overview of them and as it says here, we now come to one of the most recognized, if not the most recognized prophet mentioned in the Bible and that is Elijah. Elijah himself, we could get quite a long series just on his life and all that is mentioned about him in the Bible. Though not one of the writing prophets, in other words, we don't have a book of Elijah in the Bible, though not one of the writing prophets, he is notable in that God used him to perform several miracles. And we will look at those in the next few weeks. In fact, he is quite unique because he is one of only two men who did not die. Enoch being the other, remember Enoch was translated, that he should not see death. And he, along with Moses, appeared on the Mount of Transfiguration to speak with Jesus shortly before he was crucified. We see that in the New Testament. And when Jesus asked his disciples who the people thought he was, one of the regular answers was Elijah. That was a common answer from the people. Matthew 16, 14 is just one example there from the Gospels. If you look at Malachi 4, just quickly, you see that the Old Testament ends with the mention of Elijah. In Malachi 4 and verse 5, Actually, with Moses and Elijah in verse four, God tells Israel, remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel with the statutes and judgments. And then in verse five, he says, behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. So this shows how much of an impact he had on the nation of Israel. He probably would be the most recognized prophet from the Bible to most people. So we're going to begin our study here in 1 Kings 16, verse 30, and chapter 17, verse 1, where Elijah starts his ministry. Now, verse 30 here of chapter 16, we're refreshing our memory. The Bible says that Ahab, the son of Amri, did evil in the sight of the Lord above all that were before him. In verse 33, he did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him. So we have Ahab along with his lovely bride Jezebel. Ahab was the worst, most wicked king Israel had up to this point. God's response was to send a godly man full of faith and the power of God to confront that wickedness. In chapter 17 and verse 1, we see, And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. So Elijah is the man that God chooses to counter and stand up to Ahab and Jezebel and their overt wickedness. Now, this phrase that Elijah uses here, before whom I stand, we want to look at that in these verses here. It appears again in Deuteronomy 10, verse 8. The reason is because there are a lot of people who think that Elijah just somehow had this amazing power. It was almost as though he was the one deciding what would happen when it would happen. But if you simply look at the Word of God and compare Scripture with Scripture, you see that that's not the case. In Deuteronomy 10 and verse 8, The Bible says here, at that time, the Lord separated the tribe of Levi to bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to stand before the Lord, to minister unto him, and to bless in his name unto this day. And then in 2 Chronicles 29, verse 11, remember, we're just looking at this phrase, before whom I stand, referring to standing before the Lord, standing in his presence. Chapter 29 of 2 Chronicles in verse 11, Hezekiah speaking to the Levites, the priests, he says, In Jeremiah 15 and verse 19, Jeremiah 15 and verse 19, Therefore thus saith the Lord, If thou return, then will I bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before me. And if thou take forth the precious from the vial, thou shalt be as my mouth. Let them return unto thee, but return not thou unto them. Luke chapter 1 and verse 19, Get these last two references here. Luke 1 verse 19, you Bible students perhaps know who is speaking here. When God sends Gabriel to Zacharias and he has some doubts about whether what Gabriel has told him will be true, verse 19 says, and the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel that stand in the presence of God and am sent to speak unto thee and to show thee these glad tidings. And in chapter 21 and verse 36 of Luke. Last one here, chapter 21 of Luke and verse 36. Jesus says here, watch ye therefore and pray always that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass and to stand before the Son of Man. So these verses all have the idea that to stand before the Lord is to be in a position of readiness, to be in a position to serve, to be in a position to receive a command and follow it. And that's the idea here. So these verses reveal that the message Elijah gave to Ahab was not a rash statement originating in his own mind, nor was it a whim or a decision that Elijah made at his discretion. Rather, it was a message from God. There are many among the faith crowd today who will use Elijah as that type of example. Elijah had the power because he had faith and he could do what he wanted. It wasn't a case of Elijah doing what he wanted. It was a case of Elijah obeying what God had commanded. That's the difference. And it's there in the Word of God. Now let's look at these references here. Deuteronomy chapter 11 and verse 17. the message that he gave to Ahab wasn't one that he came up with himself. Because God had already given this message to Israel many years before, through Moses. Deuteronomy 11 and verse 16, he says, What did Ahab and Jezebel institute? Baal worship. This is even beyond the golden calves of Jeroboam. This is bad stuff. So verse 17, and then the Lord's wrath be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit, unless ye perish quickly from off the good land which the Lord giveth you. Chapter 28 of