Theme: Faith and Struggle
Text: 1 Kings 19:1-18
The war between faith and struggle is eternal. Adam started the struggle and it continues on. The prophet Elijah was faith veteran but suddenly he had life-threatening. So this man made it or not the call is the description in this sermon.
1. Elijah was a Faith Veteran
Elijah was introduced as a man from Tisbe. No other information is available to us. Man with great courage and strength. He was also known as the prophet of Fire. He was a prototype of John the Baptist as Rugged in appearance and dress (2 Kings 1:8, Mathew 3:4).
Elijah’s mighty faith was exhibited in different occasions. Especially in three places. He was fed three times with divine Supplies:
1. By Ravens 1 Kings 17:6
2. By Widow 1 kings 17:15
3. By an Angel 1 Kings 19:5-8
God shall supply all my needs from his abundance.
He was a man of prayer and stood before God in his life.
He had ha great confidence in declaring that he serves the living God (1 Kings 17:1). He was always led by the spirit and directed by the word of the Lord (1 Kings 18:1-2).
Elijah spent time in prayer before he uttered a single word to King or Princes, widows or the disciple. He was simple, suffering and mere human but full of God’s presence and word, he prayed earnestly for personal public needs and revivals (James 5:17). He had fervent prayer at Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:42).
He was the mighty and bold preacher of his day (1 Kings 17:20-22), his earnest prayer made the place upside down, people have seen the power of God (1 Kings 18:36-38). The King saw him as a trouble maker but in fact, he was a trouble-shooter (1 Kings 18:16-18). He rebuked Kings (I Kings 21:20-Ahab was confronted, and 2 Kings 1:16-Ahaziah during his illness).
A great revival was experienced by all of Israel. There was great fear came upon people. The kingdom was shaken. The name of YHWH was exalted to the highest.
2. Elijah was a Faith Wrecked person (1 Kings 19:3-9)
Worn out, exhausted and completely lost hope of continuing the task. Mathew Henry Says, “Great faith is not always alike strong”.
He ran away from the land of Judah as far as Ahab could not demand anybody for his life. Of Paran, which began near Beersheba, and was the wilderness of Arabia, in which the Israelites were near forty years.
Elijah such a great veteran was put into the spirit of discouragement. He was so disturbed and gone to the extreme end, to die. He left his servant and then further journeyed for a day, nearly 20 miles. He slept under the broom tree. It grows to such a size as to afford shade and protection, both in heat and storm, to travellers.
Illustration: Story of my aunt living in the small mount and the broom tree use.
The life at extremity always under calamity. The sobriety leads to forget the sophisticated life. His shipwrecked life led him to forget all his comforts, fights, aims and goals. Now he has decided to give up.
The delusion led him to dissolution and imaginary life. He even was afraid of his sin, he did evaluate himself. The scale he has for himself was lesser than his ancestors. He felt like a sinner and useless person (1 Kings 19:4). Israelites wanted to kill me now(v. 10).
Despondency comes in the lives of all saints:
- Moses – a beautiful prayer of discouragement and despondency (Number 11:10-15).
- The job was telling I loathe my very life (3:21, 10:1).
- David cried unto the Lord ‘My God and My God, why have you forsaken me’ (Psalm 22:1).
- Rebekah ‘I am disgusted with living because of these Hittite women’(Genesis 27:46)
- Solomon “I hated living under the sun, all of it is meaningless to chase life(Eccl. 2:17). Dead are happier than living (Eccl. 4:2).
3. Elijah a faith pacesetter (1 Kings 19:15-18)
Elijah was a mighty man in all his activities. The one good thing he did was he never let his servant know that he is discouraged and he wants to die. (1 kings 19:3). His servant was utter ignorance of the struggles of Elijah. The victory ambits were known to the followers but not the defeat of their master.
What are you doing here? (1 kings 19:9) Always the question raises the level of commitment w have towards God and his mission. By an awful exhibition of divine power, he was made aware of the divine speaker who addressed him; his attention was arrested, his petulance was silenced, his heart was touched, and he was bid without delay return to the land of Israel, and prosecute the Lord's work there.
Elijah was a pacesetter or trendsetter. He led a new lifestyle, new courage and new realities of life. He never gathered anything for him. He was not popular or famous to be praised. He lived a simple and holy life.
New leaders he created with the help of God:
Hazael king over Aram
Jehu King over Israel
Elisha Prophet in Successor
As the divinely appointed successor of Elijah, Elisha performs these functions, initially given to Elijah but leftover after Elijah departed by the anointing of Hazael (2 Kings 8:7-15) and Jehu (2 Kings 9:1-13). The invisible church is higher in number than the visible church.
