On the Road with Elijah
On The Road With Elijah To Carmel
(part 3)
1 Kings 18:41-46
In our last study we saw the fire fall. As we continue our journey with Elijah we remain with him at Carmel and we see the rain fall. Revival always results in blessings. The rain follows the fire. The story of revival is always one of great and glorious blessings that were enjoyed and experienced by God's people.
For three and a half years there had been no rain. Both the land and the people were suffering as result of the conditions that existed. But once they had dealt with the cause of the drought, the rain began to fall once again. Sin always results in the heavens being shut up. But when sin has been confronted and confessed, the heavens are opened.
A.W. Pink said, "Thus was the evil put away from them and the way opened for God's outward blessing. He graciously accepted this as their reformation and accordingly removed His scourge from them. This is ever the order: judgment prepares the way for blessing; the awful fire is followed by the welcome rain. Once a people takes their place on their faces and render to God the homage which is His due, it will not be long ere refreshing showers are sent down from Heaven."
verse 42
After leaving the place on Carmel where God revealed Himself by fire, Elijah made his way to the top of Mount Carmel. As we continue our journey with Elijah, there are three lessons that I want us to learn from his moments on top of Mount Carmel.
First, we are reminded:
1. Faith Is Acting On God's Promises
The Bible often reminds us that faith is essential in the walk of the Christian. On four different occasions we are told that the "just shall live by faith" (Cp. Hab. 2:4, Rom. 1:17, Gal. 3:11, Heb. 10:38).
The walk of a Christian is to be regulated and characterized by faith. As result, unbelief is strongly condemned. Perhaps, there is not a stronger condemnation of unbelief as found in Hebrews 11:6, "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."
Faith has been defined in many ways. F.B. Meyer said, "Faith is the power of putting self aside that God may work unhindered." Thomas Manton said, "Faith is the open hand of the soul to receive all the bounteous supplies of God." Charles Spurgeon said, "Faith is reason at rest in God."
Faith, simply defined, is taking God at His Word. A.W. Tozer said, "Faith is not optimism, though it may breed optimism; it is not cheerfulness, though the man of faith is likely to be a reasonably cheerful; it is not a vague sense of well-being or a tender appreciation for the beauty of human togetherness. Faith is confidence in God's self-revelation as found in the Holy Scriptures."
Faith in a nutshell is acting on what God has promised and shown about Himself in His Word.
The story of the absence and arrival of the rain is a story that illustrates the meaning of faith.
First, there is a receiving of God's promises
When Elijah first stepped into the pages of both the Scripture and history, he did so with the words, "As the LORD God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word" (1 Kings 17:1). There was an announcement that it would not rain for three and a half years. Elijah's word was in reality God's Word. Elijah was merely the messenger of what God said.
Three and half years later we read, "And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the LORD came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth" (1 Kings 18:1).
God has said that it would not rain and now God is saying it was going to rain.
Each of Elijah's actions that involved rain was based on what God had said. The foundation of faith is always what God has said.
The Bible is our promise book! It is a book whereby God has made every believer promises. Peter tells us that in God's Word we have received "exceeding great and precious promises" (2 Pet. 1:4).
When Elijah told Ahab that it would not rain, he was communicating what God has said. Likewise, when he told him that it was going to rain, he was simply relaying what God promised. Faith has no foundation apart from what God has promised. Faith begins with the receiving of God's promises.
Secondly, there is the matter responding to God's promises
First, one accepts God's Word to be true. Then, one acts upon that truth.
Notice verse 41
Elijah called for Ahab to return to his home. The reason he gave that instruction was that a heavy rain was coming. It was not just a rain that was coming, but an "abundance of rain." There was a mighty rainstorm coming. Old-timers would call it a frog-strangler. At the moment there was no rain, yet Elijah knew the rain was coming. How did he know it? God had said so!
