First Kings chapter 18, if you'll turn your Bibles there please, First Kings 18. Now begin reading in verse number one. And it came to pass after many days that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year saying, go show yourself to Ahab and I will send rain upon the earth. And Elijah went to show himself to Ahab and there was a sore famine in Samaria. And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel? And he answered, I have not troubled Israel, but thou, and thy father's house, in that thou hast forsaken the commandments of the Lord. By the way, I'm in verse 17 or 18. I skipped a few verses for time's sake. Sorry about that. All right. Verse 17, it came to pass when Ahab saw Elijah that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel? And he answered, he says, I have not troubled Israel, but thou and thy father's house, in that you have not kept the commandments of the Lord. And thou hast followed Balaam. Now therefore send and gather unto me all Israel unto Mount Carmel. and the prophets of Baal 450, and the prophets of the groves 400, which did eat at Jezebel's table. So I have sent to all the children of Israel, and they gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel. And Elijah came unto all the people and said, how long we a halt between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow him. If Baal, then follow him. And the people answered not a word." Heavenly Father, I thank you for the reading of the word. And I thank you, Lord, for the man Elijah. Thank you, Lord, that he was used of God in great ways. We pray, Lord, tonight, in the next few minutes, that you would challenge us to incorporate into our lives the thing that Elijah had in his life so that we can be used of God in a great way. Bless, Lord, the preaching in Jesus' name. Amen. You know, as you read through Scripture, you'll find that the Lord, for whatever reason, chose to use some men and women and chose not to use others. Why does God choose to use some people and not others? Could it be because those that are used of God are willing to pay the price of righteous living and holiness of motive and intent? Or could it be that it is a combination of being available to God coupled with righteous living? One thing's for certain, the scriptures tell us that God can raise up a man or a woman for a task. And that's what God has done with this man Elijah. Now my question is, which we'll answer tonight, what made Elijah usable for God's purposes? As we look at his life, four things stand out. The first thing that stands out is chapter 18, verse number one, he learned to wait on God. That's a hard lesson to learn. He lived by this principle, and it came to pass after many days that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the earth. He waited on the Lord's leading. He waited over three years to hear from God concerning Ahab. Listen to some other names in the Old Testament and New Testament that learned to wait on God. Joseph waited on God two years in prison after a false accusation. Not understanding what was going on, but there forgotten twice by the baker and by the butler to rot in a miserable Egyptian prison, waiting on God. Moses waited on the Lord 40 years in the backside of the desert. Nehemiah waited four months before he could build the wall around Jerusalem. Paul waited with the Lord three years in the desert, learning everything he could about the Lord Jesus Christ. All these men did great things, but they did them after they waited on the Lord. There's some key benefits. that waiting on God brings us. Psalm 27 verse 14, waiting on God brings encouragement. Wait on the Lord and be of good courage, for he shall strengthen thy heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord. The word wait is quava in Hebrew, and it means to wait as an expectant mother, to have a sense of expectation while you wait, to look with anticipation Waiting on God, according to Psalm 37, verse number four, wait on the Lord, keep his way. He shall exalt thee to inherit the earth. Waiting on God establishes us in the will of God. Psalm 40, he brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and he set my feet upon a rock, and he established my goings. When will he do this? Verse number one says, I waited patiently for the Lord. Waiting on God exchanges our weakness for strength. Isaiah 41, Isaiah 40 verse 31, but they that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. The word renew there is the word exchange their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. How was it with Elijah? Chapter 17, verse 1, he's told to go speak to Ahab. Chapter 17, verse 3, he's told to hide himself at the brook Cherith. Chapter 17, verse 8, he's told to go to Zarephath and stay with the widow. Chapter 18, verse 1, after these things, now I want you to understand something, and I want you to see something that is not written there. And listen carefully. God never explained to Elijah why he was to do what he was to do. Why is it we think we need an explanation from God? Elijah has grown