GOD S GRACE MEETS MAN S NEED. I Kgs. 18:42a-46

Transcription

1 GOD S GRACE MEETS MAN S NEED I Kgs. 18:42a-46 Elijah had completed the first part of the work God called him to do when the prophets of Baal were defeated and removed on Mount Carmel. I can t help but think, though, how the proceedings could have taken an altogether different turn because often success can be the precursor of disobedience. What a time of celebration this victory could have developed into! You could easily imagine how the Israelites could have claimed some of the success, We beat them! We beat the prophets of Baal! You know, we never stopped being Israelites and underneath it all Jehovah is our God. Yes, this could easily have turned into a party time! Let s go with this new wave! And, if Elijah hadn t been as strongly rooted in his faith in God, he could have lapped up their praise, received their applause and this would have been him set up for the rest of his life! He could have risen to great heights in the land! He had it made! But, that was not what the Lord had for Elijah to do, so Elijah did not seek after that which was out of the will of God for his life. If the Lord calls you to do something, you need to make sure you do nothing else! There now developed the next stage in Elijah s journey, - a journey that had started in Gilead, and moved to Samaria, then to Cherith and Zarephath, and recently to Mount Carmel. It is a fact of life the Lord never plans for His people to waste time standing still. Paul understood this, Phil. 3:14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. And, the writer to the Hebrews, 12:1 let us run with patience the race that is set before us. We are going to look at the progression in these verses (vv.42-46) using three very simple headings: A Cloudless Sky A Cloudy Sky A Cloud-filled Sky. There is nothing deep and meaningful about the titles, but I trust they will show us how the Lord directs the situations for His glory, in accordance with His sovereign will. THE CLOUDLESS SKY There had been no rain for three-and-a-half years! Everywhere was dried up. The crops had failed. The animals were dying. It was a disaster! The sky had been cloudless, but in the purposes of God, it was about to change. After the prophets of Baal had been removed from the scene, Elijah moved on to where the Lord had for him to be next. Let s dwell on this for a moment. Consider again what had happened the fire coming down on Elijah s altar, the victory over idolatry

2 2 It could have been so inviting to stay there and revel in the moment. It s a temptation, - when all is going well in a church, - to revel and languish in the times of blessing Haven t we done well! Yes, in our unsound logic we would fleetingly admit, Yes, it was God that did it but haven t we done well! Our plans and programs have really worked! Spiritual success is measured in worldly terms and we adapt the criteria of the world as our measuring rod for the work of the Lord. Using that understanding of success, many are happy to go no further, they lose the vision and try to develop further on their success. The temptation, then, is not to want to move on but to stay still and to become comfortable. Comfort is a wonderful pleasure, but it is one the Church of Christ cannot afford. Throughout Scotland, there are many fellowships like our own, - and even smaller, - who don t always find it easy to make ends meet, and yet they are seeking to be faithful to the Lord How we would love to see more Elijahs servants of God, anxious for the glory of the Name of God. And, Elijah knew the Lord had more for him to do on Mount Carmel and he had to get on with doing it! So, he removed himself from the scene on Mount Carmel and from the brook Kishon, and went a little further up the mountain to where he was being led to be alone with God. Do we need to wonder what the other people from the ten tribes might have been doing? I wonder did some of them hang around for a while savouring the atmosphere? Ahab, - we know, - went and had something to eat and drink (v.42) He still had his appetite, even after eight hundred and fifty of his prophets had been killed! But, as for Elijah, the Lord took him to greater heights on Mount Carmel, for the next stage of his ministry. How true it is that when you search out the mind of God there is always more and more to do, - indeed, there is no room for idleness or complacency in the Lord s work! I sometimes hear folk correctly saying, We should be doing more and yes, but how good it is to be striving to do it, rather than just simply talking about it! For many, the defeat of the prophets of Baal was the highpoint of the day but not so for Elijah. It was simply another step along the road the Lord was leading him. His passion was for God s Name to be glorified, and so he went even further up the mountain, and Elijah went up to the top of Carmel to pray!