Deuteronomy. Verse 23, it's mentioned again. This is the contrast that Moses gives Israel. The blessings, you obey God, He will bless. You disobey and go aside and follow other gods, you'll be cursed. And part of that curse is verse 23. And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron. The Lord shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust. From heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed. And in 1 Kings chapter 18, then in verse 36, back to Elijah's day, 1 Kings 18, we're looking ahead just a bit, Elijah himself, in the confrontation with the priests of Baal, in the contest there on Mount Carmel, which we'll look at, Lord willing, later, But notice what it says here, 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, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things because I wanted to. No, at thy word. At thy word. And when you compare that with James chapter 5 and verse 17, where James is using Elijah as an example for us, he makes it very clear. James chapter 5 and verse 17. He says here, Elias, that's Elijah, was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain. And it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit." So putting it all together, Elijah prayed to God for a drought according to God's Word and in line with God's will. And God then told Elijah to proceed. So he is not out there like a loose cannon, deciding what will happen when. He is the servant of Almighty God. God is using him in a very powerful way, in a unique way, and I am sure to Ahab and others, it seems as though Elijah has that power, but it is only because God has granted it, and Elijah is using, or is obeying what God has told him to do. Now, notice that the first thing Elijah did here, as we have seen putting it all together, the first thing he did here was not confront Ahab or call down fire from heaven, but rather he prayed. He prayed. That was the first thing. And that wasn't just, you know, a quick prayer before supper. Prayer. That's real praying that he did. There's a lot of praying that he did. That's the first thing he did. He prayed. A lot of times we skip that one. We want to get to the confrontation. We want to, many times, we want to call down fire from heaven. Let's be honest. There are situations, there are vehicles, some of us have, that our flesh would, would thoroughly enjoy seeing fire come down from heaven and devour. But that's not, that's not where we go. We need to pray. Pray first. And we see that in Elijah's example. This statement from Elijah was also a direct challenge to Jezebel's pet deity, Baal. Direct challenge. Why is that? Well, in his most common form, he had a whole lot of forms, by the way. I mean, every city, every village had their own little Baal so-and-so, but the common denominator was you started with Baal and then tacked on what you wanted. But in his most common basic form, Baal was supposed to be the god of storm and rainfall. that he was the deity. That's why all through, as we'll see in many of the minor prophets as well, the people, especially in Israel, would pray to Baal and serve him so faithfully because they were convinced that he was the one who made sure they had good harvest and good conditions for planting and growing and reaping. Forgetting the whole time, as it says right there, so in one statement, God made it clear who the real God of rainfall is. One statement from Elijah and there is nothing for three and a half years that comes from the sky as far as precipitation is concerned. Nothing. One statement. God makes it very clear to everyone. Your statues, nothing. He has no control over your crops, over the weather. That's me. Matthew chapter 5 and verse 45, just a few statements from the scriptures that make it clear. Matthew 5 and verse 45. Jesus, in the context, telling us we are to love our enemies and bless them that curse us and do good to them that hate us and pray for them which despitefully use us. which is not the natural reaction. Verse 45 he says why and that is that ye may be the children of your father which is in heaven for he maketh his son to rise on the evil and on the good and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. Acts chapter 14 and verse 17. Acts 14 Here Paul and Barnabas are about to be worshipped as Mercury and Jupiter because of the things that they had done. going to give them honor and they barely refrain them from doing it and they try to explain to them that they are simply servants of the living God which made heaven and the earth and the sea and all things that are therein. And in verse 17 they say, nevertheless he left not himself without witness in that he did good and gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons filling our hearts with food and gladness. In Psalm 147 again we won't go there but it mentions the same thing. God God is the one who is in charge of all of this. He is over it all. Baal has no say in it whatsoever. And yet the people of Israel are worshiping this idol in hopes of having good harvests, forgetting that they have forsaken the true God who created the rain in the first place. So this statement from Elijah is a challenge. And it's obvious, it should be obvious, after three and a half years, you would think that some people would start questioning the power of Baal. Because if he's the god of rainfall, and you've been praying to him for three and a half years and you've got nothing, You might want to recalculate that. Maybe think, this might not be the right formula here. What's missing? Well, what's missing is the true God. The one who made the statement and said, I say it's not