Address—G.H. Hayhoe
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
I'd like to turn to.
First Kings.
In the 17th chapter.
First Kings 17 and verse 13.
When Elijah said unto her, Fear not.
Go and do as thou hast said, but make me thereof a little cake first.
And bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. For thus saith the Lord God of Israel. The barrel of meals shall not waste, neither shall the cruise of oil fail, until the day that the Lord send rain upon the earth. And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah, and she and he and her house did eat many days.
The barrel of meal wasted not. Neither did the crews of oil.
Fail according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah.
Now the 18th chapter.
And came to pass after many days, that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, show thyself unto Ahab, and I will send rain upon the earth. And Elijah went to show himself unto Ahab, that there was a store of famine in Samaria. And Ahab called Obadiah, which was the governor of his house. Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly.
Ford was so, and Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, that Obadiah took 100 prophets and hid them by 50 in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.
And Ahab said unto Obadiah, Go unto the land, unto all the fountains of water, and unto all Brocks peradventure, and we may find grass to save the horses and mules alive, that we lose not all the beasts.
So they divided the lamb between them to pass throughout it. Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself. And as Obadiah was in the way, behold, Elijah met him, and he knew him, fell on his face, and said, Art thou that, that, my Lord Elijah? And he answered him, I am. Go tell thy Lord, Behold, Elijah is here.
And he said, what have I sinned?
That thou withst deliver thy servant into the hand of Ahab to slay me. The Lord thy God liveth. There is no nation or Kingdom whither my Lord hath not sent to seek thee. And when they said He is not here, he took an oath of the Kingdom and nation, that they found thee not. And now thou sayest go, tell thy Lord, Behold, Elijah is here.
Now a little farther down in the chapter.
And the 30th verse. And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him, and repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down. And Elijah took 12 Stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the Lord came, saying, Israel shall be thy name. And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord.
And he made a trench about.
The altar as great as would contain 2 measures of seed.
And he put the wood in order, and cut the Bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood.
And said fill the barrel, fill 4 barrels with water.
And pour it on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood. And he said, Do it the second time, and they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time. And the water ran round about the trench, And he filled the trench also with water.
And came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word.
Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again. Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces, and they said, The Lord, he is the God, the Lord he is the God.
And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal, let not one of them escape. And they took them. And Elijah brought them down to the Brooklyn, and slew them there. And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink, for there is a sound of abundance of rain.
00:05:04
So Ahab went up to to eat and to drink, and Elijah went up to the top of Carmel, and he cast himself down upon the earth and put his face between his knees.
And said to his servant, go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up and looked and said that there is nothing. And he said, go again seven times.
Came to pass at the 7th time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stopped thee not.
And it came to pass in the meanwhile that the clouds were black with clouds, that the heavens was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode and went to Jezreel. In the hand of the Lord was on Elijah, and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.
Could we turn over to Malachi?
Last book in the Old Testament.
Malachi Chapter 3.
Verse 10.
Bring ye all the ties into the storehouse.
That there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith saith the Lord of hosts.
If I will not open you the windows of heaven.
Pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
Well, in reading these passages tonight, brethren, I was thinking of how the Lord provides for His own who looked to Him even in a dark and difficult day, and yet to how He delights to bless not only for our personal needs, but also that He delights to bless all His people.
We see how Elijah was cared for and that widow of Sarepta who had faith.
In the time of distress and trial among the people of God, but in the end we see the blessing reaching out.
Saw that all the people of God shared in the blessing that God delighted to bestow. And so I believe there are those two thoughts before us in these passages. And how the Lord would have us, no matter how difficult or trying the day to find that we have a resource in Him individually, but also that our hearts might be enlarged so that we might seek the blessing of all the people of God.
Here we find in this passage here there was a famine, a terrible famine in God's land, but there was one who was looking to the Lord, who was counting upon him, who was seeking to walk before him. Elijah, his path was the lonely one, but he found his resource in the Lord and isn't important for us if there is a famine perhaps in the country as a whole.
Perhaps in our?
