WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.000 We're going to read together from 1 Kings chapter 17. 00:00:05.000 --> 00:00:10.000 Now Elijah the Tishbite of Tishby in Gilead said to Ahab, 00:00:12.120 --> 00:00:14.080 as the Lord, the God of Israel lives, 00:00:14.080 --> 00:00:16.960 before whom I stand, there shall be neither due 00:00:16.960 --> 00:00:20.600 nor rain these years except by my word. 00:00:20.600 --> 00:00:22.600 And the word of the Lord came to him, 00:00:22.600 --> 00:00:25.000 depart from here and turn eastward 00:00:25.000 --> 00:00:27.560 and hide yourself by the brook, Cherith, 00:00:27.559 --> 00:00:30.519 which is east of the Jordan. 00:00:30.519 --> 00:00:32.399 You shall drink from the brook 00:00:32.399 --> 00:00:35.399 and I've commanded the ravens to feed you there. 00:00:35.399 --> 00:00:38.399 So he went and he did according to the word of the Lord. 00:00:38.399 --> 00:00:41.920 He went and he lived by the brook Cherith 00:00:41.920 --> 00:00:44.119 that is east of the Jordan. 00:00:44.119 --> 00:00:47.840 And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning 00:00:47.840 --> 00:00:49.560 and bread and meat in the evening. 00:00:49.560 --> 00:00:51.320 And he drank from the brook. 00:00:51.320 --> 00:00:53.879 And after a while the brook dried up 00:00:53.879 --> 00:00:56.560 because there was no rain in the land. 00:00:56.560 --> 00:00:57.880 Then the word of the Lord came to him, 00:00:57.880 --> 00:01:02.600 arise go to Zarepheth, which belongs to Sidon, 00:01:02.600 --> 00:01:04.200 and dwell there. 00:01:04.200 --> 00:01:06.560 Behold I have commanded a widow there to feed you. 00:01:06.560 --> 00:01:08.760 So he arose and went to Zarepheth. 00:01:08.760 --> 00:01:10.359 And when he came to the gate of the city, 00:01:10.359 --> 00:01:13.560 behold a widow was there gathering sticks. 00:01:13.560 --> 00:01:14.840 And he called to her and said, 00:01:14.840 --> 00:01:18.960 bring me a little water in a vessel that I may drink. 00:01:18.960 --> 00:01:20.879 And as she was going to bring it, 00:01:20.879 --> 00:01:22.560 he called to her and said, 00:01:22.560 --> 00:01:25.200 bring me a morsel of bread in your hand. 00:01:25.200 --> 00:01:26.840 And she said, as the Lord your God lives, 00:01:26.840 --> 00:01:30.840 I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour and a jar 00:01:30.840 --> 00:01:32.439 and a little oil and a jug. 00:01:32.439 --> 00:01:34.600 And now I'm gathering a couple of sticks 00:01:34.600 --> 00:01:38.260 that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son. 00:01:39.280 --> 00:01:40.920 That we may eat it and die. 00:01:41.840 --> 00:01:44.600 And Elijah said to her, do not fear, 00:01:44.600 --> 00:01:46.800 go and do as you have said, 00:01:46.800 --> 00:01:50.280 but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me. 00:01:50.280 --> 00:01:54.520 And afterwards make something for yourself and your son. 00:01:54.519 --> 00:01:57.119 For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, 00:01:57.119 --> 00:01:59.840 the jar of flour shall not be spent 00:01:59.840 --> 00:02:01.719 and the jug of oil shall not be empty 00:02:01.719 --> 00:02:04.799 until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth. 00:02:04.799 --> 00:02:07.399 And she went and did as Elijah said, 00:02:07.399 --> 00:02:11.500 and she and he and her household ate for many days. 00:02:11.500 --> 00:02:13.599 The jar of flour was not spent, 00:02:13.599 --> 00:02:15.639 neither did the jug of oil become empty, 00:02:15.639 --> 00:02:19.519 according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah. 00:02:19.519 --> 00:02:21.359 After this, this son of the woman, 00:02:21.359 --> 00:02:23.919 the mistress of the house became ill 00:02:23.919 --> 00:02:25.759 and his illness was so severe 00:02:25.759 --> 00:02:27.879 that there was no breath left in him. 00:02:27.879 --> 00:02:30.560 And she said to Elijah, what have you against me, 00:02:30.560 --> 00:02:32.119 O man of God? 00:02:32.119 --> 00:02:34.599 You've come to me to bring my sin to remembrance 00:02:34.599 --> 00:02:37.060 and to cause the death of my son. 00:02:38.000 --> 00:02:40.279 And he said to her, give me your son. 00:02:40.279 --> 00:02:42.239 And he took him from her arms 00:02:42.239 --> 00:02:45.479 and carried him up in the upper chamber where he lodged 00:02:45.479 --> 00:02:47.239 and laid him on his own bed. 00:02:47.239 --> 00:02:49.159 And he cried to the Lord, oh Lord my God, 00:02:49.159 --> 00:02:51.519 have you brought calamity even upon the widow 00:02:51.520 --> 00:02:54.920 with whom I sojourn by killing her son? 00:02:54.920 --> 00:02:57.460 And he stretched himself upon the child three times 00:02:57.460 --> 00:02:59.680 and cried to the Lord, oh Lord my God, 00:02:59.680 --> 00:03:02.280 let this child's life come into him again. 00:03:02.280 --> 00:03:04.360 And the Lord listened to the voice of Elijah 00:03:04.360 --> 00:03:06.960 and the life of the child came into him again 00:03:06.960 --> 00:03:08.200 and he revived. 00:03:08.200 --> 00:03:10.640 And Elijah took the child and brought him down 00:03:10.640 --> 00:03:12.640 from the upper chamber into the house 00:03:12.640 --> 00:03:14.280 and delivered him to his mother. 00:03:14.280 --> 00:03:17.480 And Elijah said, see, your son lives. 00:03:17.480 --> 00:03:19.920 And the woman said to Elijah, now I know 00:03:19.919 --> 00:03:21.719 that you are a man of God 00:03:21.719 --> 00:03:24.959 and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth. 00:03:24.959 --> 00:03:26.759 This is God's word. 00:03:26.759 --> 00:03:30.119 Well, as Corey said, we are beginning a series 00:03:30.119 --> 00:03:33.519 on, it's called the Gospel According to Elijah and Elisha. 00:03:33.519 --> 00:03:35.839 And this evening we'll be in First Kings 17, 00:03:35.839 --> 00:03:37.599 which we just read. 00:03:37.599 --> 00:03:40.799 And there are probably five or six sermons 00:03:40.799 --> 00:03:42.319 that could be preached from this passage. 00:03:42.319 --> 00:03:44.599 There are so many things going on. 00:03:44.599 --> 00:03:47.239 And so you're bound to feel like we are missing so much 00:03:47.239 --> 00:03:48.479 by the end of this sermon. 