Whatever It Takes (Jam. 5:16)

Read James 5:16.

Elijah prayed earnestly.  There is an obvious difference between saying prayers and praying earnestly. To pray earnestly is to pray with purpose, passion and surrender.  To pray earnestly is to be 100% set on what you want.  It is the posture of "whatever it takes."

Vep Ellis wrote a song that said this:  "Whatever it takes to draw closer to You, Lord, that's what I'd be willing to do."  Powerful!  Many are willing to do "whatever" unless it severely limits or inconveniences them.  Elijah decided that he was all-in when it came to "whatever it takes."  That's why he prayed earnestly for God to send a drought.

1.  When you get to the point of "whatever it takes", you should be prepared for loss, suffering or inconvenience.  The drought Elijah prayed for affected him too.

2.  When you get to the point of "whatever it takes", you should be prepared for provocation. When God answers your prayer, you will be held responsible for disrupting people's comforts, eliminating status quo.  Get ready for verbal vomit to be spewed your way.  Elijah was called "Troubler of Israel." I can hear the people:  "It's him.  He is the one to blame!  We're in this drought because he thinks he's better than we.  Seize him!"

3.  What will it take to stir you out of spiritual apathy?  The Church fights it because each believer fights it Monday through Saturday.  Perhaps even on Sunday.  Apathy is why many worship times never get off the ground.  Apathy is why no one is getting saved.  It is why many spectate instead of participate during the altar time.  Apathy is why you don't come to prayer meeting.

There are some for whom status quo is not enough and they have been praying, "Lord, whatever it takes!"  It is only a matter of time before God's answer arrives.

Groups of Fifty (Lu. 9:14)

Read Luke 9:14. 

What's with arranging the men into groups of fifty each?

• Peter Pett calls them "covenant groups."  
• Perhaps Jesus referenced the work of Obadiah (1 Kin. 18:4, 13)?  Obadiah hid, fed and protected God's prophets in groups of fifty.  Likewise, these groups of fifty outside Bethsaida were under Jesus' covenant protection and provision.  
• Jesus referenced the miraculous multiplication by Elijah (1 Kin. 17:14-16) and Elisha (2 Kin. 4:42-44), suggesting that One greater than Elijah or Elisha was present.

Observations:

• There was definite reference to events 1 Kings or 2 Kings.
• Sitting in groups of fifty made it easier to number the crowd.
• Sitting in groups of fifty facilitated smoother distribution and easier movement, guaranteeing no one was bypassed or overlooked.

Quote by A. W. Tozer

"God always used men of courage down through the years.  It requires a great deal of courage to stand for god in an hour like this -- to be a son of God among the sons of men'; to be a citizen of heaven among the citizens of the world; to be a good man in a bad world and have faith in a world of unbelief; to be good in a world that loves to be bad.  It takes courage, and God is waiting for us to rise up with something of the fearlessness of Elijah."

Tozer, A. W.  Voice Of A Prophet.  Ed. James L. Snyder.  Minneapolis, MN:  Bethany House, 2014.  pp. 101-102.

Then The Word of The Lord Came (1 Kin. 17:1-9) (Part 3)

Observations:

1. The word of the Lord comes on time, but not your time.  If you were writing this story, you would have had the Lord's word come before the brook dried up. 
2. Don't let circumstances dictate the word of the Lord.  Let the word of the Lord have first place. Don't move until the Lord says so.  He won't be moved to speak simply because you did something desperate or unreasonable.
3. The word of the Lord doesn't exempt you from suffering. The word came when the brook dried up.  That means Elijah saw the supply diminish and disappear.  That means he got thirsty and, perhaps, a bit desperate or uncomfortable.
4. The word of the Lord doesn't exempt you from inconvenience and effort.  Elijah had to travel to Zarephath once the word of the Lord came.
5. The fact that the Lord can send His word doesn't exempt you from seeking it.  I find it highly unlikely that, when Elijah first noticed the brook's getting lower, he didn't dialogue with the Lord about it.
6. Let us live from one word of the Lord to the next.  Elijah went from one word of the Lord to the next (see part 1).  Matthew 4:4.

Then The Word of The Lord Came (1 Kin. 17:1-9) (Part 2)

When did the word of the Lord come to Elijah?  What were the circumstances?  The word of the Lord came to Elijah when . . .

• There was no repentance.  Nothing had changed in either Ahab or Jezebel.  The spiritual climate in Israel was a mess.
• There was no river and no rain.  What would Elijah do now for water, since Cherith had dried up? 
• There were no ravens anymore.  What would Elijah do now for food?  (We aren't told that the ravens stopped coming, but what good would bread and meat be without water?  The ravens also were short on water.  Without water it isn't likely the ravens would have kept on making deliveries.)
• There was no relief in sight.  Elijah seemed to be out of options.  The drought was far from being over.
• There was no reason to stay where he was, except that the Lord told him.  Elijah was true, but thirsty.  He was obedient, yet parched.

Then The Word of The Lord Came (1 Kin. 17:1-9) (Part 1)

In these 9 verses, the word of the Lord came to Elijah three times.

• Verse 1.  The word of the Lord must have come, since Elijah would never have made such a bold proclamation on his own authority.
• Verses 2-4.  The word of the Lord told Elijah were to find water and how he would get bread and meat twice a day.
• Verses 7-9.  The word of the Lord told Elijah where to go once the brook dried up.

Elijah received the next word of the Lord, having obeyed the previous word of the Lord.  Don't expect to hear the Lord speak to you if you aren't willing to do what He says.