Home life, perhaps in our assembly life, that faith can look to the Lord and find that he is able to meet that need, to supply that need. Or it may be that he puts our faith to the test too. For in the beginning of the chapter, which I didn't take time to read, the Lord had sent Elijah down to the book Cherith, and there it says that he commanded the Ravens to feed him, and they brought him bread and.
In the morning and again in the evening, and he was the drink of the water of the brook. Yes, God provided for him. But the time came that even the brook dried up. And perhaps you and I have been cast upon the Lord. We have looked to Him. We have found how able He is to meet our need and to supply those refreshing springs for our soul. And then it seemed that even a further disappointment came along here.
And can it be that sometimes when we are seeking to please the Lord, that He allows even a second disappointment, not only the first, that there was this famine, but here now in the place where God had sent him in obedience to the Word of God, his faith was put to the test again? Well, isn't that often saw in the pathway of faith? Don't we often find that as we seek to go on in the past, it's pleasing to.
Lord, there are testings of faith. Well, the Lord allows that so that we might be kept looking to him. It isn't enough just to say, well, I was looking to Him during the three days of the meetings and we had such a happy time that all there are circumstances that continue to arise in our lives where faith is again put to the test and where we must seek every day.
00:10:18
Directions from the Lord to the past.
But how blessed it is to know that if the brook dried up, the Lord was able to provide spill for His servant. And so if there if it should come in our lives, that there is a trial and there seems no outlet, the Lord will open up the way day by day.
And so he did for Elijah here. He told him now to go to Zarephath, not among the nation of Israel. This was outside of the land as it's mentioned in Luke's gospel.
But nevertheless, God had a provision for his, his servant, and he said, I have commanded a woman to feed thee there. Oh, how lovely it is. The Lord had undertaken for Elijah even before Elijah knew about it. And he undertakes for us. He gives us to see his good hand working for us, providing for us in all our needs. He goes before.
And so Elijah.
Went there.
And the famine was very, very grievous.
And here was this poor widow, and she was going just to prepare a little provision for herself and for her son. And then she thought that was the last. She thought that was the end and that they were going to die.
Well, how could Elijah ever expect that this woman was going to provide for him?
She just had the very last for herself.
Not even enough to keep herself and her son alive. How is she going to be able to do it for him too? Well, faith doesn't look at circumstances, Faith looks at the Lord. Faith counts upon His word, even when everything seems to be against us. Friend to the natural outlook, everything looks impossible. Isn't it precious that we can always count upon the Lord? And if He said, I have commanded.
A widow woman to feed thee.
He was going to, He was going to fulfill his worry. For it's impossible for God to lie. And haven't many of us come to such circumstances in our lives that it seemed the Lord directed us? And then perhaps when we came to the circumstance, instead of it being what we expected, why at the first sight everything seemed to be grievous and disappointing.
Ah, but the Lord was undertaken.
He was putting Elijah's faith to a task and he was also going to bring blessing to this widow and to her son. And so it tells us in this 13th verse in Elijah sound to her. Fear not. How could he say fear not? Hadn't he? Hadn't the brook dried up?
And hadn't he right before him a picture of misery and no human resource?
Well, isn't it lovely that one who is counting upon God, even though all things seem to be going wrong, he can say, fear not, he can encourage another. Because when we are really enjoying the Lord in our souls, we can speak words of encouragement to another who is perhaps in greater distress even than ourselves. I think this is so beautiful here. If there was anyone whose heart perhaps had reason within him to tremble.
Elijah, and yet one who was walking in communion with God completely above the circumstances, he turns to this dear woman and says, fear not.
Go and do as thou hast said, and make me thereof a little cake 1St and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. Now her faith was to be put to the test too. Would she be willing to make a cake for him first, when it seemed that all she had was sufficient for herself and her son?
All There are times when the Lord's claims come first.
Obedience to him comes before even that which nature seems to need and nature seems to desire. And so isn't it lovely here to see that this woman was willing to act in obedience to the word of the Lord through the prophets, and that she did what the prophet had said, and that she went and made him a little cake first?
00:15:09
And.
Yet she had this beautiful promise in the 14th verse.
For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, the barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruise of oil fail until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth. What was it that enabled her then to go and do this? She rested upon the word of Jehovah.