going to rain for three years, three and a half years, and it didn't. That should be a pretty good sign that, hey, he might be the one we should be worshiping instead of this guy. But yet, as we'll see when we get to the contest, when Elijah presents that to them, you know, how long hold you between two opinions? If Baal be God, follow him. If the Lord be God, follow him. And the people didn't answer him anything. Three and a half years. You people have seen God's witness that he is the one who is in charge of the rain. And when Elijah simply says, so which one is the real God? You don't have an answer? That's the danger of sin. That's what happens when we start allowing sin to work in our life and get a hold, because when it does, it blinds us to truth, to reality. And if it continues, it'll deceive us so much that just like where Paul talks about in 2 Thessalonians in the last days, people will believe that strong delusion and believe a lie because they simply refused to accept the truth. Sin is dangerous. It's not something to wink at. It's not something to just, oh, well, you know how it is. It is dangerous. We need to be careful. Now, of course, Jezebel and Ahab do not just sit and wait for the three and a half years to be over. They doggedly pursue Elijah, trying to hunt him down. In chapter 18, we see that here. Ahab sending out Obadiah, who was the governor of his house. Obadiah feared the Lord. He hid 100 prophets of God, fed them with bread and water. The problem was he was also feeding the prophets of Baal in Jezebel's house with the luxury food and wine. So, you know, he was kind of in a predicament and just wasn't sure which way to go there, perhaps. Ahab sends him one way, Ahab goes the other and says, we've got to find grass somewhere so we can keep some of the livestock from dying. But when Obadiah, Elijah finds Obadiah, Elijah tells him, go tell Ahab, I'm gonna meet him and we're gonna get this thing settled. In verse 9, Obadiah answers him and said, This is how how serious Ahab was about pursuing Elijah. And please, again, remember, God's testimony to his power. Who's winning here? Baal, as they would say today, turned out to be an epic fail. God, however, is the true God. And yet, all through this period, what has Ahab been doing? Doing everything within his power to hunt down the man of God, and kill it. That's why 1st Kings 16 makes it clear and points it out several times. There was no king worse than Ahab who did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger. It's mind-boggling. That's what happens with sin. That's what happens with sin. If we allow it to take control we will find ourselves actively fighting against the God we know is the true God. That is Ahab and Jezebel. Yet instead of continuing to confront Ahab or continuing to be outspoken in opposition to the naked nation's wickedness, God instructs Elijah to go and hide. If you look in chapter 17, verse 2, we'll start there. He makes the statement before Ahab. And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And it shall be that thou shalt drink of the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. So he went and did according unto the word of the Lord. For he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening, and he drank of the brook. So God tells him to hide by a brook or a stream, and that he would send the ravens to bring him food. We brought this out before, but we must make sure we don't forget it. God is using an unclean bird to bring him food. There aren't too many that are more unclean than a raven. You know, opportunistic is a nice way to describe their diet. If it moves, they'll eat it. If it's dead, they'll eat it. If it's inedible, they'll still try to eat it. That's what they do. And yet, God is using these birds to bring his prophet food. Now, they don't have grocery bags. They're not using Uber or anything else. The only way the food's gonna get to Elijah is for them to take it and put it in the beak, which has been who knows where. These are things to think about here. Not only is God using the least likely method to bring food to His prophet, but His prophet is obeying without question. Elijah knows what ravens do. He knows what kind of birds they are. And yet, he still obeys and submits to God's command. Well, what happens? Well, when you're in a drought, brooks don't last too long. And that's what happens. It dried up. There was no more rain. Verse 8, the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there, gathering of sticks. And he called to her and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water and a vessel that I may drink. And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand. And she said, As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but a handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruz. And behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it and die. And 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 meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruise of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth 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. When the brook dried up, God then sent him to Zarephath to be supported by a widow with a son. This isn't much better as far as situation is concerned. A widow at this time has no way of supporting herself, let alone Elijah. let alone after who knows how many months or years it's been, without rain, where she herself, in her testimony, says, I literally have a handful of meal. That's what I have. I'm going to make it, my son and I are going to eat it, and then we're going to starve. That's all I've