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James 5:13-18
Focusing on 2 verses here.
As James is speaking of prayer, effective prayer that God answers, he goes to Elijah.
And then he says, Elijah is like us.
So what does James mean.
After all what we tend to remember about Elijah are things like calling down fire from heaven, raising the dead.
Not things we tend to see or do very often.
James here even says when Elijah prayed the weather changed.
A power I think we all wish we had but, we don’t.
We may remember Elijah had a bout with depression, and I am sure we can relate to that.
James focus is the way Elijah prayed.
So, how can we be like Elijah?
Wasn’t he some super human holy man?
No. James says he had a nature just like us.
Some translations say he was a man like us.
So today I want to take a birds eye look at the life and ministry of Elijah.
And see if we can’t make this connection.
He takes up a good portion of 1 Kings 17-19
And the first thing about Elijah was
Elijah Learns Dependence 1 Kings 17:1-7
God has a training experience for each person that He intends to use.
This first part of Elijah’s story is his development.
Of his learning to depend, to trust God.
I would hope that every one of us in this room or watching online wants to be used by God.
However, before that can happen, we have some things to learn.
And God has designed ways for you to learn.
One I want to highlight today
There must be a time alone, in quiet where we are developed into a dynamic person.
You must build the inner man first, so we are not just an empty shell
Elijah means Jehovah is God so his name is a reminder
And as we said he is not some super human holy man.
Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead,
Elijah was from Tishbe in Gilead.
It was an obscure and solitary place that God reached down into and pulled out his next masterpiece.
(Eph 2:10) To say I will develop you and release you to display my glory.
We need to be reminded that before we can be trusted to stand on Mt Carmel and display the glory of God we must first go to Brooke Cherith.
Before God can use His servants, he must first train them.
THE SETTING
It has been a little over a generation since David and Solomon’s reigns filled the land with peace and prosperity.
Then, one by one, the kings of Israel sat on the throne and plunged the nation into darkness.
Religious, moral, and social rot destroyed the nation.
Just as Moses had faced Pharaoh and challenged the powers of darkness over Egypt, God would display His glory through Elijah to challenge Ahab and call His people to repentance.
It was a desperate time for the young nation.
Ahab rejected the ways of God.
How would you like this on your business card?
Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him.
God takes Elijah directly to the palace of Israel where he makes a prophetic announcement to King Ahab.
Elijah warns the ruling couple that a supernatural drought will fall over the land, and it will last until I say so.
And it lasted three years.
Why would God do such a thing?
Because on the throne sat wickedness personified.
And the people had followed along.
But no one confronts the royal couple and lives to tell about it.
Who does Elijah think he is to challenge the King of Israel?
What will God do?
Elijah has just announced judgment.
But God is always about restoration.
And when the people come out of judgment, they are going to need someone to lead them.
So God is getting Elijah ready for that role
Now the next word from God is to tell him to hide away.
God is in the process of developing Elijah the Tishbite into Elijah the Man of God, but to accomplish this Elijah must go to school.
Many times God cannot do in us what He wants to until He gets us alone.
He was sent there for two purposes for protection and preparation.
The King wanted him dead.
God wanted him ready.
God was planning this all along.
Before the need arose God already had the place provided.
When He formed the world He placed that little brook there for Elijah.
There was no panic in Heaven.
When God wants you to learn at His feet, don’t shrink back and chafe at the announcement that He wants you to be still before Him.
Be still and know that I am God.
(Psalm 46:10)
God is teaching us to trust Him one day at a time.
This can only happen if we are willing to be sequestered with God.
The idea of sequester comes from the legal field and means, “to cause to draw into seclusion.”
(Webster) It comes from the Latin word that means depository.
And that is exactly what God is doing to us during days of being hidden by His presence.
Deposits us someplace so He can deposit Himself into us.
We talk about this with the Worship Team
Nothing you do will matter, it is all wood hay and stubble if it did not come from this quiet place, where we met with God, and lived from the deposit He made in us
We may wing it, fake it, rest on our own skills and impress people.
If all we did was hone our craft and not our spirit we are in for a fall
It may impress people but it will never impress God
What is God trying to teach you?
Trust me
The Provisions of God 1 Kings 17:5-7
God used a bubbling brook and some ravens to care for His Prophet.
This is amazing because ravens are scavengers.
They feed off the flesh of the dead, yet God used them to bring food to His prophet.
1.
The ravens did as commanded
2. The brook continued to supply water during a drought
When the brook did dry up he sent him to Zarepeth to get some flour and water.
For Elijah it would lead to Zarepeth, where a little flour and oil would feed three for a longtime.
And Elijah would begin a miracle ministry.
God sent Elijah to the Brook Cherith for safety, for preparation, and for provision.
Do you have a place and time where we allow God to deepen your walk with Him, teach you how to follow His leading, and lean upon His provision and be satisfied?
To make His deposit?
Now, that is revolutionary thought.
God wants time alone with us so He can make that deposit.
He is building a man of God.
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