He had said that the barrel of oil, barrel of meal would not waste.
Nor are the crews of oil fail. And she rested upon that. She acted upon that. It didn't say that the Lord would fill the barrel up.
It doesn't say that he would fill the cruise of oil to the top. She didn't go to the barrel and find it full right up.
Now I expect that every time she went it was pretty near the bottom, but nevertheless, each time there was sufficient the daily need the Lord was providing for. And you know, the Lord doesn't just allow us to see how everything is going to be perfectly taken care of.
For months and weeks ahead. But he does give us his own word.
Promising us, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee, so that we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. How isn't that precious for faith? What a word for this dear woman's heart. And brethren, Israel, God is ours. He is sufficient for us too. He's able to undertake for us in every need.
And we can go to the barrel of Mayo, we can go to the cruise of oil. Perhaps the barrel of meal would speak to us and the Lord Jesus. For he was the fine flower. He was the one who in his blessed pathway here in this world.
Always walked in obedience to His Father.
No, the meat offering was a fine flour and I believe the thought in the fine flour is that it was it was crushed that.
All made into an even powder. Now that is in in the Lord Jesus. And there was.
There was number outstanding virtue. Every virtue was equally outstanding.
Whatever whatever circumstance the Lord Jesus was in, no matter how crushing and difficult, we find that there was always perfect evenness. If faithfulness was called for, He was faithful. If love was needed, he showed that love. If encouragement was needed, He spoke that word of encouragement. Oh, how perfect He was in everything. And brethren, how lovely it is to have Him.
For our example.
And when difficulties and trials come to those at word of the barrel of mail, because He's left us an example that we should follow in His steps, Who when he was reviled, reviled not again, when he suffered, He threatened not, but committed himself to him. The judgeth righteously. Perhaps that's the thought and the barrel of meal. And then the cruise of all would speak to us of the Spirit of God.
Because you or I might say, oh, but I just couldn't do that.
That it's all very well to say how a person should act when someone doesn't speak nicely to them, or when everything seems to go wrong, but I just can't act that way.
Well, neither will the barrel of mail nor the cruise of oil fail. The perfect example of the Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit as the power. And so how lovely it is that we not only have His example for us in every step.
Then in every situation brought the Holy Spirit of God indwelling. The believer gives us the strength. I can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth me. And so the Lord Jesus in his pathway here, everything that He did was pleasing to His Father, and his whole pathway was in the power of the Spirit of God.
And he said it won't fail until the Lord.
Sendeth rain upon the earth.
Well, she went and did this, then she acted upon what Elijah said and it says in the 16th verse.
And the barrel of meal wasted not.
Neither did the crews of oil fail according to the word of the Lord.
00:20:00
Which he spake by Elijah. Here she ate of this many days.
I don't know just how long, but it would seem that it might have been perhaps over a year. It would seem it was probably some length of time between the time that the brook dried up and the time that the 18th chapter begins when Elijah was sent to Elisha to Ahab to speak to him. When we read in James, it tells us that this famine lasted 3 years and six months.
So it was quite a testing time, three years and six months.
And so that many a day, no doubt the faith of this dear woman was put to the task. But every day there was a fresh supply. Every day there was what was needed, until the Lord sent rain upon the earth.
I just mentioned too in passing that in the end of this chapter.
Then we know how that her son died.
Here was another testing that came because this is the way the pathway of faith is. It's beset with continual testings in which we find our own weakness, in which we learn our own hearts, and in which we learn the infinite resources of God.
The infinite resources of God. In fact, I believe we can say that the two lessons that God taught his people Israel in the wilderness were these.
The lesson of what their own hearts were, and the lesson of what his heart was, and his power to provide for them. It says to humbly and prove thee, and to show thee what was in thy heart.
But then how in the later on, in that same chapter in Deuteronomy, it tells us how that he didn't allow their feet to swell, their raiment didn't wax old, the manna came every day, How God provided for them all through the wilderness journey. And so I say again, a test was brought into the life of this dear woman.
She had believed the word of the Lord. She had acted in obedience.
And then the Lord took away her son.
