1June 3 2007

Let’s talk about

Elijah

Matthew 17:1-3Matthew 17:1-2…  1 Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; 2 and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. 3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.

We might also ask a few questions about Elijah...

Why did he appear with Moses and Jesus?Out of all of the OT prophets who could have appeared, why was it Elijah?, why hiElijah was certainly a remarkable individual...1. "the grandest and most romantic

character that Israel ever produced.“

2. "mightiest of all the prophets" 3. "the most eminent of the prophets"

Elijah: a man with a nature like ours

James5:17… “17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.

We saw last time that Elijah was being fed by the birds of the air and that he trusted in the word of God…He never doubted when God spoke to Him.

1 King 17:1-3

God's care of Elijah

With the widow of Zarephath

1 King 17:8-9

NORTH

SOUTH

1 Kin 16:29-33Remember please that

the Kingdom is now divided; this Ahab is the son of Omni, the son of Jeroboam,

the son of Solomon the son of David. He did evil in the sight of the Lord and God is very displeased.

•This is wrong. I made a mistake I got a little confuse with the names..

NORTH

SOUTH

1 Kin 16:29-33Ahab is the son of

Omni, the son of Jeroboam, There is no relationship in between Ahab and Solomon…

This evil king has nothing to do with David’s dynasty.So God commanded Elijah to come and see Ahab…

ELIJAH, HIS MINISTRYELIJAH TALKS TO AHAB AGAIN BY THE WORD OF THE LORD

1 Kin 18:1, 2… “1 And it came to pass after many days that the word of the LORD came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, "Go, present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth." 2 So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab; and there was a severe famine in Samaria.

The Challenge at Mount Carmel.

Elijah challenges the false gods of Ahab and proved to all Israel that God is God and there is no other God besides the one from heaven and earth…

After the challenge and the victory, the prophet of God falls into some kind of anxiety…

1 Kings 18:19-20

1 King 19:1-3… “1 And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, "So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time." 3 And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.

A WOMAN CHASES THE STRONG PROHPET FROM THE LORD…

Elijah running away from a woman? This was not a regular woman…This woman was servant of Satan an evil woman in every aspect…

She was leading her husband and also she was the one in charge of all the idolatries that Israel was practicing in the days of Elijah!

The county was being rule by Jezebel, Ahab was only a puppet!

Elijah in a cave!1 King 19:4-10… “4 But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, "It is enough! Now, LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!" 5 Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, "Arise and eat." 6 Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again. 7 And the angel of the LORD came back the second time, and touched him, and said, "Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you." 8 So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God. 9 And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" 10 So he said, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life."

“11 Then He said, "Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD." And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake;

1 King 19:11

As God passed by, the splendor and majesty of all the great forces of nature were crashing all around Elijah. First a mighty wind tore rocks from the face of the mountain, and then an earthquake shook the mountain, and then a fire raged up the mountainside. But in each of these awesome displays of power it says God was not in the wind, and God was not in the earthquake, and God was not in the fire. Sometimes when we are searching for answers, we look toward the spectacular for God’s presence. We seek him in an awesome display of majesty and power. But sometimes God does not send us a magnificent display of might. Sometimes we must wait for the storms to pass by before we can find God.

12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. 13 So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" 14 And he said, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life." 15 Then the LORD said to him: "Go, return on your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; and when you arrive, anoint Hazael as king over Syria.

1 King 19:12-15

Here is where Elijah found God – in a still small voice.

Where are you looking for God? Are you waiting to hear a thundering voice from heaven? Are you waiting for God to send down fire on your enemies? Are you waiting for God to send the wind to split the rocks of your problems? For Elijah, God was not in any of those displays of power. It was only after the crash and terror of these events had subsided that Elijah could make out the still, small voice of God. Are you listening for that still, small voice? Or are you searching for God’s power in a supernatural display? We need to learn how to listen for that quiet voice speaking to our hearts.

