Elijah is about to come out of the wilderness to confront the powers of Baal

 

  1. Elijah at the brook

 

  1. The drought is starting.
    1. Elijah was called away during the drought to eat from the provision that God was supplying.
    2. God will allure her and bring her into the wilderness and speak comfortable unto her Hosea 2: 14  Where? into the wilderness  Why did He bring her there? to condemn her? No! to speak comfortably to her there.  In the original Hebrew this word comfortably conveys the meaning of speaking tenderly, to the innermost parts of the heart.
    3. Why speak in the wilderness?
      1. We need to have other voices taken away from us so we get desperate for God.
    4. The Valley of Achor is a place of refining. Vs 15
      1. Achor is the place where Achan was judged. (See Joshua 7: 26)
        1. Achan’s heart was gripped by a lust for silver and gold
        2. God had to purify the camp from those things that would destroy them
        3. By being able to give to God first…Give Jericho and it’s riches to the Lord, they were able to take the rest of the cities riches and use them wisely.
      2. God challenged Joshua to stand up and clean out the camp because of the sin there.
      3. Achan and his whole family are killed because of the sin of this man.  Harsh?  See Ananias and Sapphira and how greed would weaken the whole church.
    5. By releasing Elijah’s grip on this world, he would be able to reach out to a widow who was hurting.
  2. Elijah went through the drought too.
    1. He could not minister to the people who were going through the drought if he was beyond their hurt.
    2. EXAMPLE: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and going back to Germany during the time of Hitler.
    3. The gospel is not about making people comfortable because people do not live there.
    4. Many lose it in the wilderness because they are not trusting in God, they are trusting in their own illusion of what they feel God should make their life look like.  When that does not happen, they have a real problem with God.
      1. We become offended with God
      2. We begin to listen to the voice of the evil one (See Jesus in the wilderness)
  3. Attitude needed in the wilderness to be able to come out changed.
    1. Psalm 40: 1 – 3 People see my song not hear it.
    2. People need to see our attitude in the midst of trials not just hear what we say.

 

2. Elijah leaves the wilderness.

 

  1. Goes to a woman in need.
    1. Presence of God can make wilderness sweet, but we need to minister tot he needs around us.
    2. He never intended us to settle for the narrow life of living solely for ourselves with affections set on the things of this world. but rather to live with hands outstretched and hearts touched by the infirmities of others.
    3. God told her to feed Elijah.
      1. She was open to the word Elijah had for her.
  2. When we minister to others in their need, God supplies our own need.
    1. Elijah leaving communion with God to minister to the woman
    2. Woman giving first of her life to servant of God.
  3. Son dies.
    1. She blames prophet of God.
    2. He does not get offended.
    3. Elijah believes for something never done before.
    4. Son’s life restored.
      1. Could be God did the miracle because she received a prophet and received a prophet’s reward.  Matthew 10: 41

 

3. Ready to confront the evil of his day.

 

  1. Learned to commune with God in the middle of the wilderness
  2. Learned to leave to meet the needs of others
    1. When something this momentous occurs those who have been listening to the Lord’s message all along should not be caught off guard.  They should instinctively know that God has been preparing them for these very moments which in fact became evident in this case.
  3. Learned not to get offended at the words of others

 

 

The gospel is not extraordinary if ordinary people can live it.