But the Lord gave her back her son. He showed that He was able to meet her need. Well, brother, I see again the pathway of faith is beset by these kind of trials that teach us continual dependence upon the Lord and that we need strength from Him for every step of the way. But He will never fail.
Well, in the 18th chapter then.
Tells us here that the Lord sent Elijah to speak to Ahab.
And while he was going?
Why he met this man Obadiah? Obadiah was was a man that that held quite a high position under Ahab who acknowledged the authority of Ahab over him.
And yet he sought to please the Lord in his measure, tells us in the fourth verse of this 18th chapter. And it was so when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, that Obadiah took 100 prophets and hid them by 50 in a cave and fed them with bread and water. So we can see that this man Obadiah.
In spite of the fact that he was in a wrong position.
As I believe our brother Bellat in his little book brings out, he wore a garment of woolen and linen. That is, he was a man of mixed principles. He loved the Lord, he feared the Lord greatly, but he actually acknowledged the authority of Ahab first over him.
And it's possible for us to do the same. Perhaps we do love the Lord Jesus. Perhaps we have an affection for his people too. This was quite a thing for Obadiah to feed 100 prophets of the Lord. And so we can find, we can see in him that there was quite a measure of faithfulness, quite a desire to please the Lord. But he wasn't one who always looked to the Lord, who took his orders from.
The Lord, as I remarked, He wore a garment of woolen and linen. For I might say that in the Scripture, in the Old Testament, when it speaks in Leviticus and elsewhere about the garments, the thought is the associations of life.
00:25:03
The government is nearest to us, you know, and so it's our associations of life.
And what are our associations? Perhaps we love the Lord, but are we also?
Seeking to go on, perhaps not truly loyal to Christ.
Instead of taking our directions all together from the Lord, we're looking to others. I'm seeking to please man instead of seeking to please the Lord. That's what we can see with Obadiah. And isn't it lovely that God records these things in His Word, and not to see that He values every little bit of faithfulness that there is? He saw what Obadiah did.
And faithfully records it in his word. And moreover, Obadiah is going to be rewarded for what he did. God will take notice of everything in your life and mine that is for him. And it's nice for us, brethren too, to see in one another what there is of Christ. It's nice for us, perhaps even someone who is unfaithful, who is not really owning the lordship of Christ as a general thing in his life, to see that there are things.
That God, the eye of God behold, and that he delights to record. And so he's put it down here in his word about Obadiah, but nevertheless Elijah, when he comes to meet him.
Says in the seventh verse.
And as all the Dire was in the way he hauled, Elijah met him, and he knew him.
And and fell on his face and said, art thou that my Lord Elijah? And he answered him, I am go tell thy Lord, Behold, Elijah is here. Notice how Elijah addresses him. Elijah was faithful. Elijah said, well you are calling me your Lord, but the one who you really acknowledge is having authority over your life is Ahab.
That wicked king Ahab.
Know how we have to watch the last? We do not acknowledge the Lordship of Christ in our lives. And perhaps there is with us those things that show that we are fearing the world more than we fear the Lord.
And so with poor Obadiah, although he loved God's people, although he was glad to meet Elijah, and although he acknowledged him as the prophet of the Lord.
Still, he acknowledged the authority of Ahab.
And the ninth verse. And he said, What have I sinned? That thou wouldst deliver thy servant into the hand of Ahab to slay me. Notice how he didn't have peace in his soul. I don't mean that he didn't have the knowledge of peace in the sense of having confidence in the Lord in regard to salvation.
But you know, there's a difference between peace with God and the peace of God.
It's possible for a Christian.
To know that his sins are forgiven and be rejoicing in the fact.
That he'll never have to meet God as a judge, that all his sins are washed away in the precious blood of Christ, and yet perhaps not be walking in the sense of the peace of God ruling in the heart.
I believe with Elijah there was a man who quietly walked with a sense that he was pleasing the Lord and the peace of God presided in his heart, but with poor Obadiah because of the fact that there were mixed principles in his life.
Here was a praying He was afraid of Ahab. He was afraid to even fulfill the word of the Lord, which Elijah spoke to him.
And you know, it's been said by another.
The higher we get in the world, the nearer we get to its prints.
It has been sad, too.
