The Route To Revival

“The Route To Revival”

Text: I Kings 17:8-22; Malachi 3:2-3

8And the word of Jehovah came unto him, saying, 9Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Sidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow there to sustain thee. 10So he arose and went to Zarephath; and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. 11And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thy hand. 12And she said, As Jehovah thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but a handful of meal in the jar, and a little oil in the 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. 13And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said; but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it forth unto me, and afterward make for thee and for thy son. 14For thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, The jar of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that Jehovah sendeth rain upon the earth. 15And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. 16The jar of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of Jehovah, which he spake by Elijah.

17And 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. 18And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? thou art come unto me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son! 19And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into the chamber, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed. 20And he cried unto Jehovah, and said, O Jehovah my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son? 21And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto Jehovah, and said, O Jehovah my God, I pray thee, let this child’s soul come into him again. 22And Jehovah hearkened unto the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived.

(slide 9) 2But who can abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fuller’s soap: 3and he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi, and refine them as gold and silver; and they shall offer unto Jehovah offerings in righteousness.

(Slide 10) 2But who will be able to stand up to that coming? Who can survive his appearance? He’ll be like white-hot fire from the smelter’s furnace. He’ll be like the strongest lye soap at the laundry. 3He’ll take his place as a refiner of silver, as a cleanser of dirty clothes. He’ll scrub the Levite priests clean, refine them like gold and silver, until they’re fit for GOD, fit to present offerings of righteousness.

I. Introduction

The story is a familiar one. Elijah has prophesied that there will be no rain. Famine is always a precursor and a setup for revival. There is a famine in the city. Examine the landscape of the city and I believe there is a famine. Hear about great churches, but don’t hear about great change. Hear about great programs, but don’t hear about great people. Same people who are a part of these great churches & programs still struggling with drink, drugs, homo, habits. I don’t want just a great church I want to see great change.

But as always God protects and provides for his messenger. God gives instructions for Elijah to go to the brook Cherith. At this brook God provides food and drink for a short period of time. Most commentaries estimate that Elijah resided here about 6 months. Then the Word of the Lord comes to Elijah and instructs him to go and DWELL in Zarephath. Notice the Word from God was not pass through Zarephath. Elijah was instructed to dwell there. You will remember that it did not rain for 3 ½ years. Therefore, if the commentaries are correct Elijah lived in Zarephath for approximately 3 years.