Elijah the prophet of Fire

God has been close to Elijah, the man of God has also been close to God and Israel now has a new king. This time the king is Ahaziah this man was very ill and in his desperation he sent messengers to inquire about his sickness to Baal Zebub one of his idols…The Lord anger was so great that he sent Elijah with a message for this and this is the message…

2 King 1:1-8… “1 Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab. 2 Now Ahaziah fell through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria, and was injured; so he sent messengers and said to them, "Go, inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this injury." 3 But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, "Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them, 'Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?' 4 Now therefore, thus says the LORD: 'You shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.' " So Elijah departed. 5 And when the messengers returned to him, he said to them, "Why have you come back?" 6 So they said to him, "A man came up to meet us, and said to us, 'Go, return to the king who sent you, and say to him, "Thus says the LORD: 'Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.' " ' " 7 Then he said to them, "What kind of man was it who came up to meet you and told you these words?" 8 So they answered him, "A hairy man wearing a leather belt around his waist." And he said, "It is Elijah the Tishbite.“

Was Elijah a man of God? Absolutely and God will not leave his prophet alone, over and over God proved that his servant was true and that he was speaking on his behalf…

Ahaziah sent messengers to call Elijah but Elijah is not in the position to come down…Again this is the same man who:

Appeared with Lord Jesus.The man who stop the rain for 3 years and 6 months.The man who was fed by the birdsThe man who brought back to life the son of the widowThe man who kill 450 prophet of Baal.The man who hid in a cave…

1 King 1:9-15… “9 Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty men. So he went up to him; and there he was, sitting on the top of a hill. And he spoke to him: "Man of God, the king has said, 'Come down!' " 10 So Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, "If I am a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men." And fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. 11 Then he sent to him another captain of fifty with his fifty men. And he answered and said to him: "Man of God, thus has the king said, 'Come down quickly!' " 12 So Elijah answered and said to them, "If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men." And the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. 13 Again, he sent a third captain of fifty with his fifty men. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and pleaded with him, and said to him: "Man of God, please let my life and the life of these fifty servants of yours be precious in your sight. 14 Look, fire has come down from heaven and burned up the first two captains of fifties with their fifties. But let my life now be precious in your sight." 15 And the angel of the LORD said to Elijah, "Go down with him; do not be afraid of him." So he arose and went down with him to the king.

ELIJAH IS TAKEN UPTO HEAVEN!

The mission of this great prophet is over and it is time to finish his race, what is wonderful is that this man did not finish his career as many others or I should say in the natural way…That is death…

Elijah was so special that this man did not DIE!

Yes brethren this is so wonderful and amazing to read that Elijah didn’t die, God took care of this man in a very unique way…

At the very end the comfort that we learn from this lesson is that God will take care of us and it doesn’t matter how much we suffer in this life. Elijah is the Best example of what we are saying.

The mysterious man who appeared very quick he also disappeared in the same manner…

2 King 2:1-12… “1 And it came to pass, when the LORD was about to take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. 2 Then Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here, please, for the LORD has sent me on to Bethel." But Elisha said, "As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!" So they went down to Bethel. 3 Now the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, "Do you know that the LORD will take away your master from over you today?" And he said, "Yes, I know; keep silent!" 4 Then Elijah said to him, "Elisha, stay here, please, for the LORD has sent me on to Jericho." But he said, "As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!" So they came to Jericho. 5 Now the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho came to Elisha and said to him, "Do you know that the LORD will take away your master from over you today?" So he answered, "Yes, I know; keep silent!" 6 Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here, please, for the LORD has sent me on to the Jordan." But he said, "As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!" So the two of them went on. 7 And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood facing them at a distance, while the two of them stood by the Jordan. 8 Now Elijah took his mantle, rolled it up, and struck the water; and it was divided this way and that, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground. 9 And so it was, when they had crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha, "Ask! What may I do for you, before I am taken away from you?" Elisha said, "Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me." 10 So he said, You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so." 11 Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. 12 And Elisha saw it, and he cried out, "My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!" So he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces.

The story of Elijah does not finish here but my time is over…Have we learned something from this man?The life and lessons of Elijah the Tishbite is a wonderful story...Written for our admonition - cf. 1 Co 10:11Written for our learning, that we might have patience, comfort and hope - cf. Ro 15:4May his life inspire us to heed his lessons...The power of prayer The providence of God The need for commitment The challenge of discouragementThe consequence of sinThe hope of the righteous Are you ready for that day? Hear again the words of Elijah...  "How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him..."