Class Lesson for August 1, 2021

 

Question 1:

Who would you trust to lead you

through difficulty or danger?

THE POINT

Service to God should be

fueled by trust in Him.

THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE

On June 30, 1859, tightrope walker Charles Blondin astonished the world when he walked just over a thousand feet across Niagara Falls on a cable about three inches thick. The cable sagged about sixty feet in the middle, forming a sharp slope, and the drop was nearly two hundred feet.

After that first daring walk across Niagara Falls, Blondin would perform the feat many more times, always escalating the risk and amazing the crowds. Later, he would cross blindfolded, on stilts, and even wearing a gorilla suit and pushing a wheelbarrow. 

Blondin’s enthralled audiences responded with wild applause. But when he asked for a volunteer to ride on his back while he crossed the falls, they were less than eager. The crowds believed he could do it, but no one believed it enough to climb on his back. Only his manager trusted in Blondin enough to accept his challenge. That is real trust.1

Elijah similarly demonstrated real trust in serving God. He didn’t just talk about what God could do. He built his life on it and showed others how to do the same.

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

1 Kings 17:7-12

7 Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. 8 Then the word of the Lord came to him: 9 “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.” 10 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?” 11 As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.” 12 “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 olive 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.”

Instructions don’t always make sense. What do you do when those instructions come from God? That’s the dilemma Elijah faced while in hiding by the Kerith Ravine, where God had been feeding him (1 Kings 17:2-6).

Elijah was out to prove Yahweh was the One, true God. The prophet had declared God would stop the rain indefinitely, proving He alone had such power. But this prophecy put Elijah in grave danger from Ahab and Jezebel, the nation’s rulers who worshiped Baal. So God had led Elijah into hiding at the Kerith Ravine. Water flowing from this brook and food brought by ravens sustained Elijah.

After some time, even the wadi dried up. A wadi is a rocky watercourse that runs dry most of the year but fills during the rainy season. As time went on without rain, the stream stopped flowing. But why? Surely the God who miraculously stopped the rain and sent ravens with food could keep a wadi filled, even during a drought. God cared about Elijah. And God certainly has the power to do all things, so why did He allow the life sustaining wadi to run dry?

Question 2:

What helps you trust God’s guidance

when it doesn’t seem to make sense?

When God is our Provider, we will always have what we need. The nature of the provision may change, but He Himself is our Source. Sometimes what God permits us to lose or endure points us to the truth that He is all we really need (2 Cor. 12:7-10). It is a matter of learning to trust in Him and not in the things He provides.

Trust comes easily when God’s leading makes sense, but that’s not always the case. When the Kerith Ravine dried up, God directed Elijah to go to Zarephath. Strange guidance because Zarephath was in Phoenicia, Jezebel’s home and the center of Baal worship in that region. Furthermore, God promised to support Elijah on the income of a widow living there. That sounded improbable because widows in that agricultural society typically lived in abject poverty. Yet that was where God sent Elijah, and Elijah trusted God enough to go.

Arriving at the city gate, Elijah met the widow as she was gathering wood. When he asked her for water and food, it only seemed to reinforce that this seemed like an outrageous plan since the widow was preparing to make her final meal with her last flour and oil. With the pantry bare, she had reconciled herself to the idea she and her son would soon starve to death. Other people might have turned around and walked out the door thinking, “If I’m going to make it, I’ll have to provide for myself.” But Elijah trusted God enough to follow through with His “absurd” plan.

1 Kings 17:13-14

13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 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 sends rain on the land.’”

When our routines are upset and provisions are in question, we have a new opportunity to trust God and lead others to trust Him too. That’s exactly what Elijah did in his situation.

The widow had nothing to offer Elijah and no prospects of getting more. She had lost hope and given up. Elijah might have joined in her despair. After all, he also had nothing for sustenance and no “check in the mail.” The difference was Elijah had learned from experience that his God always provided. Elijah didn’t have to see God’s promises with his eyes to claim them by faith.

Elijah responded to the widow with the words God speaks to us time and again throughout Scripture, “Don’t be afraid” (v. 13). He allowed God to speak through him to comfort and encourage the widow in that moment. The widow was focused on her lack. “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug” (1 Kings 17:12). Elijah challenged her to see what God could do with what she placed in His hands.

Elijah’s actions compare with those of Jesus when He instructed His disciples to feed the five thousand. They responded like the widow, “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish” (Matt. 14:17, emphasis added). But Jesus challenged them to offer their meager resources to God and see Him do what only He can accomplish. By directing the widow to feed him before feeding her son and herself, Elijah invited her to believe God’s promise.

Just as Elijah had predicted the drought, he prophesied continuing provision for the widow as if he had already seen it happen. With his ear tuned closely to God’s voice, Elijah spoke aloud with confidence what God had impressed on him in secret. His example serves as a model for us. Will we hold fast to faith when hope seems lost? Will we share our faith and invite others to trust with us in the God who never forsakes His own?

Question 3:

What provisions of God in the past have

encouraged you to trust Him in the present?

1 Kings 17:15-16

15 She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. 16 For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.

We can trust based on how God worked in biblical times, and our faith can grow when we hear what God has done for others today. But nothing is like the confidence we possess when we take Him at His word and see His power for ourselves. We must personally trust His faithfulness and His provision. We must trust His promises and see God move mountains and resurrect what was dead.

That’s what happened when the widow in Zarephath did what God’s prophet told her to do. Rather than playing it safe and holding onto the little she had, she let it go. Ignoring reason, she used her last resources to feed Elijah. By trusting God, she opened the door for Him to prove Himself. As a result, the widow, her household, and Elijah all ate for many days. God miraculously multiplied what she trusted to Him, and He provided for her throughout the three-and-a-half-year drought (Luke 4:25). God demonstrated His sovereignty even in Zarephath, a Phoenician town where people believed Baal reigned.

Question 4:

How is trust in God developed

and strengthened?

Our willingness to trust God and act in faith gives Him the opportunity to display His power. In the modern world, no one better modeled how to trust, try, and prove God than George Müller of nineteenth-century Bristol, England. Müller famously founded orphanages and trusted God to provide miraculously for the children under his care. In his autobiography, he wrote, “I want to show these people that God is faithful and can be trusted without reservation . . . by giving my brothers visible proof of the unchangeable faithfulness of the Lord, I might strengthen their faith . . . This is the primary reason for establishing the orphan house . . . that God would be magnified because the orphans under my care will be provided with all they need through prayer and faith.”2 Müller’s daring faith challenges us still today: How will we trust, try, and prove God? And how will others see God’s faithfulness proven as a result?

Question 5:

How has God used others to

strengthen your trust in Him?

TRUST AND OBEY

One of the great hymns of the faith is “Trust and Obey.” Under the headings below, write several phrases from today’s text that link trust in God with obedience to God. Then write several phrases that show areas you have trusted and obeyed God this week.

From the Text

Trusting God:                                           Obeying God:

From Your Life

Trusting God:                                           Obeying God:

“Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him!

How I’ve proved him o’er and o’er!”

LOUIS ASTEAD

LIVE IT OUT

How will you express your trust in God? Choose one of the following applications:

Trust. Identify one thing God has told you to do that doesn’t seem logical. Do it anyway.                                                                                                                                                                         

Encourage. Name someone struggling with a crisis. Share with this person your hope in Christ. Tell him or her how God has brought you through trouble and pray with the person.                                                                                                                                                                              

Give. Give an “outrageous” gift to your church or someone in need. Trust God to replenish what you need.

Few of us will ever draw as much attention from others as someone tightrope walking across Niagara Falls. But we can point to our Provider by telling what He has done in our lives and have an even greater impact—in ways that matter or eternity.

Teacher's Notes:

Serve with Trust       Passage: 1 Kings 17:7-16

Video: Indiana Jones – Leap of Faith

Click Play to Watch

Have you ever really had a “Leap of Faith” moment?

How do we trust God outside our comfort zones?

Trust plays a large role in our lives. We trust our alarm clocks will go off at the right time. We trust the food we eat for breakfast was made properly and is safe to eat. We trust our vehicle is safe to drive. But people and things can fail. Trusting God outside our comfort zones is a literal walk we all must have with God. We all have been at a place called "There." It's a place of not knowing what you are going to eat, how your bills will be paid, or even where you are going to live. God used an unusual source to feed Elijah last week–a raven and this week He uses a widow. Similarly, Scripture tells us in Matthew 6:26 that if we look at the birds in the air they don't sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet our heavenly Father feeds them. Just like birds, we are not to worry! We may lose our family members, friends, or even a job. We can lose everything we have, but it's important for us not to lose our faith! At times, our faith is all we have! At times it requires a leap outside of our comfort zone.

 

 

What was last week’s setting? Elijah’s story continues. Consider what has happened. The prophet Elijah burst on the scene to confront the problem of Baal worship that King Ahab and his queen, the evil Jezebel, had introduced into Israel. Elijah declared that a drought would cover the region. This would be a demonstration of the power of the Lord God over Baal, the regional god of rain and vegetation. The Lord controls life and death, fertility and infertility. Obviously, Ahab did not delight in hearing such a proclamation. Though not explicitly described, Elijah apparently was in danger, so the Lord instructed him to retreat to the Jordan River area. That area also was affected by the drought, but God provided for Elijah in the form of water in a brook and an ample supply of food delivered by ravens every morning and evening. Elijah was sustained in a place of safety by the miraculous work of the Lord. Eventually, the brook dried up but God’s care and provision did not.

 

 

1 Kings 17:7-12

Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. Then the word of the Lord came to him: “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there 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 olive 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.   Follow God’s directions.

• During the good times and the bad times, the Lord takes care of His people and directs their path.
• The blessing of the Lord is found on the path of obedience.
• The word of the Lord is sure, even when it doesn’t appear so from a human perspective.
• God can use the little and the least to accomplish His purpose when the little and the least are entrusted to Him.

 

When has God provided for you through unlikely means?

 

We pick up in 1 Kings 17 where Elijah has been depending on God. However, we are about to see that the way he once depended on God was about to shift. But God did not just change gears without first giving Elijah instructions on where his next supply would come from. Often times we miss our next instructions from God because we are so caught up on handling the change or shift from God. Elijah, on the other hand, saw how God provided for him and understood that the brook running dry was a sign of the promise of the drought to come. That is how Elijah knew he was in God 's care. We must focus on the promises of God instead of the circumstances of our situation.

As we already know, Elijah walked in boldness, and there is a lot to be said about that. Most believers are too timid to pray in front of others let alone openly share the gospel. How can one begin to think that God will move for them, when they won't move for Him? Elijah did not hesitate to get up from where he was in order to venture to his new destination that was appointed by God. Then once he arrived there, he walked in the obedience and authority of God to make a request. See this is where God wants us, so that He can use us to serve Him. However, I am curious. How many believers would have tried to find another way instead of humbling themselves? See, when God says move, we should move right then without hesitation. I always compare it to the scenario of "if you received a phone call saying that you inherited $100 million, but you had to stop what you're doing right then to receive it, what would you do?" Many would instantly drop what they were doing. But, when it comes to God, we wait and contemplate. When God is actually worth far more than $100 million. We must move for God in the fashion that we want Him to move for us.

 

Elijah was out to prove Yahweh was the One, true God. The prophet had declared God would stop the rain indefinitely, proving He alone had such power. But this prophecy put Elijah in grave danger from Ahab and Jezebel, the nation’s rulers who worshiped Baal. So, God had led Elijah into hiding at the Kerith Ravine. Water flowing from this brook and food brought by ravens sustained Elijah.

 

What helps you trust God’s guidance when it doesn’t seem to make sense? - Leap of Faith

 

Trust comes easily when God’s leading makes sense, but that’s not always the case. When the Kerith Ravine dried up, God directed Elijah to go to Zarephath. Strange guidance because Zarephath was in Phoenicia, Jezebel’s home and the center of Baal worship in that region. Furthermore, God promised to support Elijah on the income of a widow living there. That sounded improbable because widows in that agricultural society typically lived in abject poverty. Yet that was where God sent Elijah, and Elijah trusted God enough to go.

 

1 Kings 17:13-14

Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf 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 sends rain on the land.’”

 

2.   Encourage others to join you.

• The promises of the Lord are true because He is true.
• A faith response is one in which we act upon a conviction that what God makes known is true.
• God supplies from the riches of His power and grace to give what we need to live.
• Because of our own experiences with the Lord, we who believe are well-equipped to encourage others to trust Him too.

 

What are some opportunities you’ve had to trust God and lead others to do the same?

Here we find the greatest level of obedience, which is sacrifice. We are already familiar with the text in 1 Samuel 15:22 when Samuel asks, “Does the LORD take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice.” We find here that Elijah wanted the widow to be obedient in her sacrifice. How often do we hold back from what God has told us to do, or to give out of fear of being left "empty handed"? The other point in this is that the widow was so distraught that the only thing she could see is death. Elijah probably thought God sent him there to save his life, but he was actually sent there to save hers and her son's life.

Now, this last part always amazes me. See, this is the part where God was creating a famine and drought in other places, but God was granting surplus here. We have often heard the phrase "You can't see the forest for the trees," but here we find that this woman could not see the bread for the flour mill; she only saw what she didn't have.

However, God 's provision was more than enough because of Elijah and her obedience. Let's just think, what would have happened had Elijah not followed God? I'm glad that he wasn't the only one that followed God in what appeared to be dark times. Christ also pushed through the dark times to save us and give us life everlasting. See Christ’s Garden of Gethsemane moment was a time of challenge and sacrifice in obedience.  

When our routines are in upheaval and our provision is in question, we have a new opportunity to trust God and lead others to trust Him too. That’s exactly what Elijah did in his situation.

The widow had nothing to offer Elijah and no prospects of getting more. She had lost hope and given up. Elijah might have joined in her despair. After all, he also had nothing for sustenance and no “check in the mail.” The difference was Elijah had learned from experience that his God always provided. Elijah didn’t have to see God’s promises with his eyes to claim them by faith.

Elijah’s actions compare with those of Jesus when He instructed His disciples to feed the five thousand. They responded like the widow, “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish” (Matt. 14:17, emphasis added). But Jesus challenged them to offer their meager resources to God and see Him do what only He can accomplish. By directing the widow to feed him before feeding her son and herself, Elijah invited her to believe God’s promise.

Just as Elijah had predicted the drought, he prophesied continuing provision for the widow as if he had already seen it happen. With his ear tuned closely to God’s voice, Elijah spoke aloud with confidence what God had impressed on him in secret. His example serves as a model for us. Will we hold fast to faith when hope seems lost? Will we share our faith and invite others to trust with us in the God who never forsakes His own?

 

1 Kings 17:15-16

She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.

 

3.   See God’s work.

• Our willingness to obey the Lord allows us to know the benefits of His work in our midst.
• The Lord will provide what we need; His provision is always sufficient.
• Look for God at work all around you. Trust Him to be faithful.
• Rejoice that the Lord desires to use you to declare His word and to encourage others to trust and obey Him.

 

What lessons about trust do we learn from Elijah and from the widow?

 

Make the comparison of this Gentile woman and the one Jesus ministered to in the New Testament.

We can trust based on how God worked in biblical times, and our faith can grow when we hear what God has done for others today. But nothing is like the confidence we possess when we take Him at His word and see His power for ourselves. We must personally trust His faithfulness and His provision.

Our willingness to trust God and act in faith gives Him the opportunity to display His power. In the modern world, no one better modeled how to trust, try, and prove God than George Müller of nineteenth-century Bristol, England.

Müller famously founded orphanages and trusted God to provide miraculously for the children under his care. In his autobiography, he wrote, “I want to show these people that God is faithful and can be trusted without reservation . . . by giving my brothers visible proof of the unchangeable faithfulness of the Lord, I might strengthen their faith . . . This is the primary reason for establishing the orphan house . . . that God would be magnified because the orphans under my care will be provided with all they need through prayer and faith.”6 Müller’s daring faith challenges us still today: How will we trust, try, and prove God? And how will others see God’s faithfulness proven as a result?

 

The Point for this session: Service to God should be fueled by trust in Him.

 

LIVE IT OUT

Trust. Identify one thing God has told you to do that doesn’t seem logical. Do it anyway.

Encourage. Name someone struggling with a crisis. Share with this person your hope in Christ. Tell them how God has brought you through trouble and pray with the person.

Give. Give an “outrageous” gift to your church or someone in need. Trust God to replenish what you need.

  

Live It Out - Hobbs

If, as some say, the difficult places of life are God’s training ground, many people who lived through 2020 may think themselves to be trained to the max for anything! Think of all we went through as a nation and a people.

• Areas of the country were ravaged by forest fires that raged for weeks, burning thousands of acres and homes. Deadly “inland hurricanes,” blasted though the Midwest US, destroying crops and ruining the farming season. Multiple hurricanes tore through the Gulf Coast, some areas being hit several times during the year.
• A sweeping Covid-19 pandemic brought not only uncertainty, sickness, and death but also divided a nation into camps of those who considered it a real danger and those who wondered if the media were overblowing it.
• Racial tensions boiled over because of violent deaths on the streets of our cities.
• And add to all this the question of a presidential election.
• And look at all that has occurred in 2021? Some days we couldn’t help but wonder, Can anything or anyone be trusted? Is there any source of stability and hope for a troubled world?

 

Conclusion: At times our obedience may not make sense to us; however, we have to place our faith and trust in our Maker, our Lord and Savior. Throughout our lives we may go through a drought from time-to-time. The droughts of our lives may be in the form of sickness, death, or even a relationship that leaves us broken. When we are going through a drought, remember that in John 4:14, if we drink from the water that Christ offers, we will never thirst again. We have to stand on the promises of God. God will always provide. In Romans 8:28, “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” Elijah was called and God provided for him using unusual sources. His obedience and faith carried him. We have to walk in obedience and have the same kind of faith that Elijah had.

A Leap of Faith

The book of Hebrews is an excellent place to find answers to our questions about faith. Chapter 11 begins with this short definition of faith: “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1).

What, then, is a leap of faith? The term leap of faith is not found in the Bible. It is a common idiom, though. Usually, to take a leap of faith means “to believe in something with no evidence for it” or “to attempt an endeavor that has little chance of success.” Leap of faith actually originated in a religious context. Søren Kierkegaard coined the expression as a metaphor for belief in God. He argued that truth cannot be found by observation alone but must be understood in the mind and heart apart from empirical evidence. Since we cannot observe God with our eyes, we must have faith that He is there. We jump from material concepts to the immaterial with a “leap of faith.”

 

Continuing in Hebrews chapter 11, we find an impressive list of men and women in the Bible who took a “leap of faith,” as it were. These are just a few of the people mentioned who took God at His Word and trusted Him to do what He had promised:

• By faith, Noah obeyed God and built an ark to save his family from the flood (Genesis 6:9 – 7:24).
• By faith, Abraham prepared to sacrifice his son, believing God would provide a lamb (Genesis 22:1–19).
• By faith, Moses chose to side with the Hebrews rather than stay in the Egyptian palace (Exodus 2 – 4).
• By faith, Rahab risked her life and sheltered enemy spies in her home (Joshua 2:1–24).

 

Throughout the rest of Scripture, the stories of the faithful continue.

 

• By faith, David confronted a giant with only a sling and a stone (1 Samuel 17).
• By faith, Peter stepped out of the boat when Jesus invited him to come (Matthew 14:22–33). The accounts go on and on, each story helping us to understand the biblical meaning of a leap of faith.

 

Exercising faith in God often requires taking a risk. Second Corinthians 5:7 tells us, “For we live by faith, not by sight.” But a biblical step of faith is not a “blind” leap. Our faith is backed by assurance and certainty. Faith is soundly supported by God’s promises in His Word. A leap of faith is not an irrational impulse that causes us to jump out into the great unknown without any foresight. According to the Word of God, believers are to seek counsel from godly leaders (Proverbs 11:14; 15:22; 24:6). Also, Christians are to acquire wisdom and direction from God’s Word (Psalm 119:105, 130).

 

The stories in the Bible exist for a reason. Our trust and faith grow stronger as we read these accounts of God’s powerful deliverance and rescue in times of need. God miraculously delivered Joseph from slavery and placed him in charge over all of Egypt. God transformed Gideon from a coward to a courageous warrior. These Bible characters took leaps of faith because they trusted in the God who was powerful enough to rescue them, hold them up, and not let them fall (see Jude 1:24).

 

Putting our faith into action may feel like a scary leap, but that is part of the testing and proving of our faith: “In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls (1 Peter 1:6–9; See Hebrews 11:17 also).

 

Stepping out in faith requires trusting God to do what He has already promised in His Word, even though we may not see the fulfillment of His promise yet. Genuine faith, belief, and trust will move us to action.

 

A leap of faith might mean leaving the safety of your comfort zone. Peter abandoned his safety and comfort when he jumped out of the boat to walk on water to Jesus. He could take that leap of faith because he knew his Lord and trusted that He was good: “The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made” (Psalm 145:9). When Jesus said, “Come,” Peter exercised childlike faith, the type of faith we are all called to possess: “But Jesus called the children to him and said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these’” (Luke 18:16).

 

When we demonstrate authentic trust in God, we know that our “leap of faith” is actually a leap into His all-powerful and loving arms. He delights in our trust and rewards those who earnestly pursue Him: “Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).

NEW SERIES BEGINS THIS SUNDAY - July 25, 2021

 Elijah: Living Outside the Comfort Zone

Click Here to Watch Promo

Reality television host Mike Rowe traveled all fifty states over eight years bringing us Discovery Channel’s Dirty Jobs, to highlight some of the strangest, grossest, most challenging jobs out there. Overall, he tackled 300 of the nastiest, most grueling jobs anyone could undertake.

Mike Rowe has become a champion of blue collar workers who perform inglorious jobs few want to do. Even after the program was canceled, Rowe continued to promote labor and the value of doing hard work. He seeks to dispel the popular notion that difficult, messy work is something to be avoided.

People often choose the path of least resistance—what’s easy and comfortable. But serving God isn’t a cushy job. It entails opposition, struggle, fear, heartache, and sacrifice. Still, it is the greatest job you can do with the longest lasting impact. Serving Him well over the long haul demands that we step outside our comfort zone and get our hands dirty. Looking at six episodes from the life of Elijah, we’ll learn from his example how to do just that. Following his path may just lead to the hardest job you’ve ever loved. 

Serving God and Others. In the right setting and context, serving God can seem easy and enjoyable. But many times, our service to God calls us to a place where the work might be strenuous and the people are difficult or even antagonistic. As we mature in Christ, we are willing to step outside our own comfort zones to serve God by serving others. 

Elijah: Living Outside the Comfort Zone

Session 1   Serve with Courage 1 Kings 16:29-33; 17:1-6

Session 2   Serve with Trust 1 Kings 17:7-16

Session 3   Serve Through Prayer 1 Kings 17:17-24

Session 4   Serve with Loyalty 1 Kings 18:20-26,31-39

Session 5   Serve Even When Discouraged 1 Kings 19:1-5a,11-18

Session 6   Lead Others to Serve 1 Kings 19:19-21; 2 Kings 2:6-14

Question 1:

When you think of courage, who comes to mind?

THE POINT

Serving God often calls

for courage.

THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE

In 2001, Pat Tillman was a starting football player for the Arizona Cardinals with a $3.6 million contract. But then on 9/11, terrorists attacked our country, leading Tillman to reassess his priorities. That’s when Pat Tillman made a life-changing decision—one that made headlines—when he left a promising career with the NFL to enlist in the U.S. Army.

He explained, “Sports embodied many of the qualities I deem meaningful. However, these last few years, and especially after recent events, I’ve come to appreciate just how shallow and insignificant my role is . . . It’s no longer important.”1

After several tours of duty as an Army Ranger, Tillman was killed in Afghanistan on April 22, 2004.

We must decide whether we will serve God with such courage. John Eldredge wrote, “The world in which we live is a combat zone, a violent clash of kingdoms, a bitter struggle unto the death.”2 In this world that opposes God, we must decide: Will we have the courage to stand for Him and declare His truth? The biblical account of Elijah gives us an example to follow. 

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

1 Kings 16:29-33

29 In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria over Israel twenty-two years. 30 Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him. 31 He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him. 32 He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria. 33 Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to arouse the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than did all the kings of Israel before him.

Under King Solomon, Israel was at the height of her glory. Fulfilling his father’s vision, Solomon built a magnificent temple as a center of worship to God. But Solomon also opened the nation to the practice of idolatry by marrying women from foreign lands where idol worship flourished (1 Kings 11:1-8). His failure paved the way for Israel’s decline.

After Solomon’s death, the nation splintered into two kingdoms. A string of unrighteous kings led the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Among these kings who all failed to obey God, Ahab distinguished himself as the most wicked and displeasing to God.

Ahab compounded his own moral failings by joining himself with Jezebel, the daughter of the king of Sidon. Jezebel zealously followed the false god, Baal. She fought to eradicate the worship of Yahweh from Israel completely and replace it with Baal worship, assassinating hundreds of people who stood in her way. Like Queen Mary I of England, known as Bloody Mary because of her ruthless persecution of Protestants, or Lizzie Borden, who brutally murdered her parents in 1892, Jezebel’s very name has become synonymous with evil. Ahab colluded with Jezebel by worshiping Baal himself and promoting Baal worship as the state religion.

Question 2:

What are some idols present in

today’s culture? 

Everything about Baal worship conflicted with the worship of Yahweh. At its foundation, Baalism attacked the authority of God, whose First Commandment is “You shall have no other gods before me” (Ex. 20:3). At the heart of Ahab’s and Jezebel’s vile actions was an underlying refusal to bow to God’s sovereignty.

We may feel far removed from the wicked behavior of Ahab and Jezebel with their blatant idolatry, reckless killing, and shameless promiscuity, but we do the same when we reject God’s rule over our lives. Even Christians assail His authority when we choose to ignore His commands we don’t like. We do it when we fail to trust Him and give generously (Mal. 3:8-10; 2 Cor. 9:7). We do it when we refuse to forgive (Luke 17:3-4). We do it when we gossip (Rom. 1:29). And we do it when we dishonor those God has placed in authority (Rom. 13:1-2). 

1 Kings 17:1

1 Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.”

When the divided kingdom languished under the leadership of immoral kings who looked to idol worship and forgot their covenant with God, God commissioned prophets to call His people back to Him. They were a bright light in the darkness. And when Israel strayed from God under the influence of the wicked Ahab and Jezebel, onto the stage entered the brightest light yet. Elijah, whose name means “Yahweh is my God,” appeared with a mission to prove that Yahweh is the one and only God.

The writer of 1 Kings tells us little about Elijah’s background. We learn only that he was from Tishbe of Gilead. Yet Elijah would rise to make such an impact one Bible scholar has called him “the grandest and most romantic character Israel ever produced . . . a complex man of the desert who counseled kings.”3 In 1 Kings 17, Elijah emerged as the whistleblower of his day. Against the prevailing popularity of Baal, he took a minority stance to expose the lies of this false belief system. To oppose Baal worship was politically incorrect. It was an invitation to opposition, but Elijah made it his fight. And as he fought, he made some outrageous claims.

If we heard someone make that claim today, we would label him delusional, a crackpot or a scam artist. No human has that kind of power. But Elijah’s bold claim wasn’t based on overblown self-confidence. His confidence was in the Lord.

Elijah had a special relationship with God, and he was able to understand God’s will and speak for Him. That’s why he could be so bold as to declare it was not going to rain until he said so. His faith in God was such that He knew God alone had the power to give and withhold rain. And he knew God would uphold His name and prove Himself in a culture of unbelief.

Stopping the rain was an assault on the foundation of Baalism. Baal worshipers believed their god came back to life each spring to bring the rain that sustained their agricultural way of life. Elijah’s assertion that only Yahweh controlled the life-giving rain was in essence declaring, “Your idol is a fake, and your religion is based on lies!”

Elijah’s example challenges me to ask, “Do I trust God enough to declare what He says without equivocation or apology, knowing He will back up His word?” In a culture where it’s politically incorrect to say one religion is better than any other, will I bravely proclaim that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through Him? (See John 14:6.) And in a society that believes you shouldn’t impose your religious views on others, will I still witness eagerly about what Jesus means to me?

Question 3:

When have you seen someone take a stand

against our culture’s false beliefs? 

1 Kings 17:2-6

2 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah: 3 “Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. 4 You will drink from the brook, and I have directed the ravens to supply you with food there.” 5 So he did what the Lord had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. 6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.

We sometimes hear the phrase: “set up to fail.” Someone might say, “I was set up to fail” when the boss assigned a task he couldn’t possibly succeed at doing. Perhaps it was hitting an unrealistic sales quota or finishing a difficult task in a short amount of time. Maybe you’ve been set up to fail, put in a no-win situation or left without resources to do your job. God won’t do that to you.

Question 4:

What are some ways God has

proven Himself in your past?

The key is for us to listen to God and do what He says. God will not protect us from our own foolishness when we make unwise decisions based on our own thinking or emotions. But when we seek His will and follow the clear direction of His Word, He will always back us up. After commissioning Elijah to proclaim there would be no rain, God protected and provided for His obedient servant. How did He do that?

• God kept His promise.
• God cared for Elijah by sending him into hiding.
• God cared for Elijah by miraculously sending him food during the drought.

On the one hand, God was faithful to provide for Elijah. On the other, Elijah was willing to obey God. There was a direct correlation. God gave Elijah specific instructions about where to go and what to do. In that place of obedience, Elijah found God’s provision. “We cannot rely on his promises, without obeying his commandments.”4 This is not a quid pro quo; we do not obey God’s commands only so He will bless us with all we need and protect us from harm. But Scripture makes it clear: When we courageously stand to honor Him as God, He will always prove Himself on our behalf. 

Question 5:

How does God’s provision

encourage us to exercise courage in serving the Lord?

COURAGE TO OBEY

Sin is often an authority issue—a failure to trust God’s authority in your life.

For each area in the chart below, list a sin that can be the result of ignoring God’s authority.

Area of Life                                        Disobedience

Finances                                              e.g. failure to tithe

Relationships

Work

Leisure

Family

Body

Prayerfully consider if you are living in disobedience in one of these areas.

Ask God for forgiveness and for the courage to obey in the future.

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous.

Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the

Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

JOSHUA 1:9

LIVE IT OUT

What will you do to serve God with courage? Choose one of the following applications:

• Look around. Approach your week with an eye to identify beliefs and practices around you that conflict with God’s authority. Pray, asking God to help you discern false beliefs and practices.                                                                                                                             
• Speak up. Take a stand against ideas that attack God’s authority. Speak up in a discussion or write a letter. Be a voice for God’s truth, but do so with grace and love.                                                                                                                                                                         
• Sign up. Sign up for a mission trip to a place where God is not recognized as the One, true God. Represent Christ in a place that does not know Him.

The choice to serve God where serving God is unpopular also may come at a cost. You may face rejection or ridicule. It may cost you advancement in your job or friends in your social circle. But the choice is always worth the price.

Teacher Notes:

Click Play to Watch

Elijah: Living Outside the Comfort Zone

Most people do not go looking for difficulties; difficulties have a way of finding us! Typically, we do what we can to avoid difficult situations, but there are moments in life when we need to willingly step into something challenging. Parents do this for their children. This is what heroes are known for: stepping into harm’s way for the sake of others. The life of a believer is a life of service to God, and that service often calls us out of our comfort zones. The Old Testament prophet Elijah modeled for us both how to rely on God regardless of the challenges and mistakes we can avoid.

 

Serve with Courage       The Passage: 1 Kings 16:29-33; 17:1-6

  

When you think of courage, who comes to mind?

 

The Setting: The king and queen of Israel during the time period covered in these verses were the evil and ruthless Ahab and Jezebel. The mere mention of their names causes those familiar with Old Testament history to cringe. While they sought to rebuild the nation, they attempted to do so by compromising the authority of the Lord God and building a foundation of Baal worship.

Baal, the false god worshipped by many Israelites, was the god of rain, fire, and farm crops. He also demanded child sacrifice.

 

Into such an environment the Lord raised up a prophet to challenge the king and queen and stop any efforts to lead Israel astray from the covenant relationship the nation had with the Lord. Elijah seemingly appeared out of nowhere. We are told little about his origin, but the meaning of his name testifies to his loyalty to the Lord. It means “my God is Yahweh.” In a sense, his name was his message. Every time Elijah spoke his name, he affirmed his allegiance. And every time Ahab heard the name, he was confronted with a truth that should have held sway not only in his life but in all of Israel.

Elijah acted with courage by standing up to the king and queen and challenging the culture they had influenced. What he saw in Ahab and Jezebel could not be ignored. Elijah confronted the lies and false beliefs that prevailed among the people, that shaped their systems and their behavior.

 

 

1 Kings 16:29-33

29 In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria over Israel twenty-two years. 30 Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him. 31 He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him. 32 He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria. 33 Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to arouse the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than did all the kings of Israel before him.

 

How can we recognize when God and His authority are being opposed?

 

1.   Recognize the opposition before us today.

• Persons in authority need to act responsibly, for they have great influence over those whom they lead.
• Believers need to be alert to the places where God’s truth is being challenged by cultural ideas, concepts, and practices.

 

A.  Ahab couldn’t help himself – he was born entitled.

In this passage, Ahab has taken over rulership from his father Ahab. Like most people, when you raise children in a privileged household (especially without God) you will more than likely develop a brat, a child that feels entitled. Like some youth today, they feel everything they desire they deserve by any means necessary. Ahab grew up seeing and hearing about deceit and selfishness, so there is no wonder that he became who he was. Remember people imitate what they see and value. As children in Christ, we can also develop bad habits because of what we grew up around. When these bad habits aren't corrected and called out, we can continue to perpetuate the bad behavior; however, God can bring any and everything to a halt or change as we will see.

·        Murdoch Murders in Hampton, SC

  

B.  Birds of a feather flock together – Ahab and Jezebel

I don't believe the union between Ahab and Jezebel is what God had in mind, but so often the people we connect with will either help us to be better or to be worse. There is an old saying that water seeks its level, and that is exactly what happened here. Just when one would think Ahab could not be any worse, he goes out and marries a woman who is just as deceitful and cruel as he was, if not more so. Sometimes instead of connecting with people that makes us comfortable, we should connect with people who challenge us to be and do better.

 

C.  King Solomon started this practice of idolatry.

Under King Solomon, Israel was at the height of her glory. Fulfilling his father’s vision, Solomon built a magnificent temple as a center of worship to God. But Solomon also opened the nation to the practice of idolatry by marrying women from foreign lands where idol worship flourished (1 Kings 11:1-8). His failure paved the way for Israel’s decline. After Solomon’s death, the nation splintered into two kingdoms. A string of unrighteous kings led the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Among these kings who all failed to obey God, Ahab distinguished himself as the most wicked and displeasing to God.

SUMMARIZE: We may feel far removed from the wicked behavior of Ahab and Jezebel with their blatant idolatry, reckless killing, and shameless promiscuity, but we do the same when we reject God’s rule over our lives.

• Christians assail His authority when we choose to ignore His commands we don’t like.
• We do it when we fail to trust Him and give generously (Mal. 3:8-10; 2 Cor. 9:7).
• We do it when we refuse to forgive (Luke 17:3-4).
• We do it when we gossip (Rom. 1:29).
• And we do it when we dishonor those God has placed in authority (Rom. 13:1-2).

 

 

1 Kings 17:1

1 Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.”

 

Elijah, a prophet of God whose name means “my God is the Lord,” came from Tishbeh in Gilead, but nothing is known of his family or birth. Elijah suddenly appears to challenge King Ahab, an evil king who ruled the northern kingdom from 874 to 853 BC. Elijah prophesies a drought to come upon the whole land as consequence for Ahab’s evil.

 

2.   Take a stand for God and His Word.

·    The greatest crises are not political, financial, and the like, but the crisis of faith wherein a people separate themselves from the Lord God.

·      The Lord raises up men and women who will declare His word during times of moral and spiritual crisis.

 

What does taking a stand for God and His Word look like today and at our age?

 

A.  A Bold Faith - Ahab trusted in his finances, strength and cunning ways, but Elijah trusted in God. How often have we shown this kind of bold faith? Walking into a room where you are not welcome, standing up for what you believe against those that not only disagree but dislike you and want your destruction. That’s what Elijah did. Just like in the 60s when Civil Rights leaders would eat at whites only lunch counters, go to voting poles, or even go to schools where blacks weren't welcomed.

When was the last time we were that bold and that confident? Being a believer in Christ is more than words–it's also actions. In the Book James, the brother of Jesus asks, “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Can such faith save him?” (James 2:14). Don’t hide your faith. Like Elijah we have to find that boldness and courage to face those things that are not of God.

 

RECAP: Elijah’s example challenges me to ask, “Do I trust God enough to declare what He says without apology, knowing He will back up His word?” In a culture where it’s politically incorrect to say one religion is better than any other, will I bravely proclaim that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through Him? And in a society that believes you shouldn’t impose your religious views on others, will I still witness eagerly about what Jesus means to me?

 

When was the last time you saw someone take a stand against our culture’s false beliefs?

COURAGE TO OBEY

Sin is often an authority issue—a failure to trust God’s authority in your life.

For each area in the chart below, list a sin that can be the result of ignoring God’s authority.

 

Area of Life                                        Disobedience

Finances                                              failure to tithe

Relationships

Work

Leisure

Family

Body

 

 

1 Kings 17:2-6

2 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah: 3 “Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. 4 You will drink from the brook, and I have directed the ravens to supply you with food there.” 5 So he did what the Lord had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. 6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.

 

3.   Depend on God.

• As believers, we are to live under the authority of the word of the Lord to us.
• The Lord will give us guidance during times of trial and challenge.
• We can count on the Lord to provide for us in time of need.
• The Lord has the resources to fulfill His promises.
• The Lord does work in unusual ways.

 

1.   We see Elijah Depending on God. In this final scene of today’s lesson, we see Elijah depending on God. It is truly one thing to say we have faith, when our foundational needs are already in place – this wasn’t the case with Elijah. God sent him out into the wilderness with no food, shelter, or water, and he obeyed without hesitation. Here we see the difference in what Elijah trusted in versus what Ahab trusted in. Elijah literally had to wait on God. I'm sure he saw his resources dwindling down, but Scripture does not show us where he doubted God. I know many of us start to worry if we hear that our company is downsizing. We will be the first ones asking for prayer, starting to look for a new job, and starting to cry and worry without first talking to God. In the gospel of Matthew, Christ tells us, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. Therefore, don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own (Matt. 6:33-34).

 

What part of today’s passage encourages you to courageously serve God?

Conclusion: We must understand that even if we have the greatest education, the best job, or come from a powerful family, none of that can compare to God. Ahab thought he was in control because he inherited what he thought was strength and power. Ahab even thought his union to Jezebel would make him invincible, but he forgot that Elijah's union with God was stronger. We must put our faith in God and no one or nothing else.

The Point for this session: “Serving God often calls for courage.”