Pastor Jonah Sage preached from 1 Kings 17:1-16 in our “Fall of the House of David” series. He said that if God says it, he will do it. Lector: Lindsey Blair DUE TO TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES WE COULD NOT BRING YOU THE MAJORITY OF THIS SERMON. However we believe this clip will challenge and encourage you.
Pastor Jonah Sage preached from 1 Kings 17:1-16 in our “Fall of the House of David” series. He said that if God says it, he will do it. Lector: Lindsey Blair DUE TO TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES WE COULD NOT BRING YOU THE MAJORITY OF THIS SERMON. However we believe this clip will challenge and encourage you.
Text: 1 Kings 17:1-16
Title: The Rise of Elijah
Big Idea: If God says it, he will do it
It is my joy to announce to everyone here that "if God says it, he will do it."
Others may say it, but they won't do it.
Those Democrats say it, but they don't do it.
Those Republicans say it, but they don't do it.
Your boss said it...you'll get that raise in the Fall. A promotion after New Year.
But they don't do it.
The contractor, your spouse, and even your pastor said it...
People say it, but saying it is so easy, isn't it?
It's easy to say, "I will love you for better or worse," because no one says it thinking "for worse" might actually happen.
We make promises to our children, to our friends, to our church family and coworkers...
And the words are easy.
"I'm sorry," "I repent," "I'll never"...oh, it's so easy.
Is there not some part of you that longs to know someone who actually does what they say?
They come through, they follow through, they're reliable and trustworthy and safe
Listen to me: If God says it, HE WILL DO IT.
You'll need to know a few things about this, though.
First, you gotta know that you won't always see it coming.
God doesn't necessarily put his provision on your calendar.
In other words, there will be some waiting involved.
You don't have to look far in the Bible for this.
Last week, we said the story now is more about the RISE OF PROPHETS
Because the kings keep failing, idolatry, assassination, rebellion, civil war, etc.
And these prophets just appear.
Just like the unnamed man of God in 1 kgs 13 shows up without warning or introduction to confront the idolatrous king Jeroboam, another prophet shows up here as if he blew in on the wind.
Now Elijah...told King Ahab...
-1 Kings 17:1
Elijah just...appears in the story. At the very center of the story no less.
A prophet blows in on the wind of God to confront the king...
We are being shown who prophets are and what they do.
They bring correction and rebuke to kings so the people of God might flourish.
The prophets remind us that IF GOD SAID IT, HE WILL DO IT
Here's what God said to the wicked king Ahab:
As surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives...there will be no dew or rain during the next few years until I give the word!
-1 Kings 17:1
Ahab is rolling along as king of Israel. Twenty. Two. Years. Ahab reigns.
Idolatry. Worshiping at Asherah poles. Decades of sin and wickedness.
And then, in an unexpected instance, GOD TURNS OFF THE RAIN.
There are a couple of things worth noting about this...
First, is obviously how WILD this is...no rain? Not even DEW? For YEARS?!
The scale of the miracle would make it so difficult to believe
But notice the faith of Elijah...he's calling down judgment that would affect him too
Elijah is not exempt from the effects of this.
But Elijah believed that if GOD SAID IT, HE WOULD DO IT
If God says the rain will get turned off, it'll get turned off.
If God says he will make a way for you, he will make a way for you:
Then the Lord said to Elijah, "Go to the east and hide by Keith Brook...Drink from the brook and eat what the ravens bring you, for I have commanded them to bring you food."
-1 Kings 17:2
If you're reading along at home, pay attention to how often food and water are mentioned in Elijah's ministry.
What's more, pay attention to how concerned God is with people getting food.
Isn't that something? You'll find God's commitment to caring for his people repeatedly.
Because if God says it, he will do it.
God says to drink from this little stream...and birds will come to feed you.
Elijah says "bet" and does it. He just...goes. Isn't that wonderful?
If you believe God will do what he says, you will find yourself on incredible adventures...conversations, relationships, risks...
God will say, "Birds will bring you food," and you'll say, "I wonder what they'll bring."
So Elijah did as the Lord told him and camped beside Kerith Brook, east of the Jordan. The ravens brought him bread and meat each morning and evening, and he drank from the brook. But after a while the brook dried up, for there was no rainfall anywhere in the land.
1 Kings 17:5-7
Remember: what God said would happen would happen to Elijah, too
His source of water dried up because it wasn't raining.
Do you think Elijah ever felt thirsty?
