Prophet Elijah: The Powerful Prophet

This week, we look at a familiar Prophet—the Prophet Elijah. Elijah’s life and ministry is not given to us specifically from his own writings as that of Jonah or Habakkuk or Nehemiah. We derive our information about this notable Old Testament character in the Books of Kings and Chronicles. I have chosen to look at Elijah as the Powerful prophet. I derive this not merely from the account of his life / ministry given to us in the Old Testament but additionally from the New Testament commentary of James, the half-brother of Jesus, on Elijah. James tells us “The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much” and he then proceeds to make a reference to Elijah as a prime example of powerful prayer—James 5: 16, 17. Let us turn now to three principles that guaranteed Elijah’s Prophetic ministry to be powerful as we endeavor to build a Powerful Ministry.

Principle #1: Be in Touch with the Word of God.

The first thing we are told of Elijah is that he speaks to a wicked king [king Ahab] and prophesies of a few years of drought. The next thing we are told is “So he went and did according to the word of the LORD”—1Kings 17:1-5. Here we find the first principle that guaranteed power in Elijah’s ministry—he was in touch with the Word of God.

We too need to be in touch with the Word of God. We, unlike Elijah, may not have the LORD audibly speak to us yet, as Peter indicates, “we have a more sure word of prophecy and do well to pay attention to it”—2 Peter 1: 19. What is interesting is the context in which these words were written. Peter, in the preceding verses (16-18) speaks of the experience at the Mount of Transfiguration recorded in Matthew 17—a glorious experience I would give a lifetime to witness. Yet, Peter tells us that such experience is only secondary to the words of the Prophets—the Holy Scriptures. And what Peter tells us is that our experiences and emotions are only secondary to the Word of God. Yet, I see many who put their personal feelings and experience over and above the words of Scripture but Elijah was powerful in ministry because he follows that fundamental principle—he was in touch with the Word of God.

There is a second aspect to the Word of God. The Scriptures are the written Word of God. But John tells us in John 1 that Jesus is the Word made flesh—Jesus is the living Word of God. To be powerful in ministry, we need to be in touch with the *written* Word as well as the *living* Word of God by study of the Bible and communion with Jesus in prayer. I leave you with that question: Do you know the Scriptures? Do you know the Lord Jesus Christ? We cannot have a powerful ministry without these components.

Principle #2: Be in Touch with the World around.

Not only was Elijah in touch with the Word of God, secondly he was in touch with the world around him. First, he was aware of a potential ministry to a widow and her son and didn’t merely bask in the warmth of being in communion with God. We, as Christians, need to be ready to serve a needy world. Additionally and more importantly, Elijah was also aware of a spiritual ministry to the people of Israel. In his bid to share that ministry, he was halted by a fellow prophet (Obadiah) as given to us in 1 Kings 18: 1-19. Some of the most worrisome obstacles in ministry come from within the Christian camp and you and I have to ensure that we are not obstacles to God’s ministry in other Christians and yet if we have obstacles within the Faith, we need to still stick to being in touch with God’s ministry to the world.

Finally, in the encounter with the false prophets of Baal, while it may seem that Elijah is arrogant in his defense of the true God, in actuality, his focus is entirely on the spiritual need of Israel and just before calling on God to barbeque the altar, he makes an awesome prayer “O LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, today let it be known that You are God in Israel…Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that You, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that You, O LORD, are God, and that You have turned their heart back again”—1 Kings 18: 36, 37. His whole ministry was not about himself but about bringing the hearts of the people of Israel back to God. Do you and I have a passion for the hearts of the world to bring them back to the LORD? Elijah’s ministry tells us that first, we need to be in touch with the Word of God and secondly, we need to be in touch with world around to bring them back to God? Do you feel that burden? If you do, you are en route to a powerful ministry.

Principle #3: Be out of touch with your Comfort

There is one final principle in the life of Elijah that we should consider. We know that he was intent on following the Word of God and he was burdened by the need of the people to return to God. But finally, he was willing to do this at any length by renouncing his own comfort. 1 Kings 18: 3, 4 read that God tells Elijah to “Go away from here and turn eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. It shall be that you will drink of the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to provide for you there”. Can you imagine that Elijah had to [1] hide [2] drink from a brook and [3] be fed by ravens? How uncomfortable is that? And yet Elijah was willing to be uncomfortable for God’s ministry.

In our modern day ideal for ministry, we attempt to live the American Dream and Elijah, in his powerful ministry knew no such comfort; Paul, knew no such comfort; Jonah, knew no such comfort; Habakkuk knew no such comfort and my only conclusion is that we are to expect no such comfort. And I, in my own personal desire have to remind myself not to get caught up in these needs but remember to be in touch with the Word of God; in touch with the world around and out of out with my own comforts. Ironically, the regions of the world with the greatest Church growth are the regions that keep these three principles in mind. My prayer is that the ministry of God’s Church worldwide and especially here in this country would adhere to these principles. Will you? Be blessed as you do so!