Elijah spoke of "a sound of abundance of rain." Was there the sound of thunder in the air? I like many others, believe that it was not an audible sound, but an expression of faith on Elijah's part. It was not a sound he heard with the ear, but a sound he heard by faith.
An American missionary in Africa wanted to translate the English word faith into the local dialect. He could not find its equivalent. So he went to an old sage, who was himself a fine Christian, for help in rendering the needed word into understandable language.
The guru studied it, and finally said, "Does it not mean to hear with the heart?"
Elijah was hearing with the heart. He was hearing what was to come. He was hearing by faith! Thus he gave Ahab the instructions to go home. Elijah was acting on what God said. He was believing what God said and responding to the reliability of God's promise.
Vance Havner said, "Remember that faith is not a strange sensation that comes over you in rare moments, a magic thrill from something in the minister's voice, a mystic trance to be reached once in a while, then lost for weeks or years. It is a sturdy confidence that God will keep His promises, confidence enough to walk out on them and live there, although the world expects them to crack and crumble under you any day." (4)
It is one thing to say God's promises are true, but another to act upon them. It is one thing to talk about faith and another to walk by faith. Faith acts upon the promises God has given us. Faith is a Christian resting, trusting, and responding to what God said.
The story is told of three farmers who gathered daily in a field during a horrible drought. They would get down on their knees, look upward, and pray the skies would open and pour forth a much-needed rain. Unfortunately, the heavens are silent, and the petitioners become discouraged, but they continue to meet every morning to lift up their request to God.
One morning an uninvited stranger approached and asked the men what they are doing. They responded, "We're praying for rain." The newcomer looks at each of them and shakes his head, "No, I don't think so." The first farmer says, "Of course we're praying. We are down on our knees pleading for rain. Look around; see the drought. We haven't had rain in more than a year!"
The outsider continues to shake his head and advises them their efforts will never work. The second farmer jumps in and says, "We need the rain; we aren't asking only for ourselves, but for our families and livestock." The man listens, nods, and says he still isn't impressed. "You're wasting your time," he says.
The third farmer can't take any more, and in anger he says, "Okay, what would you do if you were in our shoes?" The visitor asks, "You really want to know?" The three farmers answered, "We really want to know! The future of our farmlands is at stake." The guest announces, "I would have brought an umbrella!"
Faith is bringing an umbrella when you are praying for rain. It is believing what God said and then acting upon His word as being absolute truth.
Secondly, we not only learn from Elijah on top of Carmel that faith is acting on God's promises, but also:
2. Prayer Is Anchored In God's Promises
In James 5:17-18 we read, "Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit."
Both the absence and arrival of the rain is linked to the praying of Elijah.
Elijah's prayer for the stopping of the rain and then the starting of the rain was anchored in the word he had received from God. God had given him a promise and it was that promise that he based his prayers upon.
18:42
Although the posture in prayer is not the important feature of his praying, his posture is interesting. Adam Clarke says, "He kneeled down, and then bowed his head to the earth, so that, while his face was between his knees, his forehead touched the ground."
Warren Wiersbe says, "Elijah's unusual posture was almost a fetal position and indicated the prophet's humility, his great concern for the people, and his burden for the glory of the Lord."
In a position and posture of humiliation and dependence, Elijah prayed that God would send the rain. As he prayed, he did so with great confidence that God would send rain.
18:43
The sea he was speaking of was the Mediterranean Sea which was to the west. This is the direction in which nearly all rains come to Palestine. Why did he tell the servant to go look toward the sea? He was expecting the rain to come! He expected his servant to see dark clouds rising in the west that would be bringing rain. He was not hoping it would rain. He was expecting it to rain. Why was he so confident in prayer? God had said it was going to rain.
When we come to God in prayer and ask Him for things, we do so because He has invited us to come to Him. Furthermore, when we ask, we can do so with great confidence because He has given us promises that we can claim in prayer. Since we know His promises are true, we can pray with confidence.