00:03:48.479 --> 00:03:50.959 But there's always more. 00:03:50.959 --> 00:03:52.639 And so we'll begin here. 00:03:52.639 --> 00:03:56.079 And this series and the Gospel According to Elijah 00:03:56.079 --> 00:03:58.679 and Elisha will play out in the book of First 00:03:58.679 --> 00:03:59.679 and Second Kings. 00:03:59.679 --> 00:04:02.439 And the story of Kings, just to begin to introduce 00:04:02.439 --> 00:04:04.839 this series is really a tragic one. 00:04:04.839 --> 00:04:07.079 If you've, I'm sure you've read it. 00:04:07.079 --> 00:04:09.560 It begins, if you remember, chapter after chapter 00:04:09.560 --> 00:04:13.319 of the construction of the temple under Solomon's reign. 00:04:13.319 --> 00:04:15.879 And you see the intricate details going into the construction 00:04:15.879 --> 00:04:19.680 of the temple and you feel this sense of delight 00:04:19.680 --> 00:04:22.120 and that God will be with his people. 00:04:22.120 --> 00:04:24.000 This is what we've been waiting for. 00:04:24.920 --> 00:04:26.879 And it ends if you were to flip to tell you 00:04:26.879 --> 00:04:28.079 the very end of the series. 00:04:28.079 --> 00:04:29.920 It ends if you were to go to the last chapter 00:04:29.920 --> 00:04:33.240 of the book of Second Kings with the siege of Jerusalem 00:04:33.240 --> 00:04:36.159 and Judah and the destruction of the temple 00:04:36.159 --> 00:04:39.800 and carrying off all of these things that you watch 00:04:39.800 --> 00:04:42.120 be built into the temple into exile, 00:04:42.120 --> 00:04:44.120 the temple being torn apart. 00:04:44.120 --> 00:04:45.720 And the last chapter says, 00:04:45.720 --> 00:04:47.720 and he burned the house of the Lord 00:04:47.720 --> 00:04:51.720 and the king's house and all the houses of Jerusalem. 00:04:52.519 --> 00:04:56.160 It's a story of dismantling, of dismantling the temple, 00:04:56.160 --> 00:04:59.199 dismantling what feels like the people of God 00:04:59.199 --> 00:05:00.879 and the covenant God had with his people, 00:05:00.879 --> 00:05:03.680 of the story of the covenantal curses 00:05:03.680 --> 00:05:06.319 God brought upon the people. 00:05:06.319 --> 00:05:08.199 You see, if you were to rewind, 00:05:08.199 --> 00:05:11.759 God gave the people of Israel a land, as I'm sure you, 00:05:11.759 --> 00:05:15.800 we all know, and Moses warned them in the book of Deuteronomy, 00:05:15.800 --> 00:05:17.560 he warned them that their greatest blessing 00:05:17.560 --> 00:05:20.159 would also be their greatest temptation. 00:05:21.039 --> 00:05:24.120 They would get a land, but weirdly enough, 00:05:24.120 --> 00:05:26.839 that land would still be inhabited by peoples 00:05:26.839 --> 00:05:29.920 and their job would be to drive out the nations 00:05:29.920 --> 00:05:33.159 as they pushed into the land that God was giving them 00:05:33.159 --> 00:05:36.319 and to establish the worship of Yahweh in this land. 00:05:37.480 --> 00:05:39.599 And the temptation was they had to resist 00:05:39.600 --> 00:05:43.000 being drawn into the religious rhythms of the people 00:05:43.000 --> 00:05:44.320 they would be pushing out. 00:05:44.320 --> 00:05:46.800 They had to drive them all out 00:05:46.800 --> 00:05:49.480 to inherit the promises of Yahweh. 00:05:49.480 --> 00:05:51.760 And as we entered the New Testament, we realized 00:05:51.760 --> 00:05:54.040 this was ultimately in some ways a shadow 00:05:55.040 --> 00:05:57.439 of the Christian life, of sanctification for us, 00:05:57.439 --> 00:05:59.400 of ridding ourselves of our, 00:05:59.400 --> 00:06:01.640 the besetting temptations of our hearts, 00:06:01.640 --> 00:06:03.720 of freeing ourselves from the sin 00:06:03.720 --> 00:06:06.800 that clings so closely to us. 00:06:06.800 --> 00:06:08.879 Just like we might leave little thoughts, 00:06:08.879 --> 00:06:10.839 we don't go to war with them 00:06:10.839 --> 00:06:13.079 and expunge them from our minds. 00:06:13.959 --> 00:06:15.480 We leave little sins that we don't think 00:06:15.480 --> 00:06:18.159 will cause too big of problems. 00:06:18.159 --> 00:06:20.680 So also the Israelites left little things 00:06:20.680 --> 00:06:23.759 they didn't think would cause too big of problems. 00:06:23.759 --> 00:06:26.480 And slowly those little things became bigger things 00:06:26.480 --> 00:06:28.560 and worked their way into their hearts 00:06:28.560 --> 00:06:30.719 and their affections and their worship. 00:06:31.719 --> 00:06:35.519 First Kings is a story of Kings, as the name sounds, 00:06:35.519 --> 00:06:37.040 but also prophets. 00:06:37.040 --> 00:06:38.399 Kings and prophets. 00:06:38.399 --> 00:06:43.399 And the Kings plunged the people into deeper and deeper 00:06:43.519 --> 00:06:45.919 and deeper covenant disloyalty 00:06:45.919 --> 00:06:48.919 as they let those little things grow into bigger things. 00:06:48.919 --> 00:06:50.719 As one ruler after another ruler 00:06:50.719 --> 00:06:54.319 after another ruler is enticed by the foreign people 00:06:54.319 --> 00:06:57.719 and their foreign gods and their foreign successes. 00:06:57.719 --> 00:07:01.359 And yet in the face of that king always stood a prophet 00:07:02.919 --> 00:07:05.039 calling the king and the people back saying, 00:07:05.040 --> 00:07:09.240 remember who your God is, remember who gave you this land. 00:07:09.240 --> 00:07:12.560 He loves you, don't chase after those foreign gods. 00:07:14.400 --> 00:07:17.280 At the center of this story is the word of God. 00:07:18.240 --> 00:07:21.120 The word that the Israelites have abandoned 00:07:21.120 --> 00:07:23.160 by the time we get to First King 17. 00:07:24.160 --> 00:07:26.400 And it's the word that's still working even here 00:07:26.400 --> 00:07:28.080 in First King 17. 00:07:28.080 --> 00:07:30.600 Behind the ground drying up as we read about 00:07:30.600 --> 00:07:33.800 in the first verses and the ravens bringing this bread 00:07:33.800 --> 00:07:36.920 and the brook flowing and feeding Elijah. 00:07:36.920 --> 00:07:39.920 Behind the jar of flour that just would never run empty 00:07:39.920 --> 00:07:44.920 and the jug of oil that just always had enough oil in it 00:07:45.079 --> 00:07:47.480 stood the word in the hand of the Lord. 00:07:48.439 --> 00:07:52.400 Behind the resurrection even of a boy was the word of God. 00:07:53.400 --> 00:07:58.400 So let's begin by looking at Elijah as a prophet of that word. 00:07:58.480 --> 00:08:01.439 So the first point is the prophet's word. 00:08:01.439 --> 00:08:04.240 The role of the prophet, this is a series centered 00:08:04.240 --> 00:08:07.000 around prophets, the role of the prophet goes back 00:08:07.000 --> 00:08:09.240 ultimately to the book of Deuteronomy at least. 