to see God being true to his word. Chapter 17, first part of 18, and so when God says, go show yourself to Ahab, Ahab, bang, he's on his way. He didn't have to know a reason. He just was on his way. He learned to wait on God. He lived by that principle. And then secondly, he learned to obey God immediately. He was loyal in practice. Go show yourself to Ahab and I will send rain upon the earth. Elijah went and showed himself to Ahab and there was a sore famine in Samaria. What did Elijah do? When he heard the word of God, he obeyed it. Is that how we respond to the word of God? Is that what we do when we hear God say, this is what you're supposed to do? Or do we question God? Well now, Lord, why do you want me to do this? No, he obeyed immediately. And it boils down to trust. In chapter 17, verse 2, the command comes. Chapter 17, verse 3, he obeys. Chapter 17, verse 8 and 9, the command comes. In verse number 10, he obeys. And look at chapter 18, verse 36. He says this, all of these things I've done according to thy word. Let's get it personal, okay? Husbands, love your wives. The command. Now when we hear that, there's some guys that'll say, absolutely, bless the Lord, I'm gonna try to do that. Others sit down and they, Sit there and they say, well, Lord, now why do you want me to do that? Wives, be in submission to your own husbands in, what's the next word? Everything. And you know what some women do? They say, God, why is that verse even in the Bible? I'm gonna tear it out. Children, obey your parents. And kids question why. Now I'm gonna be very blunt to you young people. They know more than you do. And God knows more than any of us. So why should we question him? Learn to live with this principle. Learn to obey immediately. I was going to go to James chapter 1 and show you the doer of the word, but I won't do that except to say this for time's sake. When we're a doer of the word, it's more than just a follow. It's more than doing something out of habit. It's a productive action pointing to actual results. And it includes four things. It includes a vision for what needs to be done. It includes a determination of what will be done. It includes a strategic plan of getting the task accomplished, and it includes an accountability so that we finally see it accomplished. Now, if you take those four things out of James chapter, where was it, James chapter one, and you plug them back into Elijah, you see all four of them. He did exactly what the Word of God said. He was a doer of the Word. All these things I've done according to thy Word. He was used of God because he first learned to wait on God. He lived by that principle. And then he was loyal in practice when he's used by God because he learned to obey immediately. Thirdly, he learned to pray in love. These get harder as we go along, by the way. Loving in prayer, hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that Thou art the Lord God, that Thou hast turned their heart back again. His love is seen in restraint. He had just called on God to let the fire fall on the prophets, the false prophets. He had just called on God for the destruction of Baal worshipers. He could have just as easily called on God to have fire fall on all of the idol worshipers in Israel, but he didn't. His love restrained him. Reminds me of Luke 9, where the disciples saw another group of people doing something that Jesus hadn't taught the disciples to do, and they said, Lord, let's call fire down on them. And Jesus whirls around in anger and says, you know not what spirit you're of. No, real love causes some restraint. But it also does something else for us. Real love is seen in his request. Verse 37, he is requesting for others that they might know who God is. for those who know God and to get right with God. Oh, friend, how long has it been since someone was out of fellowship with God, you knew it, there was no question about it, they made no question about it, and you really got a burden for them and you really prayed that God would turn their heart. I think of great people of the Bible who prayed in love. I think of Moses in Exodus 32. God was gonna wipe out Israel for their stiff-neckedness and their rebellion and Moses stood up in the gap and he prayed and reasoned with God and he prayed that these wayward, hard-headed, backslidden complainers, God would turn his wrath away from them. That's praying in love. I think of the example of Stephen. who was stoned just outside the Lion's Gate. We stood there a month ago. When he said, Father, lay not this sin to their charge. And he lifted his eyes and he says, I see Jesus. Stephen prayed in love. I think of the example of Paul, Romans chapter 10, when he is burdened for Israel and the people of Israel, and he cried out to God, oh God, send me to hell, but save your people. Wow. You willing to pray that? Example of Jesus on the cross. Father, forgive them, they know not what they do. It takes patience to pray in love, doesn't it? It takes humility to pray in love. Where did Elijah learn to pray in love? Maybe it was at the