got. So, number one, Elijah, again, showing his obedience in going to this widow. What would your thought process be? If God tells you to do that, go to a widow woman so she can support you. What? In a drought? He doesn't question it. She, to her credit, believes what Elijah said. That's another amazing thing that stands out to me. When he said that, she believed it. And she did what he said. Of course, God keeps His word, and that's exactly what happened. You know what else is interesting about this widow woman? You notice where she lived. She lived in a place that belonged to Zayden, which was exactly where Jezebel came from. Is it not ironic that Ahab and Jezebel are hunting over the whole Middle East for Elijah, and he is in Jezebel's backyard? God knows what he's doing. He always knows what he's doing. And we can trust him when he leads us. In both instances, God deliberately put Elijah in a position where he had to trust him. What, the ravens are going to bring food? You can't put an order in. Here's what I want. Bring it back and don't forget the fries. You are literally in God's hands. You take what you're given, and that's all you got. The same thing with the widow woman. He can't just go to the fridge and survey and see, ooh, frozen pizza, that sounds good. What am I hungry for today? That's not an option. He is literally putting his life in God's hands. Elijah could do absolutely nothing to help himself, because he didn't need to. When you put yourself in God's hands, you're in the best place you can be. Even if it looks and is as though there's nothing there, you have God. You have God. 1 Corinthians 1, verse 25. 1 Corinthians 1, Paul here, speaking that Jews require a sign, the Greeks seek after wisdom, and we preach Christ crucified, which to the Jews is a stumbling block, and under the Greeks is foolishness. But in verse 24 he says, But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. And God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty. In base things of the world and things which are despised hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught things that are, that no flesh should glory in his presence." Remember what God told Paul there in 2 Corinthians when Paul went to the Lord and besought him three times to take away that thorn in the flesh? God said, my strength is made perfect in weakness. It is just like God to use ravens and a widow to make clear and show not only Elijah but us as well, all we need is God. The worse the situation is, the more God has the opportunity to show His power, His strength, His grace, His mercy, His love. The more opportunity He has to reveal Himself to us. We need to remember that. Zechariah chapter 4, verse 6. Zechariah, chapter four. Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts. It is God who does the work. It is God we need to trust. Isaiah 26, verses 3 and 4. Familiar passage here. I know many who have made this passage their life verse. with good reason because it says here beginning in verse 3 thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee because he trusteth in thee trust ye in the Lord forever for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength and then if you go to Luke chapter 4 see what Jesus said here Luke 4 beginning in verse 24 And in the context, he is speaking in the synagogue, telling them that the scripture he read to them in Isaiah is fulfilled in their ears, and when he's done, they want to kill him. And this is one of the reasons why. Verse 24, he said, Verily I say unto you, no prophet is accepted in his own country. But I tell you of a truth. Many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land. But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow. Now, if you're a Jew and you hear Jesus saying that, that's a slap in the face. Well, of course, God only uses the Jews. And Jesus just said, He didn't send Elijah to an Israelite. He sent Elijah to a Gentile. Jesus used this very event to reveal that God can use anyone if they will but believe Him. Well, why would He do that? Well, I think the answer's pretty obvious when you read 1 Kings. The widow believed what God said. She had faith. Remember Jesus in the Gospels when a woman from Zidon came to him and besought him that he would cast the devil out of her daughter, and he wouldn't answer her, and she continued to request, and he said, it's not fit to give the children's meat under the dogs. And her response was, yea, Lord, but the dogs still eat from the crumbs. And he said, because of that saying, go thy way, your daughter is made whole. Great is thy faith. She believed God's Word. And is that not what the message was from Paul and Silas to the Philippian jailer? Sirs, what must I do to be saved? They said, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith. Believe God. Believe God. Let's go back to 1 Kings now. We see something else happens here regarding the widow woman and her son. Verse number 17, it came to pass, of chapter 16 of 1 Kings. No, chapter 17, verse 17 of 1 Kings. And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick. And his sickness was so sore that there was no breath left in him. And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? Art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance and to slay my son? And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed. And he cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, hast Thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourned by slaying her son? And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again. And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah, and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother. And