00:08:09.240 --> 00:08:12.639 And it was an office established to remind the people 00:08:12.639 --> 00:08:16.759 of their covenant with Yahweh and to guard them against 00:08:16.759 --> 00:08:19.000 wandering into the practices of the people 00:08:19.000 --> 00:08:20.319 that was around them to tell them, 00:08:20.319 --> 00:08:23.399 don't chase after their gods. 00:08:23.399 --> 00:08:25.040 The prophets were in many ways almost, 00:08:25.040 --> 00:08:26.480 you can think about them like a wedding ring, 00:08:26.480 --> 00:08:28.839 reminding them of the covenant they were in. 00:08:28.839 --> 00:08:33.360 And so the king of Israel as he was in the land 00:08:33.360 --> 00:08:36.120 would have two voices that seemed always whispering 00:08:36.120 --> 00:08:38.159 in his ear at one time. 00:08:38.159 --> 00:08:41.639 In one ear he had the nations enticing him after their gods 00:08:41.639 --> 00:08:43.839 and after their habits and their practices. 00:08:46.199 --> 00:08:49.919 And the other a prophet crying out to him, 00:08:49.919 --> 00:08:53.039 you're in a covenant, remember who your God is. 00:08:53.039 --> 00:08:54.799 You're in a covenant with Yahweh. 00:08:55.959 --> 00:08:58.000 And so as we look at first king 17, 00:08:58.000 --> 00:09:01.240 we see a king arise at the end of chapter 16 00:09:01.240 --> 00:09:04.279 if you look in your Bibles and his name is Ahab. 00:09:05.519 --> 00:09:09.720 And you see Ahab takes a foreign wife and verse 31, 00:09:09.720 --> 00:09:10.559 what does it say? 00:09:10.559 --> 00:09:14.159 After he took this foreign wife, he went and he did, 00:09:14.159 --> 00:09:15.279 but all the other kings have done, 00:09:15.279 --> 00:09:17.519 he served Baal and he worshiped him. 00:09:19.000 --> 00:09:22.159 Baal whispered into his ear, come, 00:09:22.159 --> 00:09:25.000 the foreign nations whispered, come, be like we are. 00:09:25.000 --> 00:09:28.799 And he came running after them and it angered the Lord. 00:09:30.440 --> 00:09:34.360 And Baal was calling out to him in verse one of chapter 17 00:09:34.360 --> 00:09:37.840 says now Elijah also cries out to Ahab. 00:09:38.759 --> 00:09:41.759 And Elijah says, as the Lord, the God of Israel lives 00:09:41.759 --> 00:09:44.000 before whom I stand. 00:09:45.159 --> 00:09:49.720 And you can see the role of the prophet in Elijah's words. 00:09:49.720 --> 00:09:52.919 The picture of a prophet is one who stands before a ruler, 00:09:52.919 --> 00:09:56.479 before a king and he hears a message 00:09:56.479 --> 00:09:59.439 and then his job is to go and convey that message 00:09:59.439 --> 00:10:01.159 to someone else. 00:10:01.159 --> 00:10:05.679 He is nothing really but a mouthpiece for his ruler. 00:10:05.679 --> 00:10:08.599 It's his job to stand and speak the message 00:10:08.599 --> 00:10:10.279 of the one who's in charge. 00:10:11.399 --> 00:10:14.879 So Elijah, we see him standing between two kings ultimately, 00:10:14.879 --> 00:10:17.639 between the creator of the universe on one hand 00:10:17.639 --> 00:10:22.719 and on the other side, the ruler of the land, Ahab. 00:10:22.720 --> 00:10:24.879 And it's his job to take this message 00:10:24.879 --> 00:10:26.560 and proclaim it to this king. 00:10:27.840 --> 00:10:32.399 And his message because of that has a profound authority to it. 00:10:32.399 --> 00:10:34.240 But it's not his own authority. 00:10:35.000 --> 00:10:38.000 The prophet is just a man. 00:10:38.000 --> 00:10:41.680 And the text of chapter 17 wants to make that very clear. 00:10:41.680 --> 00:10:45.440 Elijah has a hometown, Tishba. 00:10:45.440 --> 00:10:49.639 He had a childhood, he grew up somewhere, he's a man. 00:10:49.639 --> 00:10:53.919 But this man also, the text says, stands before God himself. 00:10:53.919 --> 00:10:57.159 So he is both a man and he conveys an authority 00:10:58.080 --> 00:11:00.279 that tells the most powerful men on earth. 00:11:00.279 --> 00:11:02.480 He used to walk into the most powerful men 00:11:02.480 --> 00:11:06.559 of earth's courtrooms and say, bow down to your maker. 00:11:09.000 --> 00:11:11.919 As kings rise, so do prophets. 00:11:11.919 --> 00:11:14.639 To stand before them and say, you are just a man. 00:11:15.600 --> 00:11:18.679 And you are also accountable to the God of the universe. 00:11:18.679 --> 00:11:20.719 There's a reason that the prophets 00:11:20.719 --> 00:11:23.319 didn't have the longest life expectancies. 00:11:24.679 --> 00:11:27.000 And Elijah speaks and he says, the Lord, 00:11:27.000 --> 00:11:29.879 the God of Israel lives. 00:11:31.079 --> 00:11:33.439 In other words, you may have tried to forget God 00:11:33.439 --> 00:11:34.759 in what you're doing. 00:11:34.759 --> 00:11:37.359 You may have tried to drown him out 00:11:37.359 --> 00:11:39.919 with the noise and the smoke of your Baal worship 00:11:39.919 --> 00:11:41.879 that you've plunged into. 00:11:41.879 --> 00:11:44.399 But there is still one God of Israel. 00:11:44.399 --> 00:11:45.519 No matter what you may be doing, 00:11:45.519 --> 00:11:47.240 there is one God of Israel. 00:11:47.240 --> 00:11:51.600 You can try to move on to Baal, but God hasn't moved on. 00:11:51.600 --> 00:11:53.200 He hasn't forgotten his covenant 00:11:53.200 --> 00:11:55.039 that he made with his people. 00:11:55.039 --> 00:11:57.639 There is only one ruler over Israel. 00:11:57.639 --> 00:11:59.039 It's not Baal. 00:11:59.039 --> 00:12:00.639 It's not your wife, Jezebel. 00:12:00.639 --> 00:12:02.799 It's not you, Ahab. 00:12:02.799 --> 00:12:05.399 Yahweh is still the God of Israel. 00:12:05.399 --> 00:12:07.080 And this God is alive. 00:12:08.200 --> 00:12:10.560 In other words, you have to deal with him 00:12:10.560 --> 00:12:12.960 for what you are bringing this people into. 00:12:12.960 --> 00:12:17.960 And look at Elijah's words in the last line of verse one. 00:12:18.120 --> 00:12:21.800 He says, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years 00:12:21.800 --> 00:12:23.920 except by my word. 00:12:25.080 --> 00:12:27.160 Why did God stop the rain and the dew? 00:12:27.160 --> 00:12:28.600 Why did he do this? 00:12:28.600 --> 00:12:31.040 Why bring a famine upon the land? 00:12:31.040 --> 00:12:32.519 Why not do something else? 00:12:33.480 --> 00:12:36.680 We see Baal was God of the storms. 