Elijah in the Church

Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.  (James 5:17-18)

... Just like us...

Do we believe this?  Even in the time of the early church, to say one was like Elijah was a tall claim.   What set Elijah apart.  Elijah knew who God was.  He knew.  He had complete confidence in God’s presence, just as there is day and there is night.  Read as we see Elijah, one man, up against a king and 450 prophets of Baal.  There has been a challenge, God vs. Baal.  For those of you seeking truth and who want to see the power of God, there is no better way to tell it than to read it yourself.

1 Kings 18

 25 Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, "Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire." 26 So they took the bull given them and prepared it. 
Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. "O Baal, answer us!" they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.
 27 At noon Elijah began to taunt them. "Shout louder!" he said. "Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened." 28 So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. 29 Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.
 30 Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come here to me." They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the LORD, which was in ruins. 31 Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come, saying, "Your name shall be Israel." 32 With the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs [a] of seed. 33 He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, "Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood."
 34 "Do it again," he said, and they did it again. 
      "Do it a third time," he ordered, and they did it the third time. 35 The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.
 36 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: "O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. 37 Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again."
 38 Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.
 39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, "The LORD -he is God! The LORD -he is God!”

Where we see a limitation on the movement of God in our churches, our homes and our lives, we can look to Elijah’s life and contrast it with ours.  He knew God.  He had complete confidence in God AND he obeyed.   He repaired the alter of the LORD knowing God was ready to move. He prepared the way and got out of the way. 


Jesus said we MUST be born again.  Our old self is full of doubt and sees God as a being apart from us.  When we surrender our lives to God and are born again, we receive a new heart, not a repaired version of the old one. Two lives live in the same space. We now are a temple, a holy container for the spirit of the God that brought fire down on the water soaked alter.

Do we just believe Jesus died for our sins, or are we born again.  Satan believes who Jesus is too, so that should not define our level of devotion.  Jesus requires full submission. (Matt. 10:37-38) When we are born again, we receive a spirit of confidence, truth and power.  No longer does one live in us, but two.  Our old bodies are stirring on the inside with life, peace, joy and an overwhelming need to worship the Holy God who connects with our own soul.

Is this the case in your life?  Pray for a hunger to know Him further.   We are a lazy bunch of so called Christians.  In fact, Christian is not even a common word in the Bible.  Jesus said to create disciples - those who were willing to follow no matter what the cost.  That is beyond belief - it is a soul altering relationship coming from faith.  We are moved by God’s love for us to love Him and seek Him.

Why do we lack confidence that God is the same faithful God that was glorified through Elijah?  We cannot just believe and live our daily lives with no change.  When we get married, we no longer make decisions without our partner.  Nothing stays the same, does it? You give up some of your life--some of your control.  God asks more, because He is worthy of more.  It is for our benefit.  If we retain control, then God is not in control.  The Holy Spirit is a partner in our lives. His occupation of our bodies leads us.  It is a compulsion, the movement of God in us, moving us.

In the times where God seems distant - pray and seek Him all the more- with all you have.  Make time.  We all have the same number of hours in our day, but our priorities determine our closeness with the Holy Spirit of God and we feel distant. Perhaps He knows we're not available to His purposes.  The Lord looks for someone to stand in the gap; to bring His will to earth.  Are we available?  Or do we live attached to earthly concerns that seep into our faith life. 

There are times that God seems distant.  Those are the times we must pursue him; we must draw near to Him.  God is the rewarder of those who diligently seek him.  Study the life of Elijah.   The apostles drew strength from his example.

What would God do in a church full of Elijahs?  What could he do in a church with just one Elijah... you.