“Elijah – Unbelievable…but True!”

​YEAH! Church - Sunday, October 17, 2021

"Heroes of the Bible” – The Bible contains some truly incredible stories. During the time of Elijah the prophet, God did some amazing things through him. The adventures of Elijah were truly epic!

Today’s Lesson - “Elijah – Unbelievable…but True!”

Video Story:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2T5gAXoerjw (God's Story - Elijah)
Today’s Hero – Elijah (1 Kings 17-19,21,2 Kings 1-2)

God used Elijah to provide warnings and consequences to one of the worst kings that ever ruled the people of Israel…the worst being King Ahab, who—together with his wife, Queen Jezebel—did some very terrible things. They were quick to kill anyone they disagreed with, took what wasn’t theirs and encouraged the people of Israel to worship Baal and fully reject God.

1 Kings 17 – God told Elijah to inform King Ahab, that for his sins, there would be no rain or dew for three years…this was bad news for the whole nation. God then told Elijah to go and hide by a brook, because He knew that the king would seek to kill Elijah. God directed ravens to bring food to Elijah and he got water from the brook. But then because of the lack of rain, the brook dried up and God directed Elijah to go to the home of a widow and her son. The prophet asked her to make some food for him, but she told him all she had left was a handful of flour and a small amount of oil—all she had was the ingredients to make one last meal. Elijah encouraged her to make something for him, promising that her flour and oil would not run out until new crops were available to eat from…and it happened just as he said. Elijah stayed with the widow and her son during this time. One day, however, the boy became sick and died. But, Elijah raised him back to life! Wow…truly incredible!

1 Kings 18 – In the third year of no rain, things were getting desperate—food and pastures for the animals were getting scarce. As Obadiah was looking for some good places for the king’s animals to graze, Elijah showed up and told him to let Ahab know he was going to be coming. Obadiah was scared because he knew how desperately King Ahab wanted Elijah dead, but God continued to protect Elijah—what if after telling King Ahab that Elijah was coming, he disappeared? Obadiah would be a dead man! Elijah reassured him that he was coming and that it would soon rain, but first God wanted him to arrange a showdown of sorts. Elijah told the king to have all 450 prophets of Baal come to Mount Carmel to prove once and for all who was the real God. Whoever’s sacrifice was burnt up—either by Baal or God—would prove which prophets (the 450 or Elijah) were truthful and which were lying once and for all. The prophets of Baal made their sacrifice and called upon their god to answer…for hours…but nothing happened. But when Elijah made his sacrifice to God…and had those watching douse everything with extra water…God sent down fire from heaven, burnt up the water, the sacrifice and even the stone altar! When Elijah told the people around to kill the prophets of Baal, they didn’t hesitate; they had seen with their own eyes that God had answered by fire—the false god, Baal, was nothing more than a statue. After that, Elijah prayed that the rain would return…and it did! And not just a little bit…a terrific rainstorm came. Wow…truly incredible!

The rest of Elijah’s life continues with more incredible stories…he is fed by an angel; he is able to travel to Mount Sinai (a trip of 40 days) with no food, where he hears the voice of God and is given more instructions; he calls Elisha to come and be his apprentice; and at the end of his earthly life, God takes Elijah up to heaven in a fiery chariot—he did not die, but disappeared into heaven as Elisha watched on. Unbelievable…but true!

Engage:
• A prophet was a person God gave messages to share with others. Who do we know many of Elijah’s messages from God were meant for?
• King Ahab wanted Elijah dead because of the drought. Queen Jezebel wanted Elijah dead because he had all her prophets of Baal killed. How did God keep Elijah safe?
• Elijah’s life wasn’t easy, but that didn’t stop him from obeying God. How do you think Elijah was able to keep going even when things were very dangerous?
• When Elisha had been trained to take Elijah’s place, God took Elijah to heaven in a fiery chariot. Why do you think He did that?

Theme verses:
2 Kings 2:11, NLT - “…suddenly a chariot of fire appeared, drawn by horses of fire…and Elijah was carried by a whirlwind into heaven.”
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Prayer – Dear God, thank you for the stories about Elijah. They are truly incredible and they remind us that nothing is impossible for you…or for anyone you choose to use to do great things. Help me to be as faithful to you as Elijah was.
~ Pastor Jane