3 3 It was a strange position he adopted to pray, he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees. He sat down on the ground and put his face between his knees maybe we should pray like that? Maybe it s somehow more spiritual? No, we needn t think like that! But do notice the difference between how he prayed and how the prophets of Baal had been praying! Elijah s praying was carried out decently and orderly no dancing and no shouting and making an idiot out of himself, like the false prophets. He sought the Lord earnestly and reverently as he publicly witnessed before the children of Israel and it was the same way, - earnestly and reverently, - he sought the Lord when he sat in this position privately before Him. In these days of strange and wonderful things (!), the position in which we pray is not the feature that determines how God answers. Moses stood before the Lord with his hands raised in the air (Ex. 17:11). In Nehemiah s day, the leaders stood on the stairs and cried with a loud voice unto the LORD their God (9:4). The psalmist instructed the people, 95:6 let us kneel before the LORD our maker. But Elijah, - being the country man from Gilead, - chose, on this occasion, to implore the Lord while sitting on the ground, with his face in between his knees. Rather than become side-tracked concerning his posture, I suppose you could amplify these thoughts with such titles as these: His purpose in prayer was to cry out to the Lord to send the rain upon the dry land, His position in prayer was in absolute sincerity and determination to reach the throne of grace, His passion in prayer he knew the Lord would hear him, for he knew he was praying in the Lord s will, His pursuit in prayer because his praying would not be finished until the Lord answered. Yes, Elijah was following the pattern laid out by other great men as they sought the holiness of God. He had left the crowds behind him in the same way Moses left the twelve tribes of Israel when he went up Mount Sinai, and men like Abraham, Samuel, David and others retreated from the crowds to be alone with the Lord. The greatest example of them all, of course, is the Lord Jesus Who withdrew Himself from the multitudes to be alone with His Father. Elijah hadn t gone further up the mountain for a better view, or to have a time of relaxation after all the stresses and strains. He hadn t gone there because his work was finished no, he went higher up the mountain to be alone with God for he believed the next chapter was about to begin.

4 4 A cloudless sky didn t deter him it didn t hold him back, or stop him from believing. There s no point, Elijah, in putting yourself to the trouble of going any further up the mountain. In fact, Elijah, when all the ten tribes were gathered why didn t you keep on praying among them so that they would see yet another great miracle?! No, the Lord led him away from the crowds to the quiet place. It reminds you of the words of the Lord Jesus, Mt. 6:6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. A cloudless sky didn t stop him believing and trusting in the Lord. He knew the Lord would work all things after the counsel of his own will (Eph. 1:11) and he, - Elijah, - needed to be obedient, and in the place where God had for him to be. It was a cloudless sky that warranted him being on the top of that mountain calling to God to come again upon the land. You see, - even spiritually, - God uses a cloudless sky, - a time of spiritual drought such as the Church in our land is presently experiencing, - so that His people would be burdened to pray for the rains to fall. In one of the Messianic psalms, the writer is confident, 72:6 He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth. 7 In his days shall the righteous flourish. In the words of Ezek. 34:26 I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing. Yes, Elijah, there is a cloudless sky at the moment, but by God s grace, a cloudless sky, will turn into A CLOUDY SKY At first, there was hardly a difference. So small was the cloud in the distance, it hardly featured. Of course, someone would point out it doesn t specifically say Elijah was praying here. Well, what was he doing then on the ground with his face in between his legs?! Of course, he was praying, and we know for definite he was praying! Scripture tells us, James 5:17 [Elijah] prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. 18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit. Yes, he was praying for rain to fall, and I m sure he was praying also for a people who had long forgotten how to pray for themselves! Someone else would sow the seeds of discouragement. Look, they say, he s only one man how can the prayers of only one man achieve so much?! And they would discredit the prayers of a small number, but we know how Elijah s prayer achieved so much because he prayed in the will of the Lord for the Name of God to be glorified throughout the land!