The more the world gives us a position, the more we fear the world that has given us that position.
And so that's the way it was with poor Obadiah. He was afraid. He feared the Lord, it tells us in the beginning of the chapter, but he was tremendously afraid of Ahab. Oh, brethren, it's a blessed thing in our lives to walk in the sense of the peace of God ruling in our hearts. And how can that be?
Only as we seek to walk in communion with the Lord and in obedience to His Word.
00:30:04
And so they have with Obadiah. Rather, it wasn't Saul.
He wasn't walking in dependence upon the Lord, he wasn't really walking in communion, and he was living in fear of Ahab.
He said in the 10th verse, As the Lord thy God liveth, there is no nation or Kingdom whither my Lord notice. Now he perhaps inadvertently acknowledges the authority of Ahab. My Lord hath not sent me to seek thee. And when they said, He is not here, he took an oath of the Kingdom and nation.
That they found thee not, and now thou sayest go tell thy Lord, Behold, Elijah is here.
See, he was, uh, he had a bad conscience and he was afraid and so he tries to explain his situation, but.
Elijah.
Says just pass on.
To the 15th verse. And Elijah said, As the Lord of hosts liveth before whom I stand, I will surely show myself unto him today.
So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah.
Yes, we see the difference between the quiet confidence in which Elijah walked and the manner of Obadiah walked. And may we not each ask our own hearts, Are we walking in that quiet sense of confidence in the Lord? How are we walking day by day in the sense in our souls that we're seeking to please Him?
Are we living in constant fear and afraid of the world and afraid of what other people will say or think? I fear that that was the manner of life with all the dire.
But now we passed down to the 30th verse.
And Elijah said unto all the people, Come here unto me. And all the people came near unto him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down.
Well, as I remarked at the beginning, and to 1's own soul, it's precious, we see that although Elijah was provided for and Loy had in his own soul a sense that the Lord was caring for him, it was his desire to see all the people of God bless.
And you know, that's, that's the way the Lord would have each one of us to feel toward his people. Oh, you say that they didn't like Elijah Very well. They had turned against him. Yes, that was Saul. They had turned against him. Ahab didn't want him. He said, art thou he that troubleth Israel? Nevertheless, it's beautiful to see how Elijah had a heart for the people of God.
And brethren, I do believe that with each one of us.
We need to have our hearts enlarged in love and affection for all the people of God. Are we really seeking their blessing? Are we seeking that there should be an abundance of rain for them, Showers of blessing?
How each one of us praying that the Saints of God might be going on happily in the enjoyment of Christ, not just satisfied that we ourselves have found a resource in Him, but seeking for all His people such a blessing. Oh, I think it's precious to see this here with Elijah.
So the first thing he did was to repair the altar of the Lord that was broken down.
Israel had neglected that altar, and now in front of the mall, he builds it up again. That is the Lord being given his rightful place.
Well, may the Lord grant that He would have his rightful place among His people. We know that in Christendom.
We can see the breakdown of everything. It tells us the end of all things is at hand.
Be therefore sober and watch unto prayer. But oh, what a privilege it is that we can still worship in God's appointed way, we can still gather in His appointed way, and we know that He delights in the blessing of His people.
And so it tells us in the 31St verse, in Elijah took 12 Stones according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob.
00:35:01
Yes, actually Elijah was a prophet. Among the 10 tribes, there had been a division. Among God's people, 2 tribes had remained.
With the House of David and the other ten were separated and all I do is actually among the 10.
But we can see here how faith acts.
How faith acknowledges the people of God as one. And so isn't this lovely here to find that when Elijah repaired the altar of the Lord that he took 12 Stones?
In his thoughts and in his affections, he took in all the people of God.
And he built up this altar where those 12 Stones, and he put the wood in order, cut the Bullock in pieces.
And then he made this ditch round about it, so that it tells us here that it would contain 2 measures of seed. And then he told them to pour water down all of the sacrifice.
And they poured 4 barrels once, twice, three times.
We know how that the prophets of Bail had tried to bring down far from heaven and they couldn't do it. But here he tells them now when he builds the altar of the Lord to pour all these barrels of water over the sacrifice and down over filling the trench all around the around the altar and he says.
