From His Heart

Jeff Schreve: We can be faithful to stand even in the darkest of days. Elijah did that. We can do that. He was a man, as the Scripture says, with a nature like ours. He's not Superman; he's just a man, and what he did, we can do.

Larry Nobles: Elijah was a man with a nature just like you and me. In fact, he was a nobody living on the backside of nowhere, but he was willing to confront wicked King Ahab. He was faithful to speak up and stand up for the Lord his God.

What was his secret? This is From His Heart with Pastor Jeff Schreve. Thank you for joining us today as we'll discover the answer to that question and more from Pastor Jeff's message, "Faithful to Stand," from his series "Holy Boldness: Lessons from Elijah, the Prophet of Fire."

We'll be in this series for the next couple of weeks, and if you miss any of the broadcasts, you can listen again once they've aired here at fromhisheart.org. Click the listen link. If you can now, open your Bible to the Old Testament book of First Kings and turn to Chapter 17. Here's Pastor Jeff Schreve with part two of the lesson entitled "Faithful to Stand."

Jeff Schreve: Are you faithful to stand for the Lord? Let's look. First Kings, Chapter 17. This is the first time we're introduced to the prophet Elijah. Elijah lived in the 800s BC. He had a ministry from 870 to 845 BC, 25 years of ministry. He ministered during the reign mostly of King Ahab, wicked King Ahab.

This is what the Scripture says: "Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, 'As the Lord, the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, surely there shall be neither dew nor rain these years except by my word.'" And the word of the Lord came to him saying, "Go away from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. And it shall be that you shall drink of the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to provide for you there."

So he went and did according to the word of the Lord, for he went and lived by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he would drink from the brook. I want you to notice with me three encouragements from this passage of Scripture, three encouragements from the life and the beginning of the ministry of Elijah, encouragements to help you and me stand faithful for the Lord.

Encouragement number one: We can be faithful to stand even in the darkest of days. Even in the darkest of days. Our days are dark, and they're getting darker by the hour. We live in a time of spiritual apathy and a time of gross immorality and all sorts of apostasy taking place all around us, and churches bailing out on the Word of God all over the country.

That's the kind of place that Elijah lived in because in Elijah's day, he was facing Ahab. He came on the scene in the worst of times for Israel. The 12 tribes of Israel that made up the one nation, Israel. Ten of those tribes said, "We're not going to follow Rehoboam." Rehoboam was king in Jerusalem, where the temple was, and so they went and they said, "We're going to have our own kingdom." So the ten tribes split from the two tribes. Their first king was a man named Jeroboam, and Jeroboam was the son of Nebat. He was awful.

Every king in Israel's history after the split is compared to Jeroboam the son of Nebat. He's the standard-bearer for bad kings. We come to King number seven in this divided monarchy. His name is Ahab. Verse 29: "Now Ahab the son of Omri became king over Israel in the 38th year of Asa, king of Judah. And Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria 22 years. And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord more than all who were before him." It's a dark time in Israel's history.

It's a dark time in our history today, and God is looking for some people who will be faithful to stand, who will have holy boldness. Elijah comes on the scene. He tells Ahab, speaks right to his face, and says, "There's not going to be any rain. No rain except by my word. No rain for years." We read about in James Chapter 5 it was three and a half years before there was rain. You go for three and a half years with no rain or no dew, you're in big-time trouble because everything starts to die. That's what he said to Ahab. Elijah was faithful to stand even in the darkest days, and you and I can be too.

Second encouragement from this passage: We can be faithful to stand as we recognize who God is. We recognize who He is. Don't discount the fact that Ahab is a big shot. He is king. He is over all the armies. Back in the day in Bible times, if you're king, what you say goes. If you want to have somebody killed, they're killed. It's just so different than today. You're not president when you're king; you're king, and your word is the law. That's the way it works.

Here comes Elijah. He comes from the other side of the Jordan. He comes across the Jordan. He gets up in Ahab's face, and he says in verse one, "As the Lord, the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, surely there shall be neither dew nor rain these years except by my word." Boldness, power, judgment spoken to Ahab.

How did he get that? He knew three things that you and I need to know because they're three key things that give you holy boldness, that give you the ability to stand up even in the face of difficulty and danger and darkness. He knew this, first of all: The Lord Yahweh is God alone. The Lord God is God alone. The name Elijah means this: "The Lord is my God." He was a man whose name meant the Lord is my God, and he understood there's only one God. It's not Baal; it is Yahweh. In Isaiah Chapter 45, verse 5, the Lord says this: "I am the Lord, and there is no other. Besides Me there is no God."

Baal was supposed to be the god of rain. He's supposed to be the god of fertility. So when Elijah says, "As the Lord lives before whom I stand, there's not going to be any rain," God is showing to Ahab and Jezebel who God is because He's shutting it down, and Baal's not going to have any power to bring rain. Why? Because Baal is nothing, that's why. He knew that the Lord is God alone.

Secondly, he knew that the Lord is to be feared and obeyed. Why did Elijah do what he did? Why did he step up the way he did? Because he knew that there is only one God, and that's Yahweh, and I need to fear Him because He's God and revere Him because He's God and obey Him because He's God. Solomon said this at the end of the book of Ecclesiastes. Solomon in Ecclesiastes goes on this massive search for satisfaction, trying to find the thing that will satisfy his soul. He tries work, wine, women, and accomplishment. He tries all this stuff.

Then he says, "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." He said, "I hated life. I can't find the satisfaction in life." But then he realizes the reason I can't find it is because I'm looking for satisfaction in all the wrong places. It only comes from God. He says, "For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without Him?" And the answer is no one.

Solomon closes the book of Ecclesiastes, and he says this: "The conclusion when all has been heard is fear God and keep His commandments because this applies to every person. For the Lord will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil." Elijah knew that the Lord God was God alone. He knew that the Lord was to be feared and obeyed, and when God gave him a word, he had to speak that word.

He wasn't afraid to speak even to the king because he feared God. And when you fear God, you don't fear man. Jesus said in Matthew Chapter 10, verse 28, "And do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul, but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." That's the one you are to fear, and that's who Elijah feared, and he did His will.

Years ago, I heard about a Russian soldier. His name was Ivan Moiseyev. They called him Vanya. Vanya was born in 1952. He died in 1972, only 20 years old. Vanya became a Christian when he was 16 years old, and he was sold out for the Lord. He loved the Lord. He had a holy boldness. He wanted to be the witness God wanted him to be. He was drafted into the army at 18, just as all the young men in Russia had to serve in the Russian Red Army at that age.

He went to the army, communist Russia, and he's sharing Jesus everywhere he goes. His superiors are telling him you need to shut up, you need to not talk anymore about Jesus. He's winning people to the Lord right and left, and they're trying to clamp down on Vanya. Vanya said this: "Would a nightingale, if ordered to stop singing, obey? It could not, and neither can I." He went on to say, "I have a higher allegiance, and that is to Jesus Christ. He has given me certain orders, and I cannot disobey."

He spoke up for Jesus until they tortured him to death. They sent his body back to his parents. They welded the coffin shut so they couldn't see his body, but his mother demanded that it be opened. When they opened the coffin, they saw a body that had been so beaten and tortured and brutalized for his faith in Jesus Christ because he was faithful to stand. Are you faithful to stand these days?

Larry Nobles: If it's harder now than it used to be, we're airing Pastor Jeff's "Holy Boldness" series to help you with that. And it's also our special gift of thanks to you this month for your support. Here's more from Pastor Jeff about what you'll discover in the series "Holy Boldness."

Jeff Schreve: "Holy Boldness." Those are two words that so aptly describe the life of the prophet Elijah. Elijah was a man who walked with God, took a strong stand for God, and made a great difference for God in his day. I think the Lord is calling you and me to do the same in our day. In my series, "Holy Boldness: Lessons from Elijah, the Prophet of Fire," you'll learn how to stand strong on your faith regardless of the circumstances. You'll learn how to pray with power, how to overcome in the darkest of days, and how to find joy and peace in the promises of God.

This "Holy Boldness" series, along with the booklet "Unveiling the Mystery of Prayer," are my thanks to you this month when you support From His Heart Ministries. It's because of faithful and ongoing support of those who watch our broadcast that we're able to continue sharing God's Word. So thank you for your gift this month to help us continue to be a bold witness for Christ to a lost and hurting world.

Larry Nobles: If you can help us this month with a gift of any amount, we'll be happy to send you this "Holy Boldness" series on a USB flash drive, CDs, DVDs, or an MP3 download. You pick. Just call 866-40-BIBLE or go online to fromhisheart.org. God bless you for being a witness for Christ and joining with us to share that around the world. Now let's get back to part two of the message, "Faithful to Stand."

Jeff Schreve: Elijah knew that the Lord is God alone. He knew that the Lord is to be feared and obeyed. And he knew that the Lord is calling and had called him to come to Him. He was inviting him to come and be in His presence just as the Lord does today, invites us to come and be in His presence.

In verse one, it says, "Before the Lord, before whom I stand." "As the Lord, the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand." Surely there shall be neither dew nor rain these years except by my word. Boldness, power, and judgment spoken to Ahab. How did he get that? He spent time with Him. How do you get holy boldness? You have to spend time with God. You don't just get it because you pray a five-second prayer. You have to marinate in the Lord's presence.

Jesus said in Matthew Chapter 11, "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you shall have rest for your souls, for My yoke is easy and My load is light." Come, come, come. He wants to spend time with you. The King of the universe wants to spend time with you.

Do you remember in the New Testament Mary and Martha, where Martha's having Jesus over for dinner, and she's cooking this fabulous meal for Jesus? She's in the kitchen slaving away and her sister Mary goes into the other room and she's seated at the Lord's feet listening to His Word. Martha is so frustrated. She says, "Lord, tell her. Don't You see that I'm doing all this work alone? Tell my sister to come in and help me."

Jesus said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things, but only a few things matter, really only one, for Mary has chosen the good part which shall not be taken away from her." Have you noticed today how it's so easy to get worried and bothered about so many things? Have you noticed today how it's so hard to not get distracted when you try and spend time with God, when you try and pray?

One of the things about technology, technology can be a good thing, but it can be a bad thing because it causes us to be very distracted. We have these things called alerts. You notice when you get an alert? Bing! Somebody just Facebooked me. Somebody just sent me a message. I wonder who that is. I just got a message from AT&T. Wonderful, they're thinking about me.

We're just constantly getting all this stuff, and it causes us to be so scattered, and we get worried and bothered. When Jesus said that to Martha, "You're worried and bothered about so many things," it means you're pulled in so many different directions. Mary wasn't pulled in so many different directions because she parked it at the Lord's feet, and she was listening to the Lord's Word. If we're going to be people who make a difference, we've got to spend time with the Lord because you're not going to get there any other way.

How does God speak? He spoke to Elijah in Chapter 19 in a still, small voice, in a whisper. The only way you can hear a whisper is to shut out other things and listen. That's a word for me especially, to spend time marinating in the Lord's presence. We can be faithful to stand even in the darkest of days. Elijah did that; we can do that. He was a man, as the Scripture says, with a nature like ours. He's not Superman; he's just a man, and what he did, we can do. We can be faithful to stand as we recognize who God is and respond to that.

Thirdly, we can know that God will be faithful to us. Look again in verse 2 and following. Elijah gives the word: No rain. No rain, not for weeks, not for months, but for years. No rain, no dew. And the word of the Lord came to him in verse 2 saying, "Go away from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan."

Notice in the Old Testament, anytime you read a "CH," it's pronounced with a "K." The brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. "And it shall be that you shall drink of the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to provide for you there." So he went and did according to the word of the Lord, for he went and lived by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he would drink from the brook.

We can know that God will be faithful to us. We stand up for the Lord, and we can have confidence that He'll be faithful to us. He said in First Samuel Chapter 2, verse 30, "The one who honors Me, him will I honor." Do you remember when Eric Liddell, the runner in Chariots of Fire, when he wouldn't run on Sunday? He had to run a race that he had never really trained for; he wasn't really equipped for that.

Somebody gave him a piece of paper right before he ran the race, and it was First Samuel 2:30: "The one who honors Me, him will I honor." Eric Liddell won that race because he stood for the Lord and for righteousness, and God honored him for that. The Lord honored Elijah, and the Lord was faithful to Elijah, and the Lord will be faithful to you and me. He'll provide for us as we walk with Him.

You walk with the Lord, and He said, "I'll provide for you." Philippians 4:19: "And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." He'll provide your needs. He's not going to provide your greeds; He provides your needs. What you need, He will provide for you as you trust Him, as you walk with Him, just like He provided for Elijah in the midst of the drought.

God takes care of those who honor Him, who trust Him, who hold on to His promises like a bulldog with a T-bone steak, like Larry Sims with a Snickers bar. You just hold on to God's promises. Say, "God, You promised, and I'm believing You." He'll provide for us as we walk with Him, and He'll provide for us in ways that help us humbly trust Him.

Do you see what God did? "Go across east to the brook Cherith." It's not that far from Tishbe where he was. "Go there, and I'm going to bring ravens, and they're going to provide for you. They're going to provide meat and bread and fruit and all sorts of things that you need, and they're going to bring it morning and evening." They don't bring a week's supply; they bring it in the morning and in the evening. Ravens. Not angels. Not eagles. Not lions. Ravens.

Ravens are dirty birds. The ravens are listed as the Lord says, "That's a detestable bird. Don't eat that bird." Why? Because that bird is a scavenger bird. That bird eats dead bodies. Ravens are nasty-looking birds. Edgar Allan Poe had a thing about ravens. They're just ominous-looking birds. The dirty birds fed Elijah morning and evening.

God is a daily provider, and the Lord says, "You don't need to worry about anything because I will take care of you." The Scripture says in Luke Chapter 12, verse 24, "Consider the ravens," Jesus said, "for they neither sow nor reap, and they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them. How much more valuable you are than the birds." So don't worry. Because I take care of ravens, and Elijah, I'm going to use ravens to take care of you.

Ravens can have a wingspan of 54 inches. They're big. They're a lot bigger than a crow. Why did God have ravens feed Elijah? Having dirty birds feed the prophet. You can't eat those birds, but when they drop food on you, you can eat that. I think it's because Ahab and Jezebel were two dirty birds. God is saying, "You see, Elijah, I am God over everything. You might have two dirty birds sitting on the throne of Israel, but I am God, and I am King, and I'm going to use them for My glory. There's coming a day when the dogs are going to eat Jezebel in Jezreel."

God is over everything, and you and I can trust Him. He'll meet our needs, and He'll use all sorts of things that you don't expect to meet your needs if you will just trust Him. Elijah stood faithful to the Lord, and you can too. The eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth. He's looking today to see: Is there someone in this service who will give Me their heart, who will be My man, My woman, My boy, My girl, and say, "Here I am, Lord. All that I am, Lord, I give myself to You to be Your person for such a time as this"?

Larry Nobles: Elijah was a man with a nature like you and me. He wasn't Superman. In fact, he was a nobody living on the backside of nowhere, but he was willing to confront wicked King Ahab. He was faithful to speak up and stand up for the Lord his God.

Would you like to know his secret? Would you like to know how he did it and where he got the boldness? You can find out in the series "Holy Boldness: Lessons from Elijah, the Prophet of Fire," and set your witnessing spark on fire like Elijah did. Call 866-40-BIBLE or go to fromhisheart.org. Request it when you make your gift to From His Heart this month of any amount.

You will be a blessing to this ministry, so thank you so very much. If you missed any of this lesson today or part one from last time, you can visit online to listen again at fromhisheart.org. Just click the listen link. Thank you for joining us today on From His Heart. I'm Larry Nobles, and we trust you'll be right back here next time when Pastor Jeff will open God's Word and share real truth, real love, and real hope from His Heart.