5 5 Ah, but it is only a wee small cloud it s just a blot away in the distance. Sure it won t do anybody any good; it will have evaporated by the time it reaches here! But remember Zechariah s words, 4:10 who hath despised the day of small things?! The hymn asks, Does the place you re called to labour Seem too small and little known? It is great if God is in it, And He ll not forget His own. Elijah instructed his servant, v.43 Go up now, look toward the sea. The servant went up, and he saw nothing. No problem, he came back down again to where Elijah was. Go up again, Elijah said and the servant went up again Nothing He came back down. Six times he went up and down. I imagine it would have been warm and tiring running up and down the peak of a hill can wear you out but the servant did it, without griping or moaning! Notice we don t know the name of this servant or where he came from but the Lord knew all about him, and the Lord kept him in the narrative of this story and the Lord would have reserved for both him and Elijah a place in Glory! And, the servant didn t argue with Elijah or complain, for he trusted the word of this man of God. Once again, another nameless servant and yet, Elijah couldn t have done without him. You mightn t think you have done much for the Lord, but if you are faithful every time He sets something before you to do, that s what matters! Why didn t Elijah from run up and down to the summit? You could go through a list of possibilities, - he mightn t have been fit, he was too tired, he couldn t be bothered, that s what servants are for! No, I don t believe it was any of those. Why couldn t Elijah have run up and down to the summit? The answer is simple. God s purpose for him was to be engaged in prayer, and that was his responsibility as mediator between God and the people of Israel. Notice even how, - on each subsequent occasion he came down from the summit, - the servant didn t interrupt Elijah. Elijah had made it clear, Go again seven times. That means every time the servant came down he didn t need to keep Elijah back from praying he simply went up to the summit again, - without being told, - until the seventh time. Up and down, up and down Doesn t it emphasise how even carrying out the seemingly simplest of tasks for the Lord is important! The Lord has a work for every one of His children to be involved in and to complete.

6 6 Consider also how Elijah and his servant worked so well together. They were a team! The servant didn t insist they take turns. He didn t say, Okay Elijah, I ve run up and down four times, it s your turn now! No, once again, God had a different purpose in His work for both of them, and that was the purpose He set before each of them to do And something else Elijah could have had the man running up and down and wearing himself out on those first six empty occasions and then, - on the seventh time, - Elijah could have said, knowing something was about to happen, I ll go up now! and Elijah could have taken the credit. No, just as the servant knew it was his responsibility to run to the summit and back down again, Elijah knew it was his responsibility to keep on praying. They both had their important individual purposes in the Lord s work. F.B. Meyer invites us to take notice of Elijah as he prayed, We scarcely recognize him, he seems so to have lost his identity. Yes, he was earnestly praying for a little cloud to begin to show itself on the horizon. Here is a lesson for us in our praying When we persevere in prayer, we are essentially putting our complete trust in the Lord for His purposes to be achieved. We are going to Him helplessly and presenting our requests. Our faith and hope is in Him alone, so we don t lose heart, - Elijah hadn t lost heart as he prayed for he knew God was about to do something more wonderful than before! Yes, sometimes God doesn t answer the way we might have imagined but then, that means something better is in His mind! Something greater is on the way for we have the promise, Rom. 8:28 all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. What we might be looking for might only start off as a little cloud, - you can hardly see it, you can hardly make it out but Little is much when God is in it! So, Heb. 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, as Elijah did. You see, he knew already that what he was praying for was the Lord s will, I Kgs. 18:1 And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the LORD came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, show thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth. He knew the mind of God was to send rain, and so he prayed confidently and earnestly. There at the top of Mount Carmel Elijah prayed, knowing for certain the Lord would achieve His purposes, Thy will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven (Mt. 6:10). When you are praying for souls to be saved, remember and believe in what His Word says, II Pet. 3:9 [He is] not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Remember He shared with Ezekiel concerning the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord God (Ezek. 39:13).