00:12:36.680 --> 00:12:37.680 He was God of many things, 00:12:37.680 --> 00:12:40.240 but one thing he was God of was the God of the weather, 00:12:40.240 --> 00:12:43.039 the storms, the rain and the clouds. 00:12:43.039 --> 00:12:45.960 His worshipers believe that he brought the rain, 00:12:45.960 --> 00:12:48.720 the storms upon the land to cultivate the earth. 00:12:50.279 --> 00:12:52.799 And so what did the Lord say to Ahab? 00:12:52.799 --> 00:12:57.480 No rain, not until my prophet decides. 00:12:58.960 --> 00:12:59.799 What is he doing? 00:12:59.799 --> 00:13:01.879 He's saying this is a challenge. 00:13:01.879 --> 00:13:04.759 This is Yahweh versus Baal. 00:13:04.759 --> 00:13:06.159 Who is the true God? 00:13:06.159 --> 00:13:10.200 Who actually brings the rain at the end of the day? 00:13:10.200 --> 00:13:13.480 And you can see how the prophet's role 00:13:13.480 --> 00:13:15.000 isn't just to speak generally, 00:13:15.000 --> 00:13:18.400 but it's speaking to the heart of the matter immediately. 00:13:18.400 --> 00:13:21.040 He puts his finger on the pulse of the issue. 00:13:22.120 --> 00:13:23.320 Just as Isaiah would say, 00:13:23.320 --> 00:13:25.000 you honor God with your lips, 00:13:25.000 --> 00:13:28.160 but your heart is far from him. 00:13:28.160 --> 00:13:32.280 Elijah speaks directly into the heart of Ahab's false worship. 00:13:33.759 --> 00:13:35.800 In other words, what you look to Baal for, 00:13:35.800 --> 00:13:39.960 what you looked for him in the rain, in the crops, 00:13:39.960 --> 00:13:42.440 God's saying that thing comes from me. 00:13:42.440 --> 00:13:45.080 That thing comes from my hand. 00:13:45.080 --> 00:13:48.600 And until you realize that, until you let go of Baal, 00:13:48.600 --> 00:13:52.120 until you worship me for all of my glory, 00:13:52.960 --> 00:13:56.680 this land will dry out, you will starve. 00:13:57.720 --> 00:14:00.320 The Lord puts his hand right upon their heart and says, 00:14:00.320 --> 00:14:02.460 don't trust in Baal for that thing. 00:14:03.440 --> 00:14:05.160 Trust in me for that thing. 00:14:05.160 --> 00:14:06.759 Rain comes from my hand. 00:14:07.720 --> 00:14:09.680 And by doing that, he was being kind 00:14:09.679 --> 00:14:12.319 in the strongest way possible. 00:14:13.399 --> 00:14:15.159 And if we just pause for a moment, 00:14:15.159 --> 00:14:18.199 doesn't the Lord often do the same thing to us? 00:14:20.039 --> 00:14:22.879 Whether it's approval we worship or comfort 00:14:22.879 --> 00:14:27.879 or success or control or whatever it is that we look to, 00:14:28.079 --> 00:14:29.759 it always just feels out of reach. 00:14:29.759 --> 00:14:31.639 We can never quite get our, 00:14:31.639 --> 00:14:33.919 we can never quite grasp it. 00:14:33.919 --> 00:14:36.639 And it makes our hearts hunger and thirst after it. 00:14:36.639 --> 00:14:39.039 And we feel almost like there's a drought in our souls. 00:14:39.039 --> 00:14:41.360 We're starving for that thing. 00:14:41.360 --> 00:14:42.639 And we just can't get it. 00:14:44.120 --> 00:14:47.439 And it's in his kindness 00:14:47.439 --> 00:14:49.399 that the Lord crushes our idols like that. 00:14:49.399 --> 00:14:50.799 That shows you, you will never find 00:14:50.799 --> 00:14:53.000 what you're looking for in that thing. 00:14:53.000 --> 00:14:55.120 He says, stop worshiping that. 00:14:55.120 --> 00:14:56.799 Rain doesn't come from that thing. 00:14:57.919 --> 00:15:00.639 The acceptance, the belonging, the safety that you long for, 00:15:00.639 --> 00:15:02.199 that comes from my hand. 00:15:03.439 --> 00:15:07.079 And that's a severe kindness that he's giving us. 00:15:07.080 --> 00:15:09.560 But the Lord actually says something else, 00:15:09.560 --> 00:15:13.360 but not to Ahab or the people of Israel, but to Elijah. 00:15:13.360 --> 00:15:17.160 And this is the second point, the hidden word. 00:15:17.160 --> 00:15:18.000 It's the hidden word. 00:15:18.000 --> 00:15:19.960 The Lord, what does the Lord now do? 00:15:19.960 --> 00:15:23.960 The Lord now turns to Elijah and he says, leave them. 00:15:24.879 --> 00:15:29.240 He says, depart, go east of the Jordan. 00:15:29.240 --> 00:15:31.080 Leave the land of Israel. 00:15:31.080 --> 00:15:36.080 And look what it says in verse three, hide yourself. 00:15:38.560 --> 00:15:42.240 And he sent him into a brook called Cherith, 00:15:42.240 --> 00:15:44.840 which means ultimately a place cut into the earth, 00:15:44.840 --> 00:15:46.200 a deep valley. 00:15:47.759 --> 00:15:49.639 This isn't, I don't think, some people think 00:15:49.639 --> 00:15:52.360 he's Elijah's being sent away for his safety, 00:15:52.360 --> 00:15:55.280 but I don't think it's primarily for the safety of Elijah. 00:15:56.720 --> 00:15:58.759 This is about Elijah's office. 00:15:58.759 --> 00:16:01.639 The prophet, the one who speaks on behalf of God 00:16:01.639 --> 00:16:05.960 to his people, God is saying, leave them. 00:16:06.919 --> 00:16:08.559 I'm done speaking. 00:16:08.559 --> 00:16:11.559 They've chosen Baal, let them listen to Baal. 00:16:12.559 --> 00:16:15.000 In other words, let a famine come over the land, 00:16:15.000 --> 00:16:17.319 not just a famine of rain and the ground, 00:16:17.319 --> 00:16:18.759 but a famine of my word. 00:16:21.039 --> 00:16:23.679 And it's tempting when we read this passage, 00:16:23.679 --> 00:16:26.639 if I remember hearing this passage all the time 00:16:26.639 --> 00:16:29.360 when I was growing up, to compare ourselves to Elijah 00:16:29.360 --> 00:16:31.600 and to make it ultimately about providence, 00:16:31.600 --> 00:16:34.919 about ravens in a brook taking care of Elijah. 00:16:34.919 --> 00:16:37.759 So we, in some way, the Lord will take care of us. 00:16:37.759 --> 00:16:40.279 And there are plenty of Bible passages 00:16:40.279 --> 00:16:42.159 that say that exact thing, 00:16:42.159 --> 00:16:44.480 but I think this passage is actually saying 00:16:44.480 --> 00:16:46.360 something a little bit different. 