That the God who would answer by fire.
He would be the true God.
Well, I believe there's a lesson for us in this, brethren, and that is the only ground on which God can bless His people is through the sacrifice, through the work that the Lord Jesus has accomplished.
There is only one ground. We can't claim any blessing because of our own faithfulness.
How we have failed individually, how we have failed collectively, but all. Isn't it lovely to look up and count upon the Lord because of what took place at Calvary, to know that that cross of Calvary, the Lord Jesus?
Bore all the wrath and judgment of God against sin.
So that God might bring blessing to his people. And when you and I enter those courts of eternal glory, we won't have one thing to say about what we've done ourselves. All the glory will be to him because he has done it all. And the one who would serve the people of God, the one who would seek the blessing of the people of God, must never forget this.
Because all blessing to God's people is founded upon the work of Christ.
And so it tells us here in this 36th verse. And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice.
That Elijah the prophet came near and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy command. He goes right back to those unconditional promises that were made to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, and now he looks up and counts upon the Lord answering because of those.
Unconditional promises.
That he had made to those patriarchs.
I know how lovely it is for us.
To look back to Calvary and to know that God has promised blessing through that work.
I enjoy those verses in second the second Corinthians chapter 1. It says all the promises of God in him are yeah and in him Amen to the glory of God by us that is.
When the law was given, there was a yay and there was a nay.
Yeah, that is.
Some stood on one mountain and some stood on another, and they pronounced blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience. And so there was a yeah and there was a nay. And alas, we know that God's people because of their unfaithfulness.
Forfeited the land, and were driven out of it. The possession of the land was made conditional on their obedience, and they forfeited it all. But he said in Christ.
It's all founded upon what Christ has done, and God's promises in Christ are not yeah and nay, but they're all yeah. They're all sure to be fulfilled because they depend upon what Christ has done. Oh, how good it is to have the sense of that in our soul and never to come to the Lord claiming anything on the ground of any faithfulness in ourselves.
00:40:25
Or any faithfulness in his people collecting.
But just that, it's his delight to blast.
And now the 37th verse. Hear me, oh Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.
Yes, he said. The Lord is the only one that can turn their hearts.
The Lord, the only One, has always said I can't. I can't do it. No faithfulness on my part can do it.
The famine hadn't turned their hearts back. They were just as callous as ever.
But isn't this lovely? Thou hast turned their hearts all, brethren, isn't it wonderful, the resource we have in the Lord?
And that he can do things that we never thought could be done.
He's able, it's blessed to turn to him and count upon him.
As was brought before us about this dear lady out in San Bacon. And how wonderful it was that the Lord answered that prayer so unexpectedly. But he's still able to do the same in these lands. He's still able to come in. Is there something that seems like an impossible situation? Isn't it lovely? Thou hast turned their heart. The King's heart is in the hand of the Lord of the rivers of water.
He turneth it whithersoever he will.
He is the one who is over all, and here he said, Lord, turn their hearts back to thee.
And the Lord answered that prayer. The Lord came in.
But it tells us in the 38th verse, the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones and the dust that licked up the water that was in the trench.
Yes, and the consuming fire fell down.
And there it licked up, consumed the sacrifice and the stones. Yes, it was all consumed, so to speak. If one could speak in this way, it burned itself out.
And so that's what took place at Calvary. The fire of God's judgment burned itself out.
And nothing is left for us. We sing sometimes. Nothing for us remains nothing but love. Oh, isn't it blessed to know that that fire has consumed all that could possibly be consumed? I'm sure that the people, perhaps even Elijah, didn't realize that the fire would actually consume the stones.
But that fire was so hot that it consumed everything that could be consumed. And isn't it lovely, brethren, to know that the work of Calvary has settled everything to the glory of God? Not according to our thoughts.
But according to the thoughts of God himself, and the God himself has been glorified in the work of his Son. And so the people fell on their faces, and they said, the Lord, he is the God, The Lord he is the God.
Yes, they acknowledge them, the Lord. Their hearts were turned back to Him.
Oh, how lovely it is to see their hearts were turned away from Baal. Their hearts were turned back to him. And what will bring our hearts back to him?