7 7 Yes, the Bible leads us in the way we should pray in the way that always brings glory to God s Name. Those are the prayers He answers, as Elijah was to prove on that day. A Cloudless Sky A Cloudy Sky A CLOUD-FILLED SKY These aren t fancy titles we re using but if you hadn t seen rain for threeand-a-half years, fancy titles don t matter! You re glad to see the dark clouds hovering over the land. How did they know it was soon going to rain? the heaven was black with clouds and wind Isn t it even so beautiful the Lord included the wind to blow the dark clouds more speedily across the sky. God hurried the elements so that without further hesitation, there was a great rain. Look at that lovely statement at the beginning of v.45, And it came to pass in the mean while In other words, God had it all worked out! The time had already been set aside for His will to come to pass. That is a great truth upon which our confidence in God is strengthened. We trust His plan for the ages even as we look around us and see the prophecies of Scripture increasingly coming to pass. It all happens according to His timing and in His planning. At no stage along the way, - from when Elijah started out from Gilead, to Cherith, to Zarephath, and to Carmel, - at no stage could any of the opposition, - by either Ahab or the false prophets, - have stopped one iota the plan that God would ultimately achieve! How that bodes well for the present and for the future of God s people, trusting in His prophetic promises. There wasn t just rain, there was a great rain. The countryside was saturated. The leaves were coming on the branches again. The streams and rivers were flowing and God s people were at the wells, quenching their thirst. There is so much more here we could easily develop, but the time, - as usual, - has defeated us. But just finally, look at the beginning of v.46, And the hand of the LORD was on Elijah What greater accolade is there than that! Those words are comparable to, Mt. 25:21 Well done, thou good and faithful servant. And he ran down the road even faster than King Ahab in his chariot! King Ahab, of course, had been busy feeding (v.42) while Elijah had been busy praying! But one last final word to anyone who does not know Christ as Saviour Notice what Elijah said to King Ahab, v.44 Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not. And do you see how quickly the king responded...

8 8 Any other time he wouldn t have listened to Elijah, but he listened on this occasion because if he hadn t gone down the road at that time, he wouldn t have managed it later because there would have been floods. God s mercy to the undeserving sinner! Ahab deserved to be stranded on the mountain, or even killed in a flood but God was merciful to even a man like him! It s very solemn to consider many to whom God gives the opportunities of grace, but they ignore them. Many also who don t know Christ will take the advice of His Word at times when it suits, as far as the things of this earth are concerned. But on the more important eternal issue regarding their soul s destiny, - they choose to ignore the warnings of Scripture. Learn from Ahab how he was convinced, but not converted convinced that if he did not get down that road, the floods would stop him. He listened concerning the things of time, but ignored the things of eternity. Convinced, but not converted, - many in a church pew may have religion in their head, but in their heart they deny the entrance of the Gospel by refusing to accept Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord. Ahab left behind him what he experienced when the testimony of the fire of the Lord came upon Elijah s sacrifice. He saw the proof of God, and yet he denied it in his own heart. He had plenty to eat and drink that day, - and his belly was full, - and yet it brought no lasting satisfaction to his soul. If you are not saved, don t settle for anything less than knowing Christ personally. Don t rush back to that which is taking you down to Hell. Trust in the Lord Jesus today! In the Lord s will, we shall return to our study of Elijah in the new year, but I trust we have seen how many of the old lessons need to be heeded in these dark days in which we are living. Look, indeed, for the appearing of the little cloud and keep on listening and praying for that sound of abundance of rain. If the Lord should so favour us with such a sound as that, we then have another even greater sound to look forward to It will be the greatest sound this world has ever heard the shout from Heaven, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord (I Thess. 4:16,17). May the Lord grant us the spirit of Elijah, to continue faithful until that glorious day! Amen!

9 9 It is a great passage of Scripture to encourage the believer who keeps praying but don t seem to see the fruits of their praying I hope this encourages you! There is so much here HUMILITY v.42 he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees EXPECTANCY v.43 go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked PERSISTENCY v.44 And he said, Go again seven times. CERTAINTY v.44 Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea GLORY v.45 the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain.