James Living in the Time of a Man Like Elijah

 

James

Living in the Time of a Man Like Elijah

We are living in a time where God is again doing something big

We cannot rely on the natural things as we have in the past for survival

More than ever it is a time to remember “The Word of the Lord is Truth”

For you and I to know “The Word of the Lord is Truth” it takes proof

God has not lost sight of you in the big picture of national and world events

To bring justice and people to repentance

Like the young mother who took the last meal she had

And first gave it to Elijah, the man of God, and saw her son brought back to life

He sees your little jar of oil and jar of flour

And He is asking for it

Don’t be afraid to make a meal for the Lord

God made the woman’s jars to not run out until the drought was over

Jesus multiplied the loaves and the fishes

Jesus’ body was broken for you

The bread and the cup remind us as often as we eat the bread and drink the cup

That every provision we have need of

He has made available through His death on the cross

He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all — how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Romans 8:32

 

Living in the Time of a Man Like Elijah

 

Elijah’s prayer for it not to

rain caused a lot of trouble.

 

Elijah had to go into hiding next to a brook.

 

It was not long and his source of

water dried up because of no rain.

 

The Lord told him to go to Zarephath of Sidon.

 

"Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there.

 I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food." So he went to Zarephath.

When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks.

He called to her and asked, "Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?"

As she was going to get it, he called, "And bring me, please, a piece of bread."

"As surely as the LORD your God lives," she replied, "I don't have any bread - only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and

make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it - and die." 1 Kings 17:9-12

 

The Corona Virus Pandemic

seems like a drought.

 

It has become hard to get things like toilet paper.

 

And meat prices sky rocketed.

 

Good people have had to go into

hiding because of violence in our streets.

 

During the drought, the government of

Ahad sent the prophets into hiding

and many believers were put to death.

 

In the time of the Pandemic…

 

 Some churches are not allowed

to open their doors.

 

Others have tried to be responsible

have had to have services on line or

limited numbers due to social distancing.

 

 It got bad in the time of Elijah.

 

Elijah’s survival depended on a young

mother who must have lost her husband.

 

We see later in 1 Kings 17:17-21…

 

 When her son died, she

carried the boy in her arms.

 

This young woman was down to her last meal.

 

I am sure she did everything she could to

ration and get through this time of drought.

 

Like us social distancing,

wearing mask and washing hands.

 

But it was not enough…

 

Elijah said to her, "Don't be afraid.

Go home and do as you have said.

1 Kings 17:13

 

"Don't be afraid”…

 

 Why not?

 

God had allowed it to get bad enough

to lose the father of her child.

 

Now should be the time of great joy

watching her son grow up and be full of life…

 

But she was preparing to watch her little boy die.

 

How much of God’s big plan

did this young mother know?

 

And did it matter?…

 

 Because the most important thing in her life was

about to die and she was helpless to do anything about it.

 

Let’s get real, there was a lot of reason to fear.

 

There is a lot to fear with the Corona Virus.

 

There is a lot to fear with the civil unrest.

 

As I write this, my son, Marty,

is in the hospital with corona

pneumonia and other health issues.

 

Listen to the man whose prayer could

stop the rain, a righteousness man…

 

Elijah said to her, "Don't be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD gives rain on the land.'"

1 Kings 17:13-14

 

Life always plays out by

 what we have first on our list.

 

First place has always been the most important place.

 

First is what gets our attention.

 

First means there is a second, third or more.

 

For this young mother making the man of God a

meal first was a sign of what was first in her heart.

 

What you and I do is only a sign

of what is first in our heart.

 

When this young mother first made

the meal for the man of God…

 

 She not only saved his life,

 but hers and her family

(seems to indicate other relatives).

 

Putting God above our fear and

everything else is always rewarded.

 

But the story does not end here.

 

The young mother’s son died.

 

She said to Elijah…

 

 "What do you have against me, man of God?

Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?"

1 Kings 17:18

 

Then Elijah says to God…

 

Then he cried out to the LORD, "O LORD my God,

have you brought tragedy also upon this widow

I am staying with, by causing her son to die?"

1 Kings 17:20

 

The Lord gave life back to the child

and here is what the mother says…

 

Then the woman said to Elijah,

"Now I know that you are a man of God and

 that the word of the LORD from your mouth is the truth."

1 Kings 17:24

 

For you and I to know

“The Word of the Lord is Truth”…

 

 It takes proof.

 

Everything is theory to us until it is proven.

 

As we go through hard times

waiting for the proof, keep God first.

 

The drought in the time of this

young woman was not just natural.

 

God was up to a much bigger plan.

 

But God did not forget this little child and his

mother, because they did not give way to fear.

 

This mother kept God first even though she

was not sure until she seen the proof of God’s

Word when her son was given back his life.

 

We are living in a time where

God is again doing something big.

 

We cannot rely on the natural things

as we have in the past for survival.

 

More than ever it is a time to remember…

 

 “The Word of the Lord is Truth”.

 

For you and I to know the

“The Word of the Lord is Truth”…

 

 It takes proof.

 

God has not lost sight of you in the big

picture of national and world events

 to bring justice and people to repentance.

 

He sees your little jar of oil and jar of flour.

 

And He is asking for it.

 

Don’t be afraid to make a meal for the Lord.

 

God made the woman’s jars to not

run out until the drought was over.

 

Jesus multiplied the loaves and the fishes.

 

Jesus’ body was broken for you.

 

The bread and the cup remind us as often

as we eat the bread and drink the cup…

 

 That every provision we have need of He has

made available through His death on the cross.

 

Romans 8:32…

 

He who did not spare his own Son,

 but gave him up for us all —

how will he not also, along with him,

graciously give us all things?

 

 

Scripture Reading

 

James 5:16-18 NIV

The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

 

17 Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.