ELIJAH—A MAN OF LIKE PASSIONS
10 Praying for Rain
TEXT: 1 Kings 18:41-46
1 Kings 18:41-46 KJV And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain. [42] So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees, [43] And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times. [44] And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not. [45] And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel. [46] And the hand of the LORD was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.
I. INTRODUCTION—A MAN OF LIKE PASSIONS
-The half-brother of Jesus, James, was a man of prayer himself, in fact, the early church referred to him as old “Camel Knees” because of the time he spent on his knees in prayer.
-It is in his epistle that he gives us another swirl of paint to the portrait that shows us who Elijah really is. He writes it like this:
James 5:17-18 KJV Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. [18] And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.
-We are well aware that Elijah was a man who prayed earnestly because we can be sure that the prayer on Mount Carmel, even though a fairly short prayer, was prayed in fervent earnestness.
-But James adds in a description that we otherwise might overlook. James tells us that Elijah was a man of like passions. He was a man who experienced all of the emotions of life, its ups and downs, and the joys and despairs that come to every one of our paths.
-Just because you are a child of God does not remove you from having to weather the seasons of life. Elijah shows us his passions:
• In a passion of anger at Ahab.
• In a passion of scorn and contempt for the priests of Baal.
• In a passion of fury against the idolatry in the land.
• In a passion against the organized religion of Jezebel.
• In a passion of prayer and intercession for rain.
• In a passion of despondency under a juniper tree.
• Passions of fear and faith, of love and hate, of humility and contempt, and of victory and defeat.
-Elijah is a man who would experience a near agony in prayer before he would see the assurance of that prayer being answered.
-Elijah’s example proves to us that he is a man of fervent prayer.
James 5:16 KJV . . . The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
-Effectual prayer, clean prayer, and holy prayer was an earmark of Elijah’s life. To this point in Elijah’s life there are three prayers that have been recorded to show us he is a man of fervent prayer.
• He prayed it would not rain.
• He prayed for the life of the widow’s son.
• He prayed for the fire to fall from heaven.
• Now, he is praying for rain.
-He settles the great pattern in all of our lives, there is a necessity of prayer! There is a blessing of walking with God in places of continual prayer.
-When the fire had fallen on Carmel, it proved a testimony to his prayer and now the waters are going to speak on his behalf as well. But it will be a much harder matter to get rain that it was to get fire.
II. PRAYING FOR RAIN
A. Drought and Desire
-Elijah and all of Israel had endured 3 ½ years of no rain. The nation had become a brown, dry, and dusty waste land that has killed both man and beast.
-In the heart of this prophet, there was a deep desire of Elijah to see God move. All of the citizens of Israel whether on God’s side or Baal’s side had at least been moved at times by a deep desire for God to show His glory.
• The glory of the rain
• The glory of His kindness
• The glory of an opening to relief
• The glory of abundance after a long drought
-All of the people of God have been in times like that when they just desired for God to pour out a rain that start putting life back together again.
• Doors to open for greater spiritual opportunities
• Marriages to be healed
• Families to come together
• Blessings to take place where grace was needed the most
• Victory to come over persistent and besetting sins
• Power to be released from the grip of dark habits that destroy
-Could any of us still serve the Lord in a long 3 ½ year drought? Droughts like these test our commitment, our courage, our resolve, our understanding and our faith. But deep down within if there is a desire to really see the Lord work out a matter in your life, your church, your family, or for a great revival, the drought cannot even begin to stand against the desire!
B. Ahab and Elijah—A Paradox of Spiritual Extremes
1 Kings 18:41-42 KJV And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain. [42] So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees,
-There are two men who have known each other fairly well for the last 3 ½ years. We probably would not be going too far to say that both men hated what each stood for. There is a paradox of spiritual extremes that you will find here. I dare say that all men fall into the category of either being an Elijah or being an Ahab.
-Ahab had witnessed the fire falling from heaven and had seen the prophets of Baal being slain right in front of him. Ahab was a very weak leader who allowed his wife to rule the kingdom from behind the scenes. He was a man who was severely lacking in his character. He was governed by his outward circumstances and had the heart of a chameleon more that he had the heart of a kingdom. He just changed his colors to adapt to what he was around.
-The cry of the people on that day, “The Lord, he is the God! The Lord, he is the God!” had resounded in his soul. They had made an impression on him in such a way that when the prophets of Baal were being destroyed, he had enough of a feeling of revival in him not to oppose the action of Elijah.