All I believe is each one of us here could have a fresh glimpse of what the Lord Jesus suffered for us at Calvary. Our hearts would be turned back to Him. We would acknowledge His authority. We would gladly and willingly acknowledge his rights over everything. And so he said, now don't let any of these prophets escape. Don't let any of them escape. And all when we think of what the Lord has done for us, when we think of that great work accomplished at Calvary.
That makes us willing to be done with anything and everything that robs us of the enjoyment of Christ in our lives. He says, don't let one of them escape. And you know, it's an interesting thing to me that it says here that these prophets, they ate at Jezebel's table. They ate at Jezebel's table.
Well, you know.
The family table is the place of relaxation, isn't it? It's where we sit down and we kind of relax.
And all, how careful we have to be. Well, what goes on at the table? How careful we have to be?
00:45:05
Who it is, and what things are talked about, and what things we do when we sit down to the table. Every time that Obadiah sat down in the House of Ahab, here were all these prophets. Could they ever be talking of anything that was good there? Could there be anything that was for the glory of God? There? Nothing. Well, he said, let all these prophets be destroyed.
And so if there's anything that's hindering us from walking in the enjoyment of Christ, whether it's the fact that we don't spend our free time as we should for the Lord.
If there's something that we're allowing in our lives, perhaps in our homes, if there's something that's a hindrance when we think of what the Lord has done for us and then we turn and say, well, this has to be set aside. This has to be done with. And so they were all put aside. And now the hindrance was removed that God could come out and the blessing that was in his heart for his people.
Because he wants to bless brethren, just as we read those lovely verses in Malachi. And it was in a still a day of still greater weakness than this.
For you only have to read the prophet Malachi to see how weak things were at that time.
And how they were saying it was vain to serve the Lord, They wouldn't open the doors of the Lord's house for not. Oh, there were so many things they were even questioning the Lord's love to them was a sad state that the Lord said, prove me.
Told me now, he says.
He said, I am still able to open the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And brethren, the heart of God is still the same today. Indeed, if one could say it, his heart has been revealed in a richer and fuller way in Christianity than it ever was in Judaism.
Can we not say that all that's in the heart of God has now come out? In the Old Testament, God made a partial revelation of Himself.
And when Moses stood in the Cliff of the rock, he saw the glory of his back parts. But now the glory of God shines out in the face of Jesus Christ.
But I say again, because I want to bring out this point, it was what was particularly on my heart, the willingness of God to bless His people.
And not just to bless us individually, but to bless us collectively. He wants to bless us collectively. We can be satisfied, perhaps, that we are seeking to go on to the Lord individually. But Elijah wasn't satisfied with anything less than seeing all the people of God in the enjoyment of what was in the heart of God for women.
And so when they acknowledge that he is the God, and he said, well, we must remove every hindrance now. And so all these prophets are done away with. And now it says in the 41St verse in the Elijah said unto Ahab, get thee up, eat and drink, for there is a sound of abundance of rain.
So they have went up to eat and to drink, and Elijah went up to the top of Carmel.
And he cast himself down from the earth and put his face between his knees.
Now God was going to come in for the blessing of His people, but notice the place that Elijah takes.
He gets down, he gets down, cast himself down, puts his head between his knees.
In the scripture, speak to us a prayer, I believe, speak of taking the low place, and he put his head down between his knees.
And he cried to the Lord. We're not told here about him praying, but it does tell us in James that he prayed again and the heavens gave rain. So here we know that he was praying for the people of God, praying that God would now open the windows of heaven and bring that blessing which he delighted to bestow upon them.
And so he said to his servant.
Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up.
And looked and said there is nothing.
There is nothing.
Yes. Not right at once, not right away. Because again.
Faith must be put to the test.
We must act in faith and confidence in the Lord, and sometimes.
We're impatient, tells us in James. Let patience have her perfect work. And there needs to be that patience in that waiting upon the Lord, turning to him in prayer, acknowledging that He is the only one who can bless taking a lowly place.
00:50:14
So here I believe patients did have her perfect work. He went once, he said there's nothing, nothing's happened.
Rewind again.