Elijah said, See, thy son liveth. And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth. The widow's son becomes ill and dies, but Elijah takes him and prays for him, and God brought him back to life. Obeying God and doing right will often bring difficulty to us and to others around us. And I think most of us in here are very familiar with that. If you determine that you're going to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, it not only brings difficulty for you, but it brings difficulty on others around you, our families, friends, coworkers, et cetera. Because the devil, like Ahab and Jezebel, is not just going to sit back and let us walk with Jesus as though we're having no care or no trouble in this life at all. He will resist. He will try to fight and trip us up. And many times he does it by bringing difficulty to others around us. Because we have taken a stand, others are suffering. That's never an easy place to be. The devil knows that. But we must be faithful in following God's commands, trusting Him to work everything out for His glory. And in 2 Corinthians 4, we see Paul touching on this. After his huge trial, well, we could say many trials that he had gone through, he and his companions, He was at the end, so to speak, didn't know which end was up, was ready to be done, but God, the God of comfort, as he mentions, comforted them. And in chapter 4 he says, in whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed. We are perplexed, but not in despair. Persecuted, but not forsaken. cast down, but not destroyed, always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. So then death worketh in us, but life in you. We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed and therefore have I spoken, we also believe and therefore speak, knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus and shall present us with you. For all things are for your sakes that the abundant grace might, through the thanksgiving of many, redound to the glory of God, for which cause we faint not. But though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. You will never go wrong obeying what God has said. You will never go wrong believing God's Word and staying faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, bad things will come. Yes, bad things will happen to those whom we care about and love because we have determined to do what is right. But we need to remember, I have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back. No turning back. I know it gets difficult. It is not easy to watch other people be the target of the devil because of something that you or I have determined we are going to stand firm on regarding God's Word. But we must. I'm not talking about deliberately being rude or trying to cause offense. I think we all understand that. We're simply talking about determining to do what's right. We need to do it. Remember, the Bible does not just use words as fillers. It calls our walk a spiritual warfare. It's a spiritual warfare. Too many times we lose sight of that. And much of Christianity doesn't want to face it. But it is a war. Bad things happen in wars. And we must be prepared for that. But we must be faithful. Obeying God, sometimes it's difficult, but we must trust Him because He will work all things out for His glory. Why did that young child get sick and die? To show to that widow woman who God really is. To show her that her faith was not misplaced. To show her that she can trust the God of Israel. When he says something, he means it, and you can trust him. You can trust him. The example Elijah gives us is full of application. We must give ourselves to prayer. Give ourselves to prayer and always yield to God's word. You know, a pastor just handed out an article he found to us here the other day. And that was the last point in that article, was with all of the things going around today and going on, it is so easy to be sucked into different causes and stands and etc., etc. We need to pray. And really pray. Give ourselves to prayer. Not just, nah, lay me down to sleep, etc., etc. Real prayer. Give ourselves to it. Yield to God's Word. We must be willing to stand and confront wickedness, yet not in our own strength or according to our own will. That is so easy to do as well. So many people have had good intentions in forming causes or getting groups together, and they have gotten so far off track. so sidetracked from what truly is important. The devil is a master at that. He's a master deceiver. And his greatest deceptions many times are getting people into good causes, but that miss the mark when it comes to following Jesus Christ. Yes, we must be willing to stand and confront wickedness, but not in our own strength and not according to our own will. We must be ready to obey God immediately and trust Him implicitly, both of which are necessary, for we cannot do one without the other. You can say you trust God and obey Him, but if you don't obey Him, then you make it quite obvious you don't trust Him. Elijah trusted God because it showed in his obedience. In 1 Thessalonians 5, verse 17, Let's go through these quickly here. 1 Thessalonians 5, verse 17. These commands here at the end of chapter 5, as has been said before, if you're looking for verses to memorize but you're not good at memorization, this is your spot. In verse 17, the Bible commands, pray without ceasing. Pray without ceasing. True prayer, real prayer. James, as we saw earlier, James chapter five, the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. we must learn to pray. That's what Jesus