-He may have even thought that it was a bit exciting to feel the Spirit of Jehovah settling back in on the nation for a while but that feeling did not change his heart. He was moved for a time by emotion but it all came to nothing! Don’t allow that trait to settle in on your life. . . when the Spirit of the Lord is moving on you, allow it to change you and not just entertain you!
-Because he was like that, Ahab could go on as if nothing had really taken place in his life at all. I want to fight against that kind of thing taking place in my own life! We cannot go to all of the spiritual events that this generation supplies to us and it never move us into a place of real deep and lasting change! We have to be moved on by the Holy Ghost just like the holy men of old were!
-Elijah had a sense of spiritual discernment and he ferreted out exactly what was taking place in Ahab’s life. He knew his spirit and so he goes over him and suggests to him that he just go and “eat and drink.”
-The prophetic always senses the pretender and it can see the fleshly, carnal drives that live in every Ahab. Elijah was only testing him to see if he would take the advice and go and eat and drink. This is the same Ahab who was more worried about his stock getting food than about the people dying in a famine. He wanted his animals to have food and water but was not too worried about the people getting food and water.
-Ahab is a man who is ruled by his flesh. This command to go and eat and drink both revealed who he was and rejected his ultimate place in the kingdom. This was not the only act that rejected him but he was identified as the worst king Israel ever had.
-When a man is dominated by his fleshly passions he will be disqualified for spiritual service. Here was a man who could witness the very power of God and still have no higher spiritual aspirations that just to be satisfied with a Big Mac, fries, a Coke, and an apple pie.
-As Brother J. R. Ensey would say to us in class at times. . . A word to the wise is sufficient. This is a word to the wise. . . What kinds of things do those around you say after a great outpouring of the Holy Ghost? A moving message, a stirring service, a serious altar call, or a great song leading toward worship has no effect on those who are dictated by their fleshly desires.
-Ahab seems to say. . . “Let’s hurry up and move on to the next thing!” This spirit and attitude will cut off and cool down the spiritual fervor of a church and an individual.
Isaiah 5:11-13 KJV Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them! [12] And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the LORD, neither consider the operation of his hands. [13] Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honourable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst.
-But Elijah says something else to him. . . I hear the sound of the abundance of rain! The wind may have been stirring in the trees or Elijah may have smelled the rain on the way.
-Elijah’s faith detected the rain that was on the way. The flesh cannot detect such an occurrence. Carnality will never hear what faith can hear! He could not even have described it to Ahab because he never would have grasped it.
There was a time years ago when I got a back-breaking job of picking tomatoes one summer. On one of those days, I was in the field and watched as a summer rainstorm began to approach us. Long before the rain got to us, you could feel the wind and you could smell the rain. Perhaps that is what Elijah was experiencing.
-Every preacher can learn something from Elijah. Even after the great victory on Carmel, he gave himself to prayer for a greater victory. Baal’s prophets have been destroyed but now there is a need for a refreshing rain.
-Preparation before service is important but what we do after the service serves just as important as a role.
C. The Great Power of Interceding
-Elijah heard the sound of the rain. The Hebrew word that his used here is GESHEM. That is not just a small shower or a rainstorm but one that would refresh Israel after a long 3 ½ year drought.
-Here is the great lesson for intercessors: Just because you have the sound of rain in your ears. . . that is not enough. The sound of the rain is a call to prayer!
• The sound strengthened his faith and his hope.
• The sound was enough evidence that something was about to take place.
• The sound was where he could sense that God was working.
• The sound was the reality that rain had to be prayed into its place.
-I am certain that if you are in way spiritual at all that you have been in that place before. You could hear and sense that there was an abundance of rain but you could not see it just yet. But despite that, the intensity of the prayer meeting never seemed to capture us. . . that has to change!
• Ahab goes to eat. . . Elijah goes to pray!
• Ahab is looking for the buffet. . . Elijah is looking for the rain!
• Ahab needs his royal chair to sit in. . . Elijah is looking for a prayer bench to kneel before.
-The Bible gives us an apt description of Elijah’s posture in his prayer. 1 Kings 18:42. . . He cast himself down upon the earth, and put his head between his knees.
-That was the posture of prayer for him as he began to attempt to move heaven. . . Have you ever really prayed out of a sense of poverty, weakness, need, crying out, and pouring out?