This is an obvious yes. Elijah was a prophet...not a robot.
Do you think he felt the effects of the drought? YES.
As long as humans live in a world of limitations and consequences, we will experience difficult realities.
Sometimes, waiting for God to do it will be painful...if not physically, then certainly emotionally.
The time between the promise made and fulfilled is often, OFTEN, a time of pain
You have to know this. You have to see this reality repeated over and over in the Bible. Too many of us are poor interpreters of our pain.
Most of us have become just a little too soft or surprised when life under the sun is hard, uncomfortable, or painful.
Elijah is thirsty. Elijah is feeling the effects of judgment against a wicked king.
But if God says it, he will do it.
Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow...maybe we will see the provision coming, but listen: most of the time, MOST OF THE TIME, God answers prayers and promises in a way that leaves us saying, "WHO BUT GOD WOULD DO THIS."
The Lord said to Elijah, "Go and live in the village of Zarephath, near the city of Sidon. I have instructed a widow there to feed you."
-1 Kings 17:8-9
Notice again God's concern with Elijah's food.
The second time Elijah is miraculously provided food...more to come.
And it's such a strange provision.
When you go down the list of people with extra food during severe drought, is a widow on that list?
This is crazy, you guys. And it gets crazier. Elijah goes to the town, finds a widow, and asks for water and a little bread.
For the astute reader, pay attention to how often water and bread come up in the life of Elijah!
Listen to what she says:
But she said, "I swear by the Lord your God that I don't have a single piece of bread in the house. And I have only a handful of flour left in the jar and a little cooking oil int he bottom of the jug. I was just gathering a few sticks to cook this last meal,and then my son and I will die."
-1 Kings 17:12
Vulnerable widow...who is so hungry she's near death.
She basically says, "Me and my son were going to lick this wet spoon and die"
the prophet of God calls judgment down on a wicked, evil king.
But God promises to make a way, so he's fed by birds and a stream.
The judgment of God on a wicked king brings pain to the entire country.
Like last week, the king's sins affect everyone he's supposed to care for.
But God promises to make a way, so Elijah is sent to a widow.
She has nothing left. Literally on the verge of death by starvation...and this is God's miraculous provision?
Did you notice SHE IS NOT EXPECTING HIM?!
She didn't know she was God's provision, and she didn't know she was part of the plan!
See, here's a big difference between God and most of our earthly leaders.
When something good happens, earthly leaders lift themselves up.
I'm the greatest. I'm the best. Look at me! Look at what I've done!
Earthly leaders, like the wicked leaders of Kings, want to be seen and adored.
They want to take credit and be celebrated.
But woe to these leaders; they are wicked and will be judged.
The prophets, truly godly leaders, don't want the spotlight; they want God.
Elijah follows; he does not lead. Can you see it?
Elijah cannot stand up and say, "AH YES! MY PLAN TO ENDURE DROUGHT AND FAMINE BY HAVING RAVENS FEED ME AND A WIDOW DYING OF STARVATION!
On paper, the plan looks ridiculous.
But when you see it happen, you think, " Who but God could do this?"
But Elijah said to her, "Don't be afraid!...this is what the Lord,the God of Israel, says: There will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers until the time when teh Lord sends rain and the crops grow again!"
-1 Kings 17:13,14
If God says it, he will do it.
The widow did just what Elijah said, and just what Elijah said happened.
I'm pleading with you to see Elijah's simple dependence.
Can you imagine how clarifying this could be for you to follow in Elijah's steps?
Love your enemies. That's it. Do that.
Pray for those who persecute you. Do that.
Do you see how simple? It doesn't have to be nearly as complicated as we make it.
If God says it, he will do it...so follow him.
Will it make sense? Of course not! The Bible explicitly tells us it won't make sense.
Look with me:
Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. It is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. When we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it's all nonsense...This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God's weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.
-1 Corinthians 1:21-25
What kind of God would use ravens, streams, and widows to feed a prophet?
The same God would be revealed as a child, heal as a doctor, suffer as a servant, die like a criminal, and be raised like a king.
You won't necessarily see God's provision coming; it may not be obvious, but that doesn't mean it isn't coming!
Do you realize how exciting that makes every day, every prayer, every problem?
If God says it, he will do it.
He said he'll never leave you...how will I see him today?
He said he hears you when you pray, he says you can come BOLDY to the throne of mercy, he says he's gone to prepare a place for you, and he says he will come back to get you.
If God says it, he. Will. Do it.
Let's pray.