brook Cherith when he was totally left alone and all he had to look forward to were the ravens bringing him food, but learning that God would provide for him. Maybe it was at the widow's place while he waited for a word from God and as he waited he learned love in spite of the accusations and the sarcasm from the widow woman. The point is he learned to be loving in prayer. He learned to wait on God. He learned to obey God immediately and forthly and I'll be done. He learned to live in the power of God. I think this is where we blow it most often. We always try to do it ourself. We always are trying to manipulate and make things work and get things accomplished and so forth. Verse 41, Elijah said unto Ahab, eat, drink, for there's the sound of abundance of rain. So Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Mount Carmel. And he cast himself down upon the earth and faced between his knees. And he said to his servant, go up now and look toward the sea. And they went up. And he looked. And they said, there is nothing. And he said, go again seven times. Came to pass the seventh time. He said, behold, there ariseth a little cloud the size of a man's hand. And Elijah said, Go up, say to Ahab, prepare thy chariot, get thee down, that the rain stop thee not. And it came to pass, in the meanwhile, the heaven was blackened with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode and went to Jezreel. And the hand of the Lord was upon Elijah, and he girded up his loins and ran before. Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel. See, Elijah, when he walked with God, waited on God, learned to pray and love, saw all that take place in his life, all of a sudden he has working in the power of God. He saw the abundance of rain, but it wasn't raining yet. The sound of abundance of rain. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. He had the power of perception. Can't you just see Ahab? He's just been told to get up there and eat and drink because rain's coming. And he's looking around at the sky. But you know what Ahab does? He has just seen the fire of God fall at this man's mouth. So he goes up and he eats and he drinks. And by the way, there's a real good lesson. It's really a faith promise lesson. in that sacrifice. You remember the sacrifice? He asked the Baal worshipers to sacrifice and put the sacrifice on, call on your God to devour the sacrifice, nothing happened. So Elijah says, well maybe he's sleeping. Or maybe he's out on a hunt. And then he calls his men. Now remember, it hasn't rained three and a half years. He says, I want you to pour 12 barrels of water on top of the sacrifice. He is pouring out that which gives life. He is pouring out that which is scarce. He is giving away that which they don't have. And after the sacrifice was given, the fire came down, devoured the sacrifice, the altar, the water that was on the sacrifice, the water that was in the trough around the sacrifice. God took it all. And then he replenished it by the abundance of rain. What a beautiful picture of faith promise. I will sacrifice, I will give, I will do this because God's promised to take care of me. Power of perception. Then he had the power of prediction. Prepare to get thee down that the rain stops not. Three and a half years of drought. I mean, Samaria's dry anyway. It's nothing but a big dust bowl. Rain is symbolic of blessing in the Bible. The blessing came after the sin of Baal worshipers was dealt with. Verse 46, and it says, and the hand of the Lord was on Elijah. It reminds me of the New Testament verse in Acts chapter 11, verse number 21, the hand of the Lord was upon them and a great number believed and turned to the Lord. The lesson is this. If we're to be used of the Lord in a great way, we must learn to labor in his power. Because without his power, nothing happens. Elijah, one who was a Tishbite, one who became a man of God's now used by God in a public way. How'd he do it? He learned to wait on God. He learned to obey God immediately. He learned to pray in love. And he learned to live by the power of God. Oh, that God would raise up men and women in this church, just like we saw right up here. to be used of God. How do you do that? You have to decide to do it. It is a decision. It is a personal decision. I can't make it for you. You can't make it for somebody else. Young people, your parents can't make this for you. You've got to say, by God's grace and his mercy and everything God is, I'm going to make myself usable and available by living a holy life and incorporating these four principles that Elijah had in his life. May it be so. Heavenly Father, thank you for the word. Thank you, Lord, for the challenge, and I pray, God, that we would leave here tonight rejoicing in the good day. May, Lord, you use us this week, protect us, help us to be soul conscious, help us, oh, God, to be able to see those that need the Lord. Father, I pray tonight for folks sitting here that need to make that decision that they would make themselves available. to be used of God, speak to hearts.