Earnest and effective prayer as was demonstrated in Elijah is always anchored in the promises of God. It is the kind of praying that believes that not only can God answer prayer, but He will. It is the kind of praying that hears the "sound of an abundance of rain" even before there is a cloud in the sky. It is the kind of praying that believes that you receive what you are asking for even before you have it. It is the kind of praying that knows and does not doubt the reliability of God's promises.
18:43
The servant went and looked as directed and came back with the message, "There is nothing." There was no sign of rain. Was Elijah's faith shaken or did it waver? Absolutely not!
We read, "And he said, Go again seven times" (18:43).
The words literally mean, "The said he seven times, Go again." It was not a case where he was telling the servant to go back and forth seven times, but instead, he sent him time and time again and he came back with the same message.
Elijah did not give up in asking for rain. Each time he sent the servant to look out over the sea, he was expecting a sign of rain. And each time he returned with the same message, he sent him again as he continued praying.
When we pray we must not lose heart and give up in our praying. There is a valuable lesson to be learned here from Elijah. As we seek God in prayer, we can do so with absolute assurance that God will keep His promises. If there is not an immediate answer, may we not get discouraged or give up, but let us keep praying until God keeps His promise and answers our prayer.
A Scotch brother said: "I was an intensely worldly man, yet I never found satisfaction. When my father passed away, who was a delightful Christian; I looked over his papers, and saw he had given large sums of money to Mr. Mueller's orphanage. I said, 'I am sure my father would like me to help that work. I will go down.' I went, and there was a revival on for boys and girls, so I listened to the message. God saved me. They said, 'We are not surprised, for at this Home, for thirty-eight years, Mr. Mueller never ceased to pray for you.'"
When our praying is anchored in God's promises, we can pray with confidence. If the answer does not come immediately, we continue in prayer with the same confidence.
Whenever prayer is anchored in God's promises, the issue is never if but when. Matthew Henry said, "God's promises are to be our pleas in prayer." When our prayers are anchored in God's promises, we can be certain that it is only time before they are answered.
Thirdly, we not only learn from Elijah's experience on top of Carmel that faith is acting on and that is prayer is anchored in God's promises, but also:
3. Blessings Are Attained By God's Promises
God always keeps His word. If God says He will do something, mark it down, He will do it. Paul said in Titus 1:2 that God "cannot lie." It is not that He will not. He cannot! It is not possible for God to lie. Therefore, every promise He has made He will keep.
As the converted Cornish coalminer Billy Bray said, "The promises of God are just as good as ready money any day." I love the way Thomas Brooks put it: "Men many time eat their words, but God will never eat his."
God gave Elijah the promise that it would rain. Did God keep His promise? Need we ask?
18:44
The servant would make a trip of eight times to check and see if there was any sign of rain (he asked him to go look seven times after the initial look). On the eighth time he looked he saw a little cloud rising from the sea about the size of a man's hand.
It was enough for Elijah to know that rain was on its way. He said to Ahab, "Prepare thy chariot, and get down, that the rain stop thee not."
18:45
It wasn't long before the skies begin to darkened, the wind began to pick up, and the rain began to fall.
The God who can send fire down from heaven can surely send the rain. He had promised it would rain and rain it did!
Adoniram Judson labored diligently for six years in Burma before he baptized a convert. At the end of three years he was asked what evidence he had of ultimate success. He replied, "As much as there is a God who will fulfill all His promises." A hundred churches and thousands of converts answered his faith.
If God promises rain get the umbrella out. It WILL rain. The dry and parched land was refreshed by the sending of the rain. The people who had suffered because they had left God were now blessed because they had turned back to God. The blessing of the rain and the blessings it brought were all attained because of God's promises.
God's promises to the believer are promises of His blessings. The blessings we enjoy and experience are blessings brought into our life because God made certain promises to us and the fulfillment of those promises are rich with blessings. All we enjoy as Christians flows from God's promises. It is true that we reap what we sow, but even more, we reap what He promised.