Seven times.
I believe sometimes, brethren in prayer, that we give up too soon.
We ask the Lord for something and we look and nothing seems to happen and we get discouraged.
Doesn't the devil get us discouraged so easily? Oh, I believe myself that Satan's greatest weapon against the people of God is discouragement.
He always gets us looking at circumstances instead of counting upon the Lord.
We know how in Saul's life, King Saul, there was a picture to us of the natural man.
Samuel told him to tarry for seven days.
And so it tells us that when the 7th day came, he thought Samuel wasn't going to come. So he acted impatiently. He acted unwisely. As Samuel said to him, Thou hast done foolishly. Well, he said, I waited 7 days.
Well, apparently he didn't wait until the end of the 7th day.
He thought he D waited long enough. That's not often true with us. We think, well, I've been patient long enough, I've waited. But oh, how good it is just to count upon the Lord quietly and know that He is able and He is willing and He delights to bless his people. And so the 7th time, just when I suppose.
The servant might say it's no use. Why he just saw that little cloud the size of a man's hand. Oh, he says, the blessings on the way.
The blessings on the way, you know how good it is to see that behind all the circumstances there is a hand.
Behind everything I say, there's a hand.
Everything that takes place in the country, everything that takes place in our homes and our assemblies in business, there's a hand. We may not see it at once. We may think there's nothing to it.
But when there's a continual looking to the Lord, that hand appears.
That hand, how lovely the little hymn puts it, The hand how many sins have pierced is now our God and guide.
And tells us in the 44th verse that came to pass at the 7th time, that he said, Behold, there arises a little cloud of the sea.
I might say that the sea.
Is a picture to us in the scripture of nations and confusion.
It's a state of confusion.
And that's why it tells us about the servant going to look toward the sea. Was there going to be any deliverance?
Seven times he went, and then out of all his confusion, out of all this state of trouble, he saw that hand rise.
And he said, Go up and say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down at the rain, Stop thee not.
Yes, how God came in now.
After waiting for those three years and six months, then how God came in and He didn't come in, just in a little way, He truly did open the windows of heaven.
The heavens were black with clouds and wind.
And there was a great rain.
It was a great rain, and it says in the 46th verse in the hand of the Lord was on Elijah, and he girded up his loins and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel. Now this encouragement lifted the heart of God's servant, and here he ran before. I'd like to just notice here before we close in Isaiah chapter 40.
Isaiah chapter 40.
Verse 28.
Now begin from the 27th verse.
Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God. Hast thou not known, hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary. There is no searching of His understanding. He giveth power to the faint, and to them that have no might He increased.
Embrace the strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall. But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint.
00:55:15
Oh how beautiful these verses he says, don't say my way is hid from the Lord, that is that the Lord doesn't know what's going on. The Lord knows all about it, and my judgment is passed over from my God that he is not able to undertake for us, but instead he says.
Hast thou not known? He has just talked about God's greatness in creation, and now he says there's no searching of his understanding. And he giveth power to the faint, and to them that have no might he increases strength.
Obadiah was weary, going around just to find a little grass, just to find a little to feed the horses and the mules. But here God came in so abundantly and provided for all His people, and best of all, He turned their hearts back to Himself. Oh, may the Lord grant that our hearts may be turned to him. And these precious words, they that wait upon the Lord shall.
Renew their strength. Renew their strength.
How often do we need this renewing?
Over and over and over again. There's always a tendency for us to faint. And they tell us about the eagle, how it renews its strength. Well, the Lord is able to do this for us.
And so we only have a little while. The Lord is coming soon, is going to take his own home, to be forever with himself. May we have that confidence that looks to him, that counts upon him.
And in the trials and difficulties, may we know what it is to walk in personal communion with the Lord. But may the Lord also give us that large heart that seeks the blessing of all his people, that builds up the altar in front of them. Instead of, as it were, getting discouraged and saying it's no use the bills up the altar that looks to Calvary and knows that all blessing is founded upon what Christ has done. And then.
Intercedes for God's people.
And seeks their blessing all. He has untold blessings in store at the end of the journey. And brethren, he wants us to drink of the brook in the way, so that we might lift up the head.