00:16:46.360 --> 00:16:47.879 It's challenging us in a different way 00:16:47.879 --> 00:16:50.240 other than just saying the Lord will take care of you 00:16:50.240 --> 00:16:52.879 by ravens or a brook or something like that. 00:16:52.879 --> 00:16:56.320 Before we too quickly compare ourselves to Elijah, 00:16:57.320 --> 00:16:59.320 we have to remember that he was ultimately 00:16:59.320 --> 00:17:00.919 the office bearer of the word. 00:17:00.919 --> 00:17:03.840 He was the prophet in the land. 00:17:03.840 --> 00:17:06.039 And like it'll say in chapter 19, 00:17:06.039 --> 00:17:11.039 there are 7,000 other Yahweh fears in Israel at this time 00:17:11.599 --> 00:17:13.359 who haven't bowed the knee to Baal, 00:17:13.359 --> 00:17:15.599 they haven't kissed Baal, it says. 00:17:16.599 --> 00:17:18.240 And those people aren't talented in the wilderness 00:17:18.240 --> 00:17:19.079 with Elijah. 00:17:19.079 --> 00:17:21.960 They're experiencing the famine, they're not protected 00:17:21.960 --> 00:17:22.799 from the famine. 00:17:22.799 --> 00:17:24.799 There are no ravens coming to the doorstep, 00:17:24.799 --> 00:17:26.519 there's no brook running by their house, 00:17:26.519 --> 00:17:30.279 they're suffering the full weight of the drought. 00:17:30.279 --> 00:17:32.559 They're starving, no ravens, no brooks, 00:17:32.559 --> 00:17:34.599 7,000 Yahweh fears. 00:17:35.599 --> 00:17:36.799 And they're probably wondering, 00:17:36.799 --> 00:17:38.439 where did the voice of God go? 00:17:39.439 --> 00:17:40.799 Where's his prophet? 00:17:42.359 --> 00:17:43.519 Where did his prophet go? 00:17:43.519 --> 00:17:45.679 Has Elijah left us? 00:17:45.679 --> 00:17:46.519 Has he abided? 00:17:46.519 --> 00:17:49.759 Has Elijah left us? 00:17:49.759 --> 00:17:50.599 Has he abandoned us? 00:17:50.599 --> 00:17:51.440 Has God left us? 00:17:51.440 --> 00:17:52.680 Why isn't he speaking to us? 00:17:53.680 --> 00:17:54.839 Where's the rain? 00:17:57.559 --> 00:17:59.680 So instead of primarily thinking, 00:18:00.759 --> 00:18:03.720 this passage is ultimately about the provision of God 00:18:03.720 --> 00:18:06.759 by ravens or something like that. 00:18:06.759 --> 00:18:08.799 What if it hit us like this? 00:18:08.799 --> 00:18:12.279 God judges his people by pulling back his word from us. 00:18:13.639 --> 00:18:15.200 By silencing his prophets, 00:18:15.200 --> 00:18:19.200 by closing Bibles, that's God's judgment upon a people. 00:18:20.200 --> 00:18:21.440 So what do we do with that? 00:18:22.920 --> 00:18:25.080 We pray out as a church, 00:18:25.080 --> 00:18:26.039 what would we, if we think about 00:18:26.039 --> 00:18:27.720 not just individual applications, 00:18:27.720 --> 00:18:30.759 but corporate applications as a people of God, 00:18:30.759 --> 00:18:33.960 we pray, Lord, don't hide your word from us as a people. 00:18:35.080 --> 00:18:37.920 Pray, Lord, give us more of your word. 00:18:37.920 --> 00:18:39.319 Don't hide yourself from us. 00:18:39.319 --> 00:18:43.120 Show us your glory, oh Lord, don't take it from us. 00:18:43.119 --> 00:18:45.359 Would you show us your glory and your word? 00:18:47.359 --> 00:18:49.079 But that isn't what God does here at this time. 00:18:49.079 --> 00:18:50.439 He hides his prophet away. 00:18:50.439 --> 00:18:52.559 He says, go, hide yourself. 00:18:52.559 --> 00:18:55.679 And he issues a famine of the word upon the land. 00:18:55.679 --> 00:18:57.399 The sky stays shut. 00:18:57.399 --> 00:19:01.399 Bail the supposed rain God, the silent and God, 00:19:01.399 --> 00:19:04.159 the living God, silent. 00:19:04.159 --> 00:19:07.639 It's a silent game like you've never seen before 00:19:07.639 --> 00:19:09.199 and it's just waiting. 00:19:09.199 --> 00:19:11.199 And the ground is silent. 00:19:11.200 --> 00:19:14.600 And the people would have to choose who brings the rain. 00:19:14.600 --> 00:19:15.920 Who brings the word? 00:19:15.920 --> 00:19:18.080 Who's the God of Israel at this time? 00:19:19.200 --> 00:19:21.799 And the Lord said, Elijah, go somewhere else. 00:19:24.680 --> 00:19:28.680 Which brings us to our third point, the revealed word. 00:19:30.920 --> 00:19:33.600 And the Lord sent Elijah, if you look in verse nine, 00:19:33.600 --> 00:19:36.680 God sends Elijah to Zareph, 00:19:36.680 --> 00:19:38.680 the land of Israel, 00:19:38.680 --> 00:19:43.320 and God sends Elijah to Zarephath in Sidon. 00:19:44.200 --> 00:19:47.400 My guess is your holidays have probably never taken you 00:19:47.400 --> 00:19:49.200 to Zarephath, maybe they have. 00:19:50.200 --> 00:19:53.960 But this is deep, deep, Gentile territory. 00:19:53.960 --> 00:19:57.600 This is the very heart of bail worship. 00:19:57.600 --> 00:20:00.200 And God says, Elijah, go there. 00:20:05.080 --> 00:20:06.440 He says, go there. 00:20:06.440 --> 00:20:10.000 There's someone there who will care for you, a widow. 00:20:11.160 --> 00:20:14.440 And if ravens were an unlikely source of provision 00:20:14.440 --> 00:20:16.279 for Elijah, a widow, 00:20:16.279 --> 00:20:17.840 someone who needed to be cared for 00:20:17.840 --> 00:20:21.440 is even less likely of someone to care for Elijah. 00:20:21.440 --> 00:20:23.440 And Elijah goes to this widow 00:20:23.440 --> 00:20:25.279 and asks the widow for some bread. 00:20:25.279 --> 00:20:26.759 He asks the widow for water. 00:20:28.640 --> 00:20:30.080 And then the widow tells him, 00:20:30.079 --> 00:20:35.079 my son and I are dying, the famine has hit here too. 00:20:37.079 --> 00:20:38.519 We have nothing. 00:20:38.519 --> 00:20:40.480 We're just gonna make one more meal 00:20:40.480 --> 00:20:44.279 and then my child and I were dead. 00:20:44.279 --> 00:20:46.039 The famine has gone on for too long. 00:20:46.039 --> 00:20:50.839 There's nothing left except just a little bit more flour, 00:20:50.839 --> 00:20:52.039 a little bit more oil. 00:20:53.159 --> 00:20:55.720 And Elijah breaks every rule of etiquette 00:20:55.720 --> 00:20:58.079 you've ever learned or ever taught your children. 00:20:58.079 --> 00:21:02.240 He says, okay, go make some, 00:21:02.240 --> 00:21:03.399 go do what you're gonna do, 00:21:03.399 --> 00:21:07.159 but first bring me a little cake of what you're gonna make. 00:21:08.159 --> 00:21:11.119 Then you and your son can eat after I'm done eating. 