’s what Elijah said.
1 Kings 17:14 For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth.
I don’t know how you’re going to do it God, but here goes. I’m giving it all! I’m giving my last dollar, my last bit of energy – I’m going to obey God no matter what!
1 Kings 17:15, 16 And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah.
Because she obeyed God, the prophet, the widow and her son lived through the famine with all that they needed. “While others may have starved around them, and died from lack of water, these flourished because Jehovah Jireh, our Provider, was keeping His Word!
They never wanted for food, oil or water until the drought was over and the rains came again
Can we trust God that much? Can we trust God when it seems hopeless? Can we believe that God will answer and will not fail? It’s only when we have that kind of faith that we will see that kind of miracle of provision.
Now remember what I said before. Satan doesn’t give up easily and just when you think you have the problems in your life whipped, here he will come again with another attack.
1 Kings 17:17, 18 And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him.
Why would God preserve the life of the widow and her son through the drought only to let him die soon after? Have you ever questioned God, “Why me Lord? Why now God? What have I done to deserve this? What am I supposed to do now? I just don’t understand.” That’s just the way this widow felt too.
1 Kings 17:18 And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son?
God was sending this final test of faith to the widow. She had been obedient in providing for the man of God. She had worked diligently and faithfully. She had been a good mother to her son and a good friend to the ministry. It just seemed so unfair that she should suffer the loss of her only son, for then she would be a widow indeed, with no one to care for her again.
Elijah took the dead boy into the loft and stayed there with him, laying the body on his own bed. Elijah didn’t understand all that God was doing either, but he knew that God had his own reasons. Elijah knew that it was God that gives and takes away. It’s God that is our only source of life and nothing else.
The flour, water and oil couldn’t give live, only sustain what was already there. But this was beyond the power of man, or anything of earth. Now it all depended upon God and God alone.
Sometimes God will bring us into this kind of problem in our lives. It’s in those valleys of deepest despair and hopelessness that our faith is built. It’s when we have exhausted all means of solving our own problems and finally turn to God in desperation that we will get the answer we need. God is just waiting for us to get to the point that we will cry out to him in faith.
Elijah stretched himself upon the body of the boy three times and then cried out for God to bring him back. God heard that prayer and the soul was reunited with the body. The son of the widow was alive again.
The widow wasn’t totally convinced that Elijah was a true prophet of God even after the miracle of the flour and the oil. She was now convinced beyond any doubt that God was with Elijah, for only God has the power to raise the dead to new life.
I wonder what it will take for many people in the church today to really learn to trust God? What will it take to really believe that there is nothing impossible to him that will believe? We say we believe; but do we really? We say we trust; but do we really? Will it take God never allowing your children to starve and always providing what you need. God will do that. Will it take a power of the Holy Ghost in your life to raise the dead? You already have that power! All that we lack is the obedience and faithfulness of the widow to see mighty miracles come to pass. Let’s trust God together! Let’s not sit by the side and allow the Spirit of the Lord to be dry in us; but get on fire for God and stay there. Let’s continue working in faith and believing God for mighty miracles.
Elijah was a man of God, a great prophet, but he was still a man. God is no respecter of persons. If God used Elijah, he will still use men today to perform his mighty works. Let’s be a part of what God is doing in the earth. We all need the spirit of Elijah! When you feel like you are preparing for your last supper; hold on, trust God and watch him move. He is your Jehovah Jireh.