told us in Luke 18. We won't go there, but he gave us the short parable of the unjust judge and how every day the woman would come to him and plead with him to make a ruling in her case. And he finally did so, and he admitted it. I couldn't care less about this woman. I just want her to go away. So I'm going to make the ruling so she'll just leave me alone. Jesus point was very simply said if that if that's the result you can get from an unjust judge what do you think you will get from your heavenly father who loves you keep going to him in prayer go to him in prayer pray without ceasing pray without ceasing why prayed once it didn't happen so obviously there's no point continuing that you missed the whole pray without ceasing Ephesians chapter 5, verse 11, Paul says here, But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light. For whatsoever doth make manifest is light. Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. to stand against wickedness, to confront it. One of the major weaknesses of many churches today is the refusal to confront wickedness among the believers. It's not easy, but that's exactly what we are supposed to do. 2 Timothy chapter four, verses one, well, if we say something, they might leave. If it's wickedness, something needs to be said. Their reaction is between them and the Lord. 2 Timothy 4, verses 1 and 2, Paul says, I charge thee therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, when the cavalry commander says charge, is that like boozy on down the hill? That's all right, Sarge, y'all head on. I'll be down directly. That's not the meaning of the word. I charge thee, therefore, before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at His appearing in His kingdom, preach the word, be instant, in season, out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine. We must confront wickedness. We know Proverbs 3, 5, and 6, trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths. How many of your ways do you acknowledge God? Oh, a lot of them. I mean, is it all of them? All of them. That's what it says. In all thy ways acknowledge him. And acknowledge has the connotation of I submit to, humbly submit to what God has said on the subject. In all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths. And then we close with John chapter 11. Jesus has come to the grave of Lazarus. And here Martha and Mary are troubled. If you'd just been here, he wouldn't have died. In verse number 23, Jesus saith unto her, unto Martha, thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met Him. The Jews then, which were with her in the house and comforted her when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, She goeth unto the grave to weep there. Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit and was troubled, and said, Where have you laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept. Then said the Jews, Behold, how he loved him. And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died? Jesus therefore again, groaning in himself, cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh, for he hath been dead four days. Jesus saith unto her, said I not unto thee, that if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God? Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always, but because of the people which stand by, I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. And when he thus spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus come forth. And he that was dead came forth bound hand and foot with grave clothes. And his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, loose him and let him go. Then many of the Jews which came to Mary and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him. Believe God, trust him. In order to do that, we must obey. The example is clear right here. take away the stone from the grave. We can't do that. He's been dead four days. The corruption's already set in. We can't do that. Jesus just reminded them, said, I not unto thee, that if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God. And what happened? They obeyed. They did what he said, even though it didn't make sense to them. trusting God. We see that in the example of Elijah. Implicit trust in God. God said, go here. Elijah went there. God said, go here. Elijah went there. God said, say this. Elijah said that. Everything that he did, as we saw in his prayer in 1 Kings 18, he did because it was at the Word of the Lord. Obedience. Faith. Trust in God. It all starts not with confronting with with wickedness not could fall and calling down fire from heaven. Real prayer. Real prayer. Our heads. Father, please help us. There's one here who is listening and maybe one who listening to us online that does not know you as Savior, I pray Lord, you would work in their heart and help them to see their need of Christ help them to repent of their sin and simply believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. what I pray you would help us help us father as believers to simply trust you how impossible it is for our flesh to do that in order we battle against it but you've given us you've made us a new creature in Christ you've given us a new a new life in Christ Lord help us to to walk in the spirit to walk with you help us to trust you help us to obey your word Please help us to pray. Help us not to be sidetracked by so many things that easily could get us into things that perhaps would be good things, but simply are not where we should be. Help us to keep our focus on the Lord Jesus Christ. Help us to walk according to your word. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.