00:21:12.279 --> 00:21:13.599 And then he tells her why. 00:21:13.599 --> 00:21:14.599 If you look at the pastor, he says, 00:21:14.599 --> 00:21:16.839 the Lord will take care of you. 00:21:17.679 --> 00:21:20.480 He'll make sure there is just enough bread, 00:21:20.480 --> 00:21:23.299 just enough oil for you day after day. 00:21:25.119 --> 00:21:26.159 What's happening here? 00:21:26.160 --> 00:21:31.160 You're always asking this widow, do you trust me? 00:21:33.160 --> 00:21:37.080 Do you trust me enough to give this stranger 00:21:37.080 --> 00:21:38.800 the last portion of your food 00:21:38.800 --> 00:21:40.360 that you were gonna give to your child? 00:21:40.360 --> 00:21:42.560 Do you trust me that much? 00:21:42.560 --> 00:21:45.200 Do you trust that I will take care of you and your child 00:21:45.200 --> 00:21:48.200 if you give the last of what you have away? 00:21:48.200 --> 00:21:51.480 Will you go against every parental instinct 00:21:51.480 --> 00:21:56.140 you have in your bones and make this cake 00:21:56.140 --> 00:21:59.180 and ignore your crying child and give it to a stranger? 00:22:00.400 --> 00:22:03.680 One commentator simplified verses 13 and 14 00:22:03.680 --> 00:22:05.720 to mean that God was telling this woman, 00:22:05.720 --> 00:22:09.960 give me every last thing you have, 00:22:09.960 --> 00:22:12.040 for I will give you everything you need. 00:22:15.200 --> 00:22:16.920 And the text keeps it short, what does it say? 00:22:16.920 --> 00:22:20.020 It says, she went and did as Elijah said. 00:22:21.520 --> 00:22:25.600 It was simple, she knew how to make the cake, 00:22:25.599 --> 00:22:28.079 but I can guarantee you it was not an easy thing 00:22:28.079 --> 00:22:28.919 for her to do. 00:22:29.839 --> 00:22:32.639 She made the cake and brought it out to this stranger 00:22:33.480 --> 00:22:35.139 rather than to her crying boy. 00:22:37.099 --> 00:22:38.839 And when she returned to her house, 00:22:38.839 --> 00:22:41.599 the flower jar had just a little bit more left in it, 00:22:41.599 --> 00:22:44.399 just a little bit more than when she had left. 00:22:44.399 --> 00:22:47.980 And the oil jug had just a bit more than when she had left, 00:22:47.980 --> 00:22:49.959 just enough probably to make so she could make 00:22:49.959 --> 00:22:52.759 two more cakes, one for her, one for her child. 00:22:52.759 --> 00:22:56.039 And the next day when she woke up, 00:22:56.039 --> 00:22:59.400 there was just a bit more flower and a bit more oil. 00:23:01.119 --> 00:23:04.759 And the text says, she and he and her household ate 00:23:04.759 --> 00:23:09.559 for many days, the jar of flower was not spent, 00:23:09.559 --> 00:23:13.319 neither did the jug of oil become empty. 00:23:13.319 --> 00:23:16.200 You see, God's provision for her was a quiet, 00:23:16.200 --> 00:23:20.079 subtle, daily, little miracle. 00:23:20.079 --> 00:23:22.240 Every morning as she woke was a new reminder 00:23:22.240 --> 00:23:25.039 that God would take care of her and her household. 00:23:26.039 --> 00:23:30.240 She had to go to sleep each night, trusting, hoping, 00:23:30.240 --> 00:23:35.240 fearing, but believing that the Lord was now her God. 00:23:35.240 --> 00:23:37.839 When she says, your God to Elijah at first, 00:23:37.839 --> 00:23:40.079 now the God is her God. 00:23:42.240 --> 00:23:46.039 That the Lord was her God and so she would not lack, 00:23:46.039 --> 00:23:47.319 she wouldn't want. 00:23:47.319 --> 00:23:50.559 It was here in this daily bread miracle that Yahweh, 00:23:50.559 --> 00:23:53.279 the God of Israel, made himself known 00:23:53.279 --> 00:23:56.960 in just a little bit of flower, a little bit of oil. 00:23:56.960 --> 00:24:00.559 He revealed his glory in this little thing. 00:24:00.559 --> 00:24:02.639 He made himself known. 00:24:02.639 --> 00:24:06.240 It wasn't flashy, he didn't have a huge deposit of cakes 00:24:06.240 --> 00:24:08.159 every single week, there were more than she knew 00:24:08.159 --> 00:24:09.119 what to do with. 00:24:10.480 --> 00:24:12.919 She still had to make them herself, 00:24:12.919 --> 00:24:15.919 but it was just enough to get her to do it. 00:24:15.920 --> 00:24:18.160 It was just enough to get them through. 00:24:20.039 --> 00:24:21.519 And I think we should pause and say, 00:24:21.519 --> 00:24:26.360 isn't this how God reveals himself often to us? 00:24:26.360 --> 00:24:30.960 And again, not talking primarily about us as individuals, 00:24:32.360 --> 00:24:36.960 but if we think corporately as a corporate body of Christ, 00:24:36.960 --> 00:24:39.680 how does God speak to us as a people? 00:24:40.800 --> 00:24:44.080 He says, gather on the first day of the week, 00:24:44.079 --> 00:24:48.240 gather together, come, and you will hear my word, 00:24:48.240 --> 00:24:49.159 preach to you. 00:24:50.720 --> 00:24:53.279 And we're told that Christ speaks to you 00:24:53.279 --> 00:24:54.639 through the preached word. 00:24:55.879 --> 00:24:58.000 The very word of God who took on flesh 00:24:58.000 --> 00:25:00.639 and walked amongst his people, 00:25:00.639 --> 00:25:03.879 meets with us on Sundays through the preached word. 00:25:05.240 --> 00:25:07.079 And then God says, see you next week. 00:25:08.439 --> 00:25:10.879 And we come back and he preaches to us 00:25:10.880 --> 00:25:15.480 and it's Christ speaking to his bride and it's simple, 00:25:15.480 --> 00:25:17.120 it's ordinary, if you have kids, 00:25:17.120 --> 00:25:20.480 it's exhausting to bring your kids and to make it all work. 00:25:20.480 --> 00:25:22.600 But God says, I will make myself known to you 00:25:22.600 --> 00:25:25.880 in this ordinary, subtle way, week after week, 00:25:25.880 --> 00:25:29.280 after week after week, and it'll be just enough 00:25:29.280 --> 00:25:32.760 to get you to the very end when I can see you face to face. 00:25:32.760 --> 00:25:37.040 I will make myself known to you in this ordinary way. 00:25:37.040 --> 00:25:38.920 I'll give you what you need for this week. 00:25:38.920 --> 00:25:42.240 Psalm 23, you will not lack. 00:25:43.880 --> 00:25:47.320 And that is the way that Yahweh cared for this Gentile widow. 00:25:49.400 --> 00:25:51.480 And yet silently in the background of this passage, 00:25:51.480 --> 00:25:54.400 if you think if we're reading it right, 00:25:54.400 --> 00:25:57.160 it's hard not to think that Israel was still starving. 00:25:59.120 --> 00:26:01.120 God was speaking to this widow and her son 00:26:01.120 --> 00:26:05.039 and yet he was silent, he was hidden to his people, Israel. 