-It is the will of God that this scene was placed in the Holy Scriptures! It shows us how we are to reach up and pray in our closets of prayer! A driving desperation that pushes us to the very edge of heaven is what is needed in our day.
-You can’t approach God with a sense of how good you are or how much value you have to the kingdom of God when you pray in this way. God works with weakness.
1 Corinthians 1:26-29 KJV For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: [27] But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; [28] And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: [29] That no flesh should glory in his presence.
-There is much power in righteous praying! It was indeed a prayer of faith (James 5:15) that Elijah prayed. Don’t’ limit the prayer of faith just to those who are sick but encompass the prayer of faith for every prayer that you will pray!
-Because we know the answer is available we cannot ever allow prayer to go to sleep in the church! It is a privilege for us to be able to pray.
• Pray in the Spirit
• Pray in the Holy Ghost
• Pray and build up your most holy faith
• Pray with power
-Take a look at Elijah. When he was standing before the people, he was bold, anointed, and a powerful ambassador for the Lord. But now when it is just Elijah and God, the picture drastically changes. He is now a weak, poor man who wasn’t much better than a worm.
-After he had prayed for a while, after he had wrestled for a while, he sent his servant to take a look but there was nothing that appeared to him. This tells us that one of the most challenging works of prayer is our own persistence in doing what is right!
-What if the Lord simply answered everything we prayed for with a simple “yes” when we got down to pray? What if God’s treasures were to come to us at our first request every time?
-It would lead to idolatry because before too long, our prayers would be consumed on us and would never really reach the true purpose of prayer at all.
-Despite not seeing the immediate answer, Elijah did not get weary in his prayer because we can see that he did not stop praying. Don’t ever let your faith give up no matter what your outward circumstances may seem like. Elijah’s lack of answered prayer simply caused him to turn on the afterburner.
-Some of the most blessed places on this earth are those places where there was a great delay, a great prolonged battle in prayer, a great and valiant effort where a saint of God was spent in prayer!
• Our carnal resistance goes out!
• Our rebellious nature dies out to God’s will!
• Our soul suddenly senses the value of submission!
• Our heart is thoroughly broken up!
• Our mind becomes a prepared place for the good seed of the Word!
• Our soul magnifies the Lord!
-If you want spiritual power, you will of absolute necessity have to have some prayer experiences like Elijah had!
-Micah Stampley wrote a song that Indiana Bible College sings. . . Heaven on Earth:
Heaven, Heaven on Earth!
The spirit of the Lord is upon me,
His anointing is empowering,
The kingdom of the Lord is within me,
And He's calling me to the Heavenlies.
[Chorus:]
To be seated in heavenly Places,
Just like Heaven, Just like Heaven on Earth!
To be walking in His favor and grace is
Just like Heaven, Just like Heaven on Earth!
Heaven, Heaven on Earth!
Heaven!
Marching in the spirit of unity,
To our community show His ability,
The will of the Lord for His children
Is to demonstrate, perpetuate
[Chorus:]
To be seated in heavenly Places,
Just like Heaven,
Just like Heaven on Earth!
To be walking in His favor and grace is
Just like Heaven,
Just like Heaven on Earth!
Listen!
Something’s moving, Something Changing,
See His glory feels like Heaven on Earth.
Something’s moving, Something's Changing,
See His glory feels like Heaven on Earth
Something’s moving, Something's Changing,
See His glory feels like Heaven on Earth.
Something’s moving, Something's Changing,
See His glory feels like Heaven on Earth
There is lightning and thunder,
Miracles and wonder,
Sound of many waters,
Heaven on Earth!
D. A Little Cloud
1 Kings 18:43-45 KJV And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times. [44] And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not. [45] And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel.
-The messenger came back the last time and told Elijah that he saw a cloud the size of a man’s hand. It is just a little answer but it will have a huge return to it. When revival does come and when the rain does show up it makes all the difference in the world.
-The Syro-Phoenician woman saw more than just crumbs falling from the table. What looked like crumbs to everyone else looked like a royal meal to here because she was looking through the eyes of faith. What some see as crumbs the spiritual man will see as a feast. . . What looked like a man’s hand was a cloudburst to Elijah!
-Persistent faith will always honor the smallest crumbs and the smallest clouds.
III. CONCLUSION
Some personal references were used after this message. . .
Philip Harrelson
January 28, 2016