00:26:05.039 --> 00:26:08.799 And in Luke four, Jesus even asks, 00:26:09.639 --> 00:26:12.960 were there not widows in Israel during the great famine? 00:26:12.960 --> 00:26:15.759 There were widows in Israel that were in want as well. 00:26:17.039 --> 00:26:19.839 And Jesus says, yet Elijah was sent to a Gentile widow. 00:26:21.480 --> 00:26:25.000 And when Jesus asked that, when Jesus reminded them, 00:26:25.000 --> 00:26:26.119 you remember what the Pharisees did, 00:26:26.119 --> 00:26:28.240 they wanted to throw him off a cliff. 00:26:29.879 --> 00:26:32.319 You see in first Kings, the people of God rejected 00:26:32.319 --> 00:26:34.680 the prophetic words spoken to them. 00:26:34.680 --> 00:26:36.200 They bowed down to Bail. 00:26:37.120 --> 00:26:40.360 God withdrew his word and pronounced the famine 00:26:40.360 --> 00:26:42.600 both on the land and of the word. 00:26:43.880 --> 00:26:45.880 And then he went and fed a Gentile woman 00:26:45.880 --> 00:26:47.640 with both word and food. 00:26:48.600 --> 00:26:50.240 And look at the difference between the Israelites 00:26:50.240 --> 00:26:51.320 and the widow. 00:26:51.320 --> 00:26:53.360 Look how they responded to the word of God. 00:26:53.360 --> 00:26:54.920 The Israelites didn't care. 00:26:54.920 --> 00:26:57.799 They built Bail alters, they broke commandments, 00:26:57.799 --> 00:27:01.120 they rebuilt cities, they weren't supposed to be rebuilding. 00:27:02.519 --> 00:27:03.560 And the widow, what does she do? 00:27:03.559 --> 00:27:07.319 She hears one sentence from God and she says to God, 00:27:07.319 --> 00:27:09.639 I'll give you everything and trust that you'll be 00:27:09.639 --> 00:27:10.879 what I need you to be. 00:27:12.359 --> 00:27:13.359 Why is this woman here? 00:27:13.359 --> 00:27:16.799 She's a rebuke to the unbelief of God's people. 00:27:19.240 --> 00:27:23.119 Just like Elijah, Jesus too went elsewhere. 00:27:24.240 --> 00:27:28.480 Do you remember the chapter in Mark seven 00:27:28.480 --> 00:27:30.240 after the Pharisees criticized Jesus 00:27:30.240 --> 00:27:32.279 for not following their traditions? 00:27:32.279 --> 00:27:34.799 He was upset that the disciples weren't washing their hands 00:27:34.799 --> 00:27:35.759 before they ate. 00:27:37.119 --> 00:27:40.960 And it says that Jesus left the people in Mark seven. 00:27:41.839 --> 00:27:44.720 He left the Pharisees who were criticizing him. 00:27:45.639 --> 00:27:47.160 And where did he go in Mark seven? 00:27:47.160 --> 00:27:48.759 If you're reading it, he says he went away 00:27:48.759 --> 00:27:53.759 to the region of Sidon, which is exactly where Elijah went. 00:27:55.599 --> 00:27:56.440 And then what does it say? 00:27:56.440 --> 00:27:59.879 If you're in Mark seven, it says then Jesus hid himself 00:27:59.879 --> 00:28:01.359 in a house. 00:28:01.359 --> 00:28:03.679 Jesus goes, he leaves the people. 00:28:03.679 --> 00:28:05.159 He goes to the same region. 00:28:05.159 --> 00:28:07.599 He hides himself in a house. 00:28:07.599 --> 00:28:10.359 And who finds him in the house in Mark seven? 00:28:12.919 --> 00:28:16.240 A Gentile widow with her sick daughter. 00:28:16.240 --> 00:28:17.719 They find him. 00:28:17.719 --> 00:28:20.799 They find the word, the word himself. 00:28:22.519 --> 00:28:23.919 And what does the Gentile widow say? 00:28:23.919 --> 00:28:26.319 It's one of the most challenging passages, 00:28:26.319 --> 00:28:28.199 but if you read it in light of first king 17, 00:28:28.199 --> 00:28:29.919 it really makes sense. 00:28:29.920 --> 00:28:32.200 The widow says to Jesus in that house 00:28:32.200 --> 00:28:33.440 where he tried to hide himself. 00:28:33.440 --> 00:28:35.759 I know we're not Israelites, 00:28:35.759 --> 00:28:38.039 but can we still get crumbs from the table? 00:28:39.160 --> 00:28:41.240 In other words, can there just be a little bit of bread 00:28:41.240 --> 00:28:42.519 for us? 00:28:42.519 --> 00:28:44.320 Can there be bread for the Gentiles? 00:28:44.320 --> 00:28:46.360 We're starving for the word. 00:28:46.360 --> 00:28:47.840 I have a sick daughter. 00:28:49.519 --> 00:28:52.840 And Jesus marvels at her faith and he heals her daughter. 00:28:52.840 --> 00:28:54.800 And he says, you get bread. 00:28:55.920 --> 00:28:57.480 What is God doing in these passages? 00:28:57.480 --> 00:28:59.080 What are these parallel accounts? 00:28:59.079 --> 00:29:01.079 The first king 17, Mark seven, 00:29:02.000 --> 00:29:04.679 he's moving his blessing onto another people. 00:29:04.679 --> 00:29:08.799 He's hiding himself from ethnic Israel 00:29:08.799 --> 00:29:11.319 and blessing the Gentile world. 00:29:11.319 --> 00:29:14.279 He's bestowing grace and favor outside the boundaries 00:29:14.279 --> 00:29:15.879 of just ethnic Israel. 00:29:17.039 --> 00:29:17.879 Why is he doing that? 00:29:17.879 --> 00:29:20.039 Why is it important for us to see that? 00:29:21.480 --> 00:29:23.079 Because true children of Abraham 00:29:23.079 --> 00:29:24.679 respond to the word of God, 00:29:24.679 --> 00:29:28.279 to the word Jesus himself, 00:29:28.279 --> 00:29:31.319 in a posture of utter faith and utter need. 00:29:32.879 --> 00:29:35.000 They say, please don't let your word leave us. 00:29:35.000 --> 00:29:38.000 Just give us crumbs of the bread of life. 00:29:38.000 --> 00:29:39.559 We have no other hope. 00:29:39.559 --> 00:29:41.279 If you leave us, we are dead. 00:29:42.839 --> 00:29:46.480 I can't say it much better than John Flavill. 00:29:47.720 --> 00:29:49.480 He says, we must set ourselves in his way, 00:29:49.480 --> 00:29:51.720 Christ's way under the ordinances and cry to him, 00:29:51.720 --> 00:29:54.379 Lord, that my eyes may be opened. 00:29:55.319 --> 00:29:57.240 Why do we not go to God and say, Lord, 00:29:57.240 --> 00:30:00.880 did you give Christ a commission to open blind eyes? 00:30:00.880 --> 00:30:04.759 Look at me, Lord, I am poor, dark, ignorant of soul. 00:30:04.759 --> 00:30:08.079 Did you give him to be salvation to the ends of the earth? 00:30:08.079 --> 00:30:10.359 And will I still remain in the shadow of death? 00:30:10.359 --> 00:30:13.839 Oh, that he might be a saving light unto me. 00:30:16.279 --> 00:30:19.839 And where does the story of First King 17 end? 00:30:19.839 --> 00:30:26.839 It ends with Elijah raising her boy even from death. 00:30:26.839 --> 00:30:30.240 When the woman first met Elijah, what did she say to him? 00:30:30.240 --> 00:30:32.799 She said, your God may be living, 00:30:32.799 --> 00:30:35.199 but it doesn't matter to us, we're dying. 00:30:35.199 --> 00:30:37.359 You might have a God who lives, but we're dying. 00:30:37.359 --> 00:30:38.799 It means nothing to us. 00:30:40.000 --> 00:30:42.319 In other words, what difference does your God make to me? 00:30:42.319 --> 00:30:44.439 What difference does your God make to us here 00:30:44.439 --> 00:30:47.199 in Gentile territory, to me and my family, 00:30:47.199 --> 00:30:48.119 and our daily needs? 00:30:48.119 --> 00:30:50.039 What difference does your living God make? 00:30:50.039 --> 00:30:51.039 We're dying here. 00:30:53.239 --> 00:30:57.079 And his God made all the difference in the world. 00:30:57.079 --> 00:30:58.719 He cared for them day after day, 00:30:58.719 --> 00:31:01.599 put a little bit more flour, a little bit more oil, 00:31:01.599 --> 00:31:04.719 with a little quiet filling of the jars. 00:31:04.719 --> 00:31:06.399 And he even cared for them to the extent, 00:31:06.399 --> 00:31:08.559 not just daily, but even beyond the grave. 00:31:08.559 --> 00:31:10.199 He said, I will be your God, 00:31:10.199 --> 00:31:12.199 even after death has taken hold of you. 00:31:13.959 --> 00:31:16.159 That's what the Lord does for his true people, 00:31:16.160 --> 00:31:18.440 for those who come to him saying, I need you. 00:31:18.440 --> 00:31:21.200 Isn't there just crumbs for me from your word? 00:31:23.640 --> 00:31:26.640 So in conclusion, what do we make of this? 00:31:26.640 --> 00:31:29.120 This is a series on prophets, 00:31:29.120 --> 00:31:32.120 and the church has only really one true prophet, 00:31:32.120 --> 00:31:33.960 Jesus Christ. 00:31:33.960 --> 00:31:36.440 And he speaks, he speaks to us still as a people, 00:31:36.440 --> 00:31:37.320 as we gather together. 00:31:37.320 --> 00:31:39.600 He speaks to us in his word. 00:31:39.600 --> 00:31:41.680 He calls his people together every Sunday, 00:31:41.680 --> 00:31:44.680 and he has a minister, someone stand up 00:31:44.680 --> 00:31:48.279 and speak from his word to his bride. 00:31:48.279 --> 00:31:49.320 It's ordinary. 00:31:50.120 --> 00:31:53.880 Sometimes, hopefully not tonight, it's boring. 00:31:53.880 --> 00:31:56.320 We have to drag ourselves here, 00:31:56.320 --> 00:31:59.000 but it's Christ speaking to his people. 00:31:59.000 --> 00:32:02.039 It's God saying, I want to reveal myself to you. 00:32:02.039 --> 00:32:03.240 I don't want to hide myself. 00:32:03.240 --> 00:32:04.840 I want you to see my glory. 00:32:07.440 --> 00:32:09.160 And how do we respond to this word? 00:32:10.000 --> 00:32:10.840 How do we respond? 00:32:10.840 --> 00:32:13.080 Do we respond like the Israelites? 00:32:13.079 --> 00:32:16.559 You can respond like the Israelites and first kings, 00:32:16.559 --> 00:32:19.000 and you can bow down to bail, 00:32:19.000 --> 00:32:21.879 or you can respond like the Israelites in Mark 7, 00:32:21.879 --> 00:32:24.599 and you can have traditions and legalism. 00:32:24.599 --> 00:32:26.480 In either way, you have a heart that says, 00:32:26.480 --> 00:32:28.240 I don't need this word for myself. 00:32:30.079 --> 00:32:30.919 How do we respond? 00:32:30.919 --> 00:32:33.679 We pray, Lord, don't hide your word from us. 00:32:33.679 --> 00:32:35.799 Give us more of your word. 00:32:35.799 --> 00:32:38.319 Show us more of your glory in your word. 00:32:38.319 --> 00:32:39.679 Give us more of it. 00:32:39.680 --> 00:32:42.120 Give us more of it. 00:32:42.120 --> 00:32:45.880 Practically, we pray for ministers in this land 00:32:45.880 --> 00:32:48.920 that their hearts would be unmoved from fidelity to Christ. 00:32:48.920 --> 00:32:50.759 That Christ would take such a hole of their hearts, 00:32:50.759 --> 00:32:53.720 they would have the boldness to speak to the people of God 00:32:53.720 --> 00:32:54.560 every week. 00:32:55.360 --> 00:32:57.960 We pray practically for ETS students 00:32:57.960 --> 00:33:00.519 for more and more and more of them. 00:33:00.519 --> 00:33:03.840 Beg God not to pull back his word from his people. 00:33:03.840 --> 00:33:08.440 Pray for this pulpit that 100, 200, 300 years from now, 00:33:08.440 --> 00:33:10.920 this pulpit will still be, if Christ hasn't returned, 00:33:10.920 --> 00:33:13.400 it'll still be preaching Christ Sunday after Sunday 00:33:13.400 --> 00:33:15.160 after Sunday to the people of God. 00:33:16.160 --> 00:33:19.160 And pray for your homes, pray for your families 00:33:19.160 --> 00:33:21.920 that around your dinner tables at bedside, 00:33:21.920 --> 00:33:25.120 the word of God would be proclaimed to the people of God. 00:33:26.640 --> 00:33:29.400 Pray, God, show us your glory. 00:33:29.400 --> 00:33:31.640 Don't hide your word from us as a people. 00:33:32.920 --> 00:33:33.920 Let me pray for us. 00:33:33.920 --> 00:33:38.920 So Father, we come to you and we do pray 00:33:39.279 --> 00:33:42.039 that you would not hide your word from us. 00:33:42.039 --> 00:33:44.039 That can be so subtle. 00:33:44.039 --> 00:33:45.440 We can have the word in our hands 00:33:45.440 --> 00:33:47.240 and reject it in our hearts. 00:33:48.279 --> 00:33:51.360 Lord, would you show us your glory as your people? 00:33:51.360 --> 00:33:56.240 Lord, would you continue to hold this land fast? 00:33:56.240 --> 00:33:58.920 Lord, would you send out ministers into it? 00:33:58.920 --> 00:34:01.519 Would you send out your word, 00:34:01.519 --> 00:34:05.559 your spirit into the city, into this land, into pulpits? 00:34:05.559 --> 00:34:08.320 Lord, would this land be filled with your word? 00:34:08.320 --> 00:34:10.400 Would you not hide your face from us, Lord? 00:34:10.400 --> 00:34:12.519 Thank you that you've revealed yourself 00:34:12.519 --> 00:34:14.239 in the person of Christ. 00:34:14.239 --> 00:34:17.199 The sun came down, the true prophet. 00:34:17.199 --> 00:34:19.079 And Lord, pray that each person in this room 00:34:19.079 --> 00:34:21.480 would think, what have I done with that prophet? 00:34:21.480 --> 00:34:23.960 What have I done with the word of God himself? 00:34:23.960 --> 00:34:25.840 The word made manifest. 00:34:26.800 --> 00:34:29.519 Lord, keep these people, I pray, to encourage their hearts. 00:34:29.519 --> 00:34:32